Matt Page-There Will Be Blood

The biography of the rampant egoist is a great theme in American literature and film, from Moby Dick to The Great Gatsby to Citizen Kane. There are elements of all of them in Daniel Plainview, an indomitable American prospector-turned-oil baron in the early years of the 20th century. “There Will Be Blood” is a film is lashed together by biographical moments spanning 30 years, tracing Plainview's relationships with his adopted son and rivalry with a gawky, opportunistic evangelist, Eli Sunday. Most of the characters have biblical names and the movie is saturated with religious spectacle. Profits compete with prophets as the film traces the era's twin boom in the oil business and big-time religion. The language draws contrasts between the demonic jets of black oil and the Blood of the Lamb. The analogy between religious hucksterism and the oil business is a major theme throughout the film. Plainview is introduced to a piece of land by Eli, who ends up being more than a good fortuneteller. He continuously gets in Plainview’s way by bringing his men to church when they are supposed to be working. From this we see a feud build between the oil company and the church of God. In one in which Plainview submits to a church baptism at the hands of his rival, Eli, in order to advance his business interests. What’s incredible about this scene is Plainview’s struggle for restraint. Other aspects I found intriguing about the film are the use of music, and silence. At some points in the film, you would think you were watching a horror film with how the music creates a tense mood. Usually seen with a broad-brimmed hat jammed down in his head, eyes hooded and with a profile like a bird of prey, Plainview doesn't open his mouth for almost the first 15 minutes of the film, during which we see him as a prospector, scraping in a hole in the desert, prospecting for silver. By the end of the sequence, the prospector has shattered his leg in an accident, and dragged himself out of the pit and to an assaying office, to get his claim tested. This gives us an incredible description of his character and what we are to expect of him throughout the film. Sketchy in human motivation, heavy-handed in its symbolism, There Will Be Blood stands as an exercise in grotesque portraiture.