On Daniel Day-Lewis

Following my viewing of There Will Be Blood , I was sitting at work and Gangs of New York came on the television. Thus began my research on Daniel Day-Lewis. I still have several movies to see in which he stars, but I'm listing listing below those I have seen and my reaction to them.
I will list them in the order in which I saw them, since seeing There Will Be Blood .
Gangs of New York:
This movie is great. When I first saw it, when I was a senior in High School, I thought it was too drawn out and unfocused. However, Since I have matured, I appreciate the creation of this new world and the time it takes to live in this world. There are very few films in which the director and writer take time, instead of ramming the story down a persons throat before they have a chance to leave. Daniel Day-Lewis branches out in this film and separates himself from any other role I have seen him portray; he portrays both great fear and loneliness while hunted by anger and resentment. There is a direct correlation between Bill the Butcher and Daniel Plainview, there are differences in the character, but watching Gangs a person can see a line from which Daniel Plainview grew.
The Ballad of Jack and Rose:
Although on first watch this film came off as disjointed and more of an authors mouthpiece than a story, it has stayed with me. I find this as a result from most films that try and capture life with very little story or intense plot device. There is always something itchy about watching people being wrung through emotional situations which I can relate directly too. In comparison to all the other films I've seen with Daniel Day-Lewis, in this film he doesn't seem to be acting or putting on a character. That is not to say he comes off as over-acting or consciously acting in the other films, but there is something much more subdued and revealing about this character. I feel that this is the movie to watch in order to see him move about space encountering obstacles as a normal person, not a person facing any outward aggression or obstacles. This is not a great film, but it has moments of humanity that stay with me and might resonate in everyone.

NoteI first watched this film because Paul Dano was in this with Daniel Day-Lewis and, I've heard, this is the reason he was given the opportunity to replace one of the leads in There Will Be Blood when the actor playing the part backed out.
The Boxer:
There Will Be Blood is the first movie I saw knowing Daniel Day-Lewis as an established actor. Although I had seen him in Gangs before, I hadn't known him as someone worth watching. Though I had only seen one film featuring him at the time, I knew Daniel Day-Lewis had done My Left Foot and shortly afterwards found out he was in In the Name of the Father; the first of which he won the Oscar, the ladder he got nominated for the Oscar. Both of these films were directed by Jim Sheridan, he also directed The Boxer.
This film is worth watching commercial free. It's a very Irish tale about a very Irish topic, which the director states 'Americans don't get'. It feels confused, a small real life tale trapped in an action/political film. This is not confused though if the viewer understands that, in Belfast during the dates of the film, real life was part action/political film.
As for his part, Daniel Day-Lewis spent years in training for this part. In my opinion, he took an interesting take on the character. He stated that, before he took the part, he had to try boxing to see if he loved the sport, and if he didn't love the sport he shouldn't tell the story. This is interesting to me because, were it I who had been offered the part, I probably would have looked to see if I liked the travel of the character before I accepted the part. There is one scene which should not be missed. Danny Flynn (Day-Lewis) is approached by his love interest and asked to leave. The writing of this scene is great for a part which poses that the two lovers are doing nothing wrong and won't let others believe they are. Excellent. The acting is great because Day-Lewis almost underplays the scene. It could be a very angry scene, but the suppression/control of the anger is more human. I know alot more people who think than do yell. I really enjoyed seeing Day-Lewis let the scene progress rather than explode.
A Room with a View:
Yes, Daniel Day-Lewis is in this film as well; though I might not have noticed had I not had fore knowledge. This is another film in which Daniel Day-Lewis becomes a completely different character, with its own mannerisms and personality quirks. I watched this movie because I was told it was Helena Bonham-Carter's best work. It's very old, 1985, and she is good in it, but I think she has grown along with her craft. The high point I take away for this film is much like what I took away from The Boxer. I watched these back to back. There is a scene in which Lucy (Bonham-Carter) decides to break her engagement with Cecil (Day-Lewis), thought it was later pointed out to me that much of this can be attributed to the script, Day-Lewis again underplays this scene. Some might attempt a cry or some kind of show of sadness, it almost feels like Day-Lewis expects his audience to identify the emotion without any sign from the actor. Like, "We all know it hurts to have someone you love tell you they don't love you; I'm not in a place to cry, what good would it do anyway; so lets get on with it and feel this together." I like understatement, it works if the rest of the story is strong enough that the viewer is attached to and believes in the character.