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Quentin Tarantino has divided film buffs with his recent brutal criticisms of Paul Dano ... and a star of "There Will Be Blood" is calling cut on the hot take.

Here's the deal ... recently on "The Bret Easton Ellis Podcast," Tarantino tore apart Dano's work ... specifically mentioning the 2007 Daniel Day-Lewis flick. QT spit fire, proclaiming it's nearly a perfect film ... had Paul essentially not screwed it up. Needless to say, fans of the movie -- and of Dano -- were left asking ... WTF, bro?!? Everett Collection

Dillon Freasier , who played the child version of H.W. Plainview in 'Blood,' tells TMZ … QT is allowed his opinion -- and when it comes to cinema he's usually spot on -- but this insight missed the mark!

Dillon says ... “The film is perfect.

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