There Will Be Blood Review

        This is it, the final week of my in depth look into genre films. 2007 will be the year that had two of the best book adaptations to ever come out. I’ll be talking about the other one on Saturday. Based on the first half of Upton Sinclair’s book Oil!, There Will Be Blood is considered one of the best films of the early 2000s. With that, here’s what I think. 

1. Daniel Plainview

        This is my second Paul Thomas Anderson film that I’ve watched. He is mostly focused on movies that have an introspective look to them. Specifically, focusing more on character evolution through ideas of alienation and loneliness. You see there’s not much of a story but seeing the character change from where we see him to where the film ends. To sum it up, his life is the story. 

        We follow Daniel as he starts off being a miner in California. Throughout the film, we see him discovering oil and begin to descend into his bitter self as he comes across a preacher named Eli. To begin with, Daniel Day Lewis does a fantastic job playing Plainview. The actor is mostly known for his method acting. Meaning that he delves into his character, fully committing to the act. 

        What makes the film great is that seeing Daniel throughout the 1890s and early 1900s feels like a tragedy. He’s a person who is driven by greed when he discovers oil. Although, one could say that he did have principles when he adopts his son H.W. and taking him in his wing by teaching him the business of oil. By nature, he is willing to exploit someone for his own means. 

        And that’s the big takeaway with his character is that he takes advantage. I’ll talk about the theme after this tab. The other character Eli is just as good as Daniel. It’s surprising just how good of an actor Paul Dano is. Having seen a few movies of his, I say that he deserves an award. Anyways, Eli is the opposite of Daniel.

        What separates both of them is that Eli has faith. He’s a preacher and is desperate for money. We see him plead to Plainview for money since he states that his land has an undiscovered oil field. Aside from that, he thinks that he’s a prophet. My favorite moment is when Daniel visits his congregation. Eli tells an elderly lady that he can remove her arthritis. He “grabs” the arthritis and throws it out. The camera pulls out and then goes back in when Eli does the action. 

        It's my favorite moment since we see Daniel basically figuring out Eli right there. He’s not faithful, but he is realistic with what he wants. Eli is equally worse than Daniel since he lies and is a greedy person since he wants to expand his church. Both are perfect counterpoints of each other because they care for their own needs. They each have moments where they admit their failings and the last one is especially worth seeing. 

2. Themes

        Obviously, one of the big themes in the movie is that it’s about capitalism. Daniel is driven by consumption to drill further into the Southern California land to discover more oil. It gets to a point of alienation where he has no one else as a friend or family. The moment when he talks to his son is tragic since H.W. started an oil company. While Plainview sees it as competition and rejects his adopted son. 

        Another thing I’ve noticed in the beginning is the music. When you hear it, it’s reminiscent of a horror movie. I feel that it’s intentional since when Daniel discovers what’s underground it gets the ball rolling on his character’s downfall. In one way, it has elements of faith. You could say that Daniel gets corrupted and turns into a devil. Like when he tries to use his son to get more land. As well as moments that involve Eli since he made a bargain with Daniel to get money for his property. 

3. Overall

        I will say that it’s a slow burn of a movie. You have to be in the right mood to watch it. Regardless, it’s one of the best films and showcases why Daniel Day Lewis is the best at what he does.