There Will Be Blood (2007)
Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson
Written by Paul Thomas Anderson
Starring Daniel Day Lewis, Paul Dano, Ciaran Hinds, David Willis, Kevin O'Connor
Release Date December 27th, 2007
Published December 26th, 2007
Sometimes when I am writing an odd thing happens. A review that I initially would be quite positive becomes slightly or entirely negative. When I walked out of There Will Be Blood, for example, I was expecting to sit down at my computer and praise the film endlessly. I was transfixed by the performance of Daniel Day Lewis and I marveled at the cinematography of Robert Elswit and the films stunningly authenitic early 20th century California setting. However, now, as I sit down to write I still have appreciation for certain aspects of the film but I am also more aware of the films many flaws. Hanging strands of plot, sloppy storytelling and unformed ideas and metaphors. I still like much of There Will Be Blood but the initial euphoria has definitely worn off.
Daniel Plainview was a prospector, searching for silver and gold like any other late 19th century gold rusher. However, when Daniel accidentally comes upon a supply of oil in one of his mines, his new calling in life is found. It's not long before he is erecting derricks and hiring workers to pull his black gooey gold out of the ground. After an accident killed one of his workers, leaving behind the man's baby son, Plainview makes the boy his own son and ostensible partner in the new business. You see, having a son and playing the role of family man is just one of the many ways an oil man might seperate the willing sucker from his land and thus his supply of oil beneath that land.
By the time that Plainview meets Paul Sunday, he is already quite well off. He doesn't need the lead that Paul offers him on a supply of oil beneath the small community of Little Boston California. However, when Paul mentions that Standard Oil has been buying up the surrounding towns, Plainview decides he needs to get Little Boston before his competitors do. To get the land Plainview will have to deal with Paul's father Abel (David Willis), a willing sucker, and Paul's twin brother Eli, a preacher who is far more aware than his father is of the value of the land Plainview is trying to fleece from them.
Eli wants to start a church in town and feels that the money from the oil should be used to build and fund it. Cutting a deal with the devilish Plainview, Eli gets his 'donation' and Plainview begins drilling. The two men then begin a battle of wills over the soul of this small town.
That is a simplified description of the plot of There Will Be Blood with the biblical undertones laid out much more specifically than What Paul Thomas Anderson presents in the film. Anderson paints the metaphors much more vaguely than I have and thus leaves the viewer grasping and puzzling over the films intent. Though it would be easy to believe that this is a story of good vs evil, corruption vs virtue and whatnot, at some point There Will Be Blood loses it's grand ideas in favor of being just a portrait of one arrogant, disturbed character and the havoc he wreaks on the lives around him.
That isn't such a bad thing given the astonishing performance of Daniel Day Lewis as Plainview. From the accent to that mustache, everything about Lewis' performance stands head and shoulders above the film. Lewis dominates the screen and shows the true power of a great actor, that even in a movie that is less than the sum of his performance he can still shine. There Will Be Blood is a real mess all around the performance of Lewis but you won't realize it until later because while you watch it you are simply transfixed by the great Daniel Day Lewis.
What may occur to you days later are the hanging plot strands of There Will Be Blood. For one, there is a character named Henry (Kevin O'Connor) who claims to be Daniel's brother. Henry is introduced to us for a moment and then cast aside in stunning and confusing fashion. The great Ciaran Hinds is in There Will Be Blood though you would be hard pressed to notice him. Then there is the questionable casting of Paul Dano as both Paul and Eli Sunday. Some have wondered if there is a deeper meaning to having the same actor in both roles. The reality is, the actor playing Eli quit or was fired a few days into shooting and director Anderson just called Dano back and decided they were twins. Nothing more, nothing less.
As for the brother character, Henry, his introduction is fumbled and confusing. He exists not to further the plot but rather so that Plainview can deliver one of the films most important speeches and have someone there to witness it. Henry is then is dispatched when no longer needed. It's sloppy filmmaking and just one of many examples of where Anderson could have adjusted the film to flow smoother and quicker to his ending. The film is desperately bloated at 2 hours and 30 minutes. Hand off the speech listening to Ciaran Hinds or young Dillon Freasier as Plainview's son, cut the brother character completely and the film might get to it's conclusion in a more timely fashion.
I get that Anderson may have fallen for the performance of O'Connor who is quite good in this small role but then the answer might have been expanding the role so that it matters to the rest of the film. Introducing him and then shuffling him offscreen several scene later without effecting the plot in an important way is just shabby.
Too much of There Will Be Blood is characters just standing around marveling at Daniel Day Lewis. Don't get me wrong, we in the audience do it to, but then when the ending comes and we are to rely on the other characters to deepen the tragic ending, there is nothing there but Lewis. The tragedy is communicated but it lacks depth beyond our fascination with this character. There should be a greater tragedy, There Will Be Blood needs to leave us gasping for air and instead simply ends with a thud. "I'm done".
