There Will Be Blood (2007)
About This Movie
A ruthless oil prospector builds an empire in early twentieth century California, sacrificing every human connection along the way, and his growing wealth only magnifies his contempt for everyone around him. Daniel Day-Lewis delivers a performance of such consuming intensity that it is impossible to look away even when Daniel Plainview is at his most monstrous. Paul Thomas Anderson directed a film that feels like watching America's soul being drilled out of the ground.
Why It's a Classic
Day-Lewis's Plainview is one of cinema's greatest monsters, a man whose opening twenty minutes of silent, solo mining establish a physical commitment to accumulation that never wavers. Anderson structures the film as a slow corruption narrative, but Plainview may have been corrupt from the beginning; the genius of the performance is that you are never certain whether the man lost his humanity or simply stopped pretending to have it. The rivalry between Plainview and Paul Dano's young preacher Eli Sunday provides the film's central tension, pitting capitalism against religion and finding them equally hypocritical. Jonny Greenwood's score, mixing dissonant strings with silence, creates an atmosphere of creeping dread that pervades even the quieter scenes. The final scene in the bowling alley is one of the most shocking and darkly comic endings in American film.
Fun Fact
Day-Lewis stayed in character throughout the entire production, insisting that crew members address him as Daniel. The oil derrick fire sequence used a real controlled burn that was so intense it set off alarms in the neighboring town. Anderson wrote the screenplay partly inspired by Upton Sinclair's novel Oil! but departed significantly from the source material. Greenwood's score was initially deemed ineligible for the Academy Award because portions of it were adapted from his earlier concert work.
Parent Note
The film contains violence, including murder, a scene of child injury, and an intensely disturbing climax. Themes of greed, exploitation, and misanthropy run throughout. The pacing is deliberate, and the nearly three hour runtime requires patience. Strong language is used, particularly in the final scenes. The film's bleak worldview offers no redemption or comfort. For mature viewers who appreciate challenging, uncompromising cinema.
Quick Facts
- Year
- 2007
- Type
- 🎬 Movie
- Category
- Modern Drama
- Age Group
- Adults (Ages 18+)