There Will Be Blood Review
by Justin M (lifefeed AT gmail DOT com)January 25th, 2008
Daniel Day-Lewis picks roles with patience and care that I wish would be emulated by others of his generation. This time he plays Daniel Plainview, a determined and sociopathic businessman that only smiles when he's bathed in oil. He's an oilman First
There Will Be Blood is the story of a business back before Harvard introduced its first-in-the-world MBA program in 1908. In this world, a full century before now, businesses were built by aggressive entrepreneurs like Daniel Plainview. Daniel is a very smart oilman who recognizes opportunity in oil, sets and achieves clear goals in where to drill, and is smart enough to invent entire new oil rigs. Essentially, a cowboy.
Daniel will later encounter MBAs in the form of soft businessmen who would buy his entire oil life from him for one million dollars. To put that staggering figure into stark, mind-blowing perspective, $1 million dollars in 1911 would be equal to almost $21 million dollars today. Daniel turns it down flat.
In passing on the deal, he chooses the risky venture of staking his entire business on an oil pipeline over land that he doesn't have rights to. But this is Daniel Plainview, businessman. A constant trait of Daniel's is that he is willing to pass on a good deal now for a potential great deal later. Early in the movie he comes to a town to purchase rights to their oilfield, giving the speech that has become well known in the trailers. He passes on the deal of his own accord, saying that they're simply too disorganized to be worth his time. Daniel-Day Lewis plays an oilman, through and through
Back the meeting with the MBAs. When Daniel asks them, in response to their million dollar offer, "what would I do then?" and they answer, "Spend time with your son." Daniel's only response is, "Don't tell me how to raise my son." See, Daniel Plainview has extremely clear priorities, he's an oilman and a family man, in that exact order, and he can't imagine a millionaire's life devoted to just his son. In fact, he later sends his son to live in a home for deaf youth when he can't be bothered to take care of him anymore.
Daniel's priorities are broken only once, by Eli Sunday. Eli, played by the vociferous Paul Dano and recently seen in last years indie hit "Little Miss Sunshine," is a revival preacher for The Church of the Third Revelation, and casts out demons that only he can see but in whom his whole congregation believes.
Daniel wishes to lease a plot of land, the same plot of land that he's risking his entire business on, and Mr. Bandy, the owner, agrees on the condition that he joins and is baptized by his church--The Church of the Third Revelation. Paul Dano holds his own in this film
A quick, but necessary, digression. Daniel Plainview talks as his last name would suggest. Plainly. Before he says anything he takes a moment to compose his thoughts, and then speaks in short and clear sentences. When asked to repeat himself, he doesn't change a single word, a single inflection, or a single cadence; what he says the first time is exactly what he wants to say.
Returning to the church, the sociopathic Daniel is baptized by Eli. During the ceremony, Eli forces him to admit to his sins, and has him say, "I abandoned my child." Daniel does so, again and again, with increasing intensity, until he finally screams repentantly, "I abandoned my boy!" For a man who never made a single misspoken word, this one slip matters. Daniel will eventually get his revenge at the end of the movie, when this entire routine will occur again with reversed roles, and with a twist.
It would be remiss of me to not talk of the directing. Paul Thomas Anderson continues to improve and impress. Here we see Anderson ignoring normal cinematic rules of thumb: he refuses to first show the long shot to give us any context, often has characters speaking directly at the camera, and then will hold that camera, without cutting, for minutes at a time. The result is that There will Be Blood is a brilliantly distinctive movie with a brilliantly distinctive style.
There is so much more to discuss, and so little time. In brief, Robert Elswit returns as Anderson's only cinematographer, Paul Greenwood gives a driving score that was disqualified from an Oscar, Kevin J. O'Connor gives a perfectly subdued performance as Henry Brands, and there is a lot to be said on how Daniel treats Eli the way he wants to treat H.W.. But... no time.
The movie ends with the title card displayed for the first time. When a movie does this, it's informing us of the title's significance, such as "Squid and the Whale," where the title itself plays a role in understanding the film.
So what does "There Will Be Blood" mean?
I have no idea.
Perfect, unique, and unpredictable
5/5.
More on 'There Will Be Blood'...
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