There Will be Blood Review
Among the canon of renowned director Paul Thomas Anderson, and legendary retired actor Daniel Day Lewis, is the creation of perhaps one of the best, most unique films of the 21st century, There Will be Blood. The film, released in 2007, was hailed for its multiple achievements on all fronts: Captivating lead performance, high quality acting altogether, beautiful cinematography, soul crushing story and a myriad of other aspects that add up to the masterpiece description it receives. In order to really get into the meat of this film, one must first start with the dual masters of craft that helped create it.
If Paul Thomas Anderson and Daniel Day Lewis have anything in common, it is their shared attempt to create characters that are both one of a kind as well as completely grounded in reality. Christy Brown, the Irish artist who on account of cerebral palsy could only use his left foot to produce his work(My Left Foot); L. Ron Hubbard, the bombastic alcoholic founder of the Church of Scientology(The Master); Bill the Butcher, the political kingpin of the Manhattan slums of 19th century America(Gangs of New York), are only a few of the characters the two have helped put on screen through acting and directing. There Will be Blood is no different, with the subject matter being the ruthless expansion and resource extraction on the American frontier in the early 20th century. Important context for understanding the film and its lead is through one partial inspiration, the 1927 Upton Sinclair book “Oil!” While the two pieces differ greatly in matters of story and characters, one feature they share are the larger than life figures of early oil drillers, and the brutality with which the entire industry was laden. In this context, we can fully appreciate the power of the film.
As I have previously mentioned, the star of the film, Daniel Day Lewis, takes the role of Daniel Plainview, a 20th century oil prospector whose job is to strike liquid gold on the western frontier. Pitching himself a family man with his adopted son, H.W. Plainview, the film follows his journey from a lowly silver miner to millionaire oil baron, all while interacting with and exploiting everyone in his way, namely his son and local town preacher/fellow egomaniac Eli Sunday. Day-Lewis, arguably the greatest living actor, brings to the table a person never before seen. His method acting approach is well known to many, and here Day-Lewis displays it in spades, spending months before production creating the character, with such in depth help from the director like rare recordings of what early 20th century pioneers sounded like. The result is a man who’s altogether gruff, daunting and scary, with such a distinctly American accent that you’d be shocked after watching to learn the man is actually English. Though paling in comparison, secondary actors like Paul Dano, the preacher, and Dillon Freasier, the son, also have very captivating performances, embodying love, contempt and torment with great effectiveness. On the meaning, which at first I considered pretty cut and dry, upon more watch throughs becomes less clear. The film is rife with possible references to Protestantism, the devil, capitalism, resource extraction, family hierarchy and plain old selfishness. Another note of appreciation for the picture is how you can take from these and perceive your own meaning of it, though I’d be remiss not to tell my theory. To me, it’s a personification of the all consuming power of capital, co-opting or crushing the social organs of family or religion, all inferior to the power of profit, however that is just one interpretation.
Beyond the usual indicators of a worthy movie, we see the background and technical aspects of There Will be Blood are just as enticing and engaging. Paul Thomas Anderson is no skimp on filming, with plenty of detail put into creating the variety of settings appropriate to the time, from the thunderous scene that is the first time the drillers strike black gold, to the cavernous halls of Plainview’s mansion. The more establishing shots are also carefully thought out, contrasting the vast and beautiful virgin landscape of Southern California with the ugly sludge and slag that are inevitable byproducts of oil drilling and the industry that follows. On top of the environments conjured, another remarkable aspect is the tendency for longer, more complex shots. As demonstrated by the video essay channel Nerdwriter, the cuts are much less frequent when compared to other popular pictures of our time, allowing for dynamic and shifting takes that both draw the viewer in and keep them focused on one character or action being performed. One last “background” portion of the film I’d like to emphasize is the soundtrack, done by Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood. The pieces run the gamut from resounding violins, percussion heavy crescendos and anxiety inducing string pieces. These songs all convey a sense of nervous, building energy, adding to the commonly held perception that it is a horror movie, just lacking the jump scares and having the monster play the main character.
Whenever I come back to this film, I always remember a particular scene that feels almost emblematic of the whole production. This, for lack of a better term, would be the “Oil Fire” Scene, where Plainview’s new well first hits oil, spewing it out of the ground and causing a fire. The scene is full of longer takes, often framing the characters, some covered in oil, as bright red while watching and stopping the fire. H.W, the son, is injured in the initial blast, and Plainview rushes him off the scene, but quickly abandons him to go contain the “ocean of oil underneath our feet,” (his words). All the while, an intense medley of percussion plays, the viewer is sure to understand the power embodied in this oil gush. The scene, like There Will be Blood overall, conducts a sense of immense awe and impending doom, making the film a must watch for anyone looking for a thrill.
Worked Cited
Arthur, Anthony. “Essay About Upton Sinclair’s ‘Oil!’ And Paul Thomas Anderson’s Film ‘There Will Be Blood’ – Books – Review.” The New York Times, 22 Feb. 2008, www.nytimes.com/2008/02/24/books/review/Essay-t.html.
Tyler Knudsen. “Creating Daniel Plainview [1/2]: Research, Voice, Costume, and Development | There Will Be Blood.” YouTube, 26 Apr. 2018, www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAjXDXiHues.
Puschak, Evan. “One Way To Deconstruct There Will Be Blood – Or Any Movie.” YouTube, YouTube, 26 July 2017, www.youtube.com/watch?v=7KlopLcNC1Y.
