3/15/2023 0 Comments There will be bloodEach seems to revel in the opportunity to humiliate the other and, while Plainview is clearly the more violent of the two, Eli is almost hypnotically disturbing as he downward spirals into the very same world in which Plainview lives. The two men, Daniel and Eli, recognize themselves in each other, a recognition that leads to equal parts hatred and humiliation. While Sinclair's novel was arguably guided by his known socialist tendencies, Anderson's "There Will Be Blood" comes down equally in questioning society's reliance on absolute faith and/or absolute commerce. When Plainview finally, and violently, reneges on the deal so begins a 30-year war of wills between the outwardly different yet equally driven men.Īs much as Anderson has staged "There Will Be Blood" like an enormous, sprawling historical epic, "There Will Be Blood" is just as much an intimate, character-driven exercise in intimate storytelling. Eli eventually relents once Plainview agrees to support his Church of the Third Revelation with a $5,000 donation. Plainview, never one to pass up an easy buck, heads off to California and onto the Sunday ranch and in quick fashion wrestles control of the land away from Abel (David Willis, "The Good German") despite the suspicions of his prophetic preacher son Eli (Paul Dano, in a slightly confusing dual role). The scene is set for an epic struggle when the soft-spoken Paul Sunday (Paul Dano, "Little Miss Sunshine") walks into Plainview's office one day offering his knowledge of the perfect land for oil if his price is met. (newcomer Dillon Freasier) as he has reinvented himself as an "oil man" making whatever promise it takes to further his grasp on the land of unsuspecting farmers, ranchers and innocents. As we listen to his labored breathing, even in silence it becomes abundantly clear that Daniel Plainview is a man whom we may not admire but we cannot ignore.Īs we fast forward to 1811, Plainview has begun to strike it rich and is now joined by his young "son," H.W. It is from these very moments that Day-Lewis devours the screen with a manic intensity that is uncomfortable and mesmerizing and beautiful and haunting. The film's opening moments follow Plainview, terminally alone and driven to endure unfathomable conditions, isolation and risks. We first meet Plainview in the late 1890's as he prospects alone and digs away searching for the one gold strike that will turn his fortunes. Loosely based upon Upton Sinclair's novel "Oil," "There Will Be Blood" is the sort of hypnotic cinematic experience that envelopes one's senses with the sights and sounds of an American West that has lacked civility far longer than we would like to believe. In this small California town seemingly ruled by a false prophet and the relentless search for profits, Daniel Plainview (Daniel Day-Lewis) stands tall above all others in his maniacal obsession with not only winning but also ensuring that everyone else loses. In Little Boston, the oil-struck world created by writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson ("Magnolia," "Boogie Nights") in "There Will Be Blood," it becomes abundantly clear that the foundation of America wasn't so much founded upon an idealistic belief in freedom or equality as it was an equally destructive blend of God and Godlessness. "I am a false prophet! God is a superstition!"
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |