There Will Be Blood (2007)

Film: There Will Be Blood

Director: Paul Thomas Anderson

Country: USA

Released: September 2007

Runtime: 158 minutes

Genre: Historical Drama

Studio: Miramax / Paramount

Influenced: Denis Villeneuve, Damien Chazelle, Barry Jenkins, Yorgos Lanthimos, Eliza Hittman

Loosely adapted from the 1927 novel Oil! by Upton Sinclair, which tells the story of a man who ruthlessly exploits the oil boom of early 20th-century California, There Will Be Blood was director Paul Thomas Anderson's fifth feature film, and arguably his greatest. Anderson also wrote the screenplay, which diverges somewhat from the novel in its portrayal of the main character and narrative, but like the book it's an intense character study that explores themes of greed, power and the destructive nature of ambition. Set primarily in the early decades of the 20th century, There Will Be Blood follows the rise and fall of Daniel Plainview (Daniel Day-Lewis), a ruthless oilman who will stop at nothing to achieve his ambitions. Plainview arrives in California with his son, H.W. (Dillon Freasier), and quickly establishes himself, exploiting the land and the people who live on it. As he becomes increasingly wealthy, Plainview's greed and ambition consume him, leading to tragedy and destruction.

In the early scenes in 1898, Plainview and his fellow oil prospectors are struggling to eke out a living, but then comes the evocative scene of discovery, which even involves oil splattering on the camera lens to give a sense of the messiness of the operation. There were no stunt doubles used for the film's oil rig scenes, with the actors actually operating the rigs themselves. We then fast forward in time to 1911 to see Plainview now established as a successful oilman, in business with his son. Day-Lewis did not wash his hair for the entire duration of filming, to give his character a greasy, unkempt appearance, and the film was shot in chronological order, allowing him and the other actors to develop their characters over time. Plainview strikes a deal with the family of fervent preacher, Eli Sunday (Paul Dano), to drill for oil in California, and the relationship between the two characters becomes a central conflict in the film. When Plainview denies Eli the opportunity to bless the well on his family's land, there's a sense of a curse being placed on Plainview's oil operations.

In one of the film's most evocative scenes, a gas blowout causes an explosion that deafens H.W. and sets fire to the oil rig. The point at which we lose all faith in Plainview as a redeemable character is when he abandons his deaf boy on a train. We witness his depravity again in the scene with Eli in the church, where Plainview pretends to be a religious convert to achieve his vision of securing an oil pipeline to the sea. Part of Anderson's genius is in the editing, especially the sequence in which we see Plainview planning the route of the pipeline, which ends with him swimming triumphantly in the sea. We then fast forward again, to 1927 and the third act, which begins with H.W. getting married, and the sense that Plainview has turned into a Charles Foster Kane-type figure, a powerful but isolated man living in a lonely mansion. Plainview's murder of Eli, followed by his utterance "I’m finished" and the end title, There Will Be Blood, operates as a metaphor for how capitalist greed and environmental destruction superseded traditional values and transformed America and the world forever.

There Will Be Blood received widespread critical acclaim and won numerous awards, including the Oscars for Best Actor (Day-Lewis) and Best Cinematography (Robert Elswit). The evocative low contrast exteriors in the film are the result of the extensive lens modifications that Elswit and Anderson used, while the use of long takes and deep focus create a sense of realism and immediacy. Paul Dano, who plays two roles in the film (twins Paul and Eli Sunday), also received praise for his performance, including a BAFTA nomination. In addition, Jonny Greenwood's disturbing and atonal musical score was praised for the way it contributes significantly to the film's eerie atmosphere and dark tone. Perhaps the film's greatest legacy, however, is featuring the finest performance on screen by one of cinema's most celebrated actors of all time. From his iconic early roles in My Beautiful Laundrette (1985), My Left Foot (1989) and In The Name Of The Father (1993) to his final role in Anderson's Phantom Thread (2017), Daniel Day-Lewis has been lauded as one of cinema's most unique, intense and versatile actors, but nothing quite matches the exotic and immersive quality of his performance as Plainview, including his many iconic outbursts:

I’VE ABANDONED MY CHILD! I’VE ABANDONED MY BOY! 

I DRINK YOUR MILKSHAKE! 

BASTARD IN A BASKET! 

I AM THE THIRD REVELATION!