Rent There Will Be Blood on Amazon Video (paid link) // Buy the book (paid link)
Written by: Paul Thomas Anderson (written for the screen by), Upton Sinclair (novel "Oil!")
Directed by:Paul Thomas Anderson
Starring: Daniel Day-Lewis, Paul Dano, Kevin J. O'Connor, Ciarán Hinds, Paul F. Tompkins
Rated: R
Watch the trailer
Plot
A story of family, religion, oil, and madness focusing on a turn-of-the-century prospector in the early days of the business.
Verdict
It's a hallmark of film. This isn't just an engrossing story, superbly acted, with an unparalleled performance, it also possesses a depth that examines greed and faith. It's also a movie you could pause at any moment and have a striking photograph. This is a standard of film making. We watch a greedy man always wanting more, willing to say whatever it takes. He ends up rich, but he has no friends or family. That's contrasted with a young minister that's also seeking money. They trade insults over the years, but we wonder how much of their public persona is performance. How many people have they driven away with their refusal to compromise?
Watch It.
Review
Anderson didn't name the movie after the book as he didn't consider it a true adaptation, only using the first couple hundred pages with the book being much longer.
A captivating opening shows us what it's like to be a prospector strictly through visuals without the need for dialog or exposition. We see the origins of Daniel Plainview (Daniel Day-Lewis). When we first hear him speak, he's pitching the benefits of his oil drilling company, telling people why they should sell their claims to him.
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| Daniel Day-Lewis plays Daniel Plainview |
He's approached by Paul Sunday (Paul Dano), claiming an oil deposit on his family's land. When I watched this the first time, and still now, the twin brother angle is strange. We never see Paul again, and initially it seems like Eli and Paul are the same person with Eli making some kind of ploy. The movie doesn't even try to make them look distinct. It's not depth or characterization. The actor that plays Eli dropped out, and Anderson had Dano play both roles.
Daniel verifies there is oil on the Sunday ranch, but he plans to buy it under the guise of wanting a ranch to hunt quail rather than pay oil prices. Eli Sunday (Paul Dano) knows there is oil and drives up the price while also soliciting money for his church. It's the start of an antagonistic relationship between Daniel and Eli. There's a play between them with Eli always pressing. He wants Daniel to build a road to his church as well as a chance to speak at a public meeting. I wondered if this was for his church or his own ego. Daniel is happy enough to go along, getting rich off these people, but we see he finds Eli irksome when Eli wants to bless the well. Daniel agrees but then snubs him when the time comes. Part of it is that Daniel sees the transaction as done. Eli wants to keep milking it.
We've seen Daniel as a salesman, using his adopted son H.W. (Dillon Freasier) to help his pitch. It's similar to Eli in his church. We wonder if there is salesmanship happening. Daniel and Eli are two men selling their trade. We watch Eli 'cast out a spirit.' Daniel looks skeptical, but maybe that's because we're skeptical. Calamities befall the oil wells. Could Eli's blessing have prevented it?
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| Dillon Freasier, Daniel Day-Lewis play H.W., Daniel Plainview |
The entire movie from the first to last frame looks amazing, from the frontier landscapes with a train in the distance to the oil wells. Then there's the depth of the script, Day-Lewis's performance, and the competent directing that knows when to let the visuals tell the story. It's an exemplary movie.
We've seen the front Daniel puts on in front of towns when he's pitching, but we've also seen his anger when a rival oil company suggests how he raises his son. There's violence when he learns an imposter was impersonating his brother. We see both sides of Daniel, and I have to wonder if there are two sides to Eli.
Daniel plans a pipeline to increase his profits. Unfortunately there's one holdout who won't sign an easement. Daniel had snubbed Bandy before, and now Bandy wants Daniel to get baptized in exchange for signing the lease. The baptism is a chance for Eli to get back at Daniel for past insults. Daniel submits because he wants the pipeline and the money it will generate. He also brings H.W. back from boarding school. Is that due to the humiliation and accusations during the 'baptism?'
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| Paul Dano, Daniel Day-Lewis play Eli Sunday, Daniel Plainview |
Years later the pipeline did indeed make Daniel rich, but we immediately wonder at what cost. He lives alone in this grand house, dulling his pain through drink. An adult H.W. visits him and Daniel isn't kind, likely drunk. Daniel has become a bitter old man, striking out at the only family he's ever known. He's rich but his life is empty. He disowns H.W., but it wasn't all for show back then. It's like Daniel said earlier, he doesn't just want to win, he wants others to lose. He has a hate of people, and that becomes bitterness. When he senses H.W. is pulling away he can't admit his sadness. He has to lash out and push him away.
All these years later Eli comes to see Daniel. he wants to broker a deal for the Bandy land so Daniel can drill it. Daniel agrees on the stipulation that Eli must admit he's a false prophet while readily agreeing to Eli's monetary demands. This is Daniel getting revenge for the baptism. Both of these men would say or do just about anything to make a dollar. As rich as Daniel is, as much time has passed, he has to mock and humiliate Eli one more time out of spite. Daniel's a broken man living in an opulent house with no friends or family. He refused to share throughout life, and now he has no one. He chased money and now all he has is bitterness.
It's such an ominous conclusion, Daniel stating, "I'm finished." Has he finally meted out his last act of vengeance? Has he taken it too far, ruining his reputation and life? Maybe he's just done chasing money and prestige. Whichever it is, it concludes the movie.
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