It is a film which I rarely hear mentioned by my fellow film lovers, and I think that it thoroughly deserves a renewed appreciation, due to its transformative performances, and devastating message.
There will be blood oil skin#
The blunt conclusion to the spiritual conflict of these characters ensures that the grimy oil that soaks the skin of ‘There Will be Blood’ will not wash away easily. Their conflict forms a central aspect of the story, and we soon realise that the characters have more in common than may have originally been evident. The pursuit of Darwinian supremacy that Plainview lauds over Sunday is a poignant capturing of the cruelty that is necessary for any invasion that seeks to pillage a land for its resources, fuelled by a toxic greed and lust for power. Paul Dano plays Eli Sunday, the soft, compassionate priest who operates as a counterbalance to the overt, testosterone-fuelled mercilessness of Plainview, this character serving as a powerful microcosm of the broader, corrupting tragedy at the centre of this story. However, Day-Lewis ensures that there is no element of caricature here, bringing a terrifying level believable of threat and volatility to the role, beneath a calm, brooding exterior.
Here is a character who is infuriatingly childlike in his petty desire to ‘beat’ all who oppose him. He truly carries the film with his commitment to the role, and the result is a character who is completely believable, despite his insanity. Here is a character who is infuriatingly childlike in his petty desire to ‘beat’ all who oppose him.ĭaniel Day-Lewis is typically excellent here, the story depends entirely on this character, and he dominates the screen throughout. Here we clearly see a World which rewards a business mindset, not a human one, as we watch Plainview tear apart the World around him, and unknowingly, his own World, for such is his concern for reputation and glory. He is callous, childlike, yet ruthless and driven, which leads him to his success. Our empathy for Plainview diminishes rapidly following the film’s opening, as we quickly see the stubborn, manipulative, heartless manoeuvres as he pursues capitalist ‘success’, seemingly at ease with the price that he continually pays. as he searches for the grim, black, priceless commodity that consumes his being. The film follows Daniel Plainview, as he navigates America in the late 19 th, and early 20 th Centuries in pursuit of oil, and the success that it entails. A dark and brooding epic, Paul Thomas Anderson’s ‘There Will Be Blood’ is a landmark masterpiece.
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