An excellent study of greed, corruption, and pure evil

Rating: 10/10 (28 January 2008)

On the surface, There Will Be Blood looks like a historical account of the cutthroat oil business at the turn of the 20th century. However, one needs to remember that this is a work of fiction with a historical backdrop. Then you need to remember that this is the work of Paul Thomas Anderson.
The opening sequence sets the tone for the film, as a lone oil man drills for oil. It's a physically laborious task and Anderson carefully takes the time to show us what it is these men do. A good amount of the first reel has no dialogue, just showing the work, set to a haunting score. We now know we aren't watching a typical historical film.
The film focuses on Daniel Plainview and his son. Daniel has received a tip about land on the Sunday ranch which may contain vast amounts of oil. He goes up with his son to investigate and once he has found the tip was worth its weight in gold, he relentlessly pursues every piece of land nearby, cutting questionable deals left and right. His relentlessness will result in tragedies, and yes, as the title implies, there will be blood.
Anderson is not doing a film about oil. The oil stands for something much greater. It's much like gold and in essence greed. What is one man willing to set aside in order to be successful. About halfway through the film, Daniel shares a conversation with his alleged brother that gets to the core of Daniel.
Anderson's direction is excellent, though varied from his other works. He usually relies on a good sized ensemble cast, but this film rests primarily on the shoulders of Daniel Day Lewis, who has got the hustle and bustle dealing of an oil man down so well, you might be misled by some of the things he says. He's perfect and his performance is definitely Oscar worthy.
Equally noteworthy is Paul Dano, who plays an older child on the Sunday ranch named Eli, who seeks just payment for the land to help build his church where he is considered a spiritual healer. He is looked upon questionably by Daniel, who many times shows his disdain for Eli.
The universal themes in this film transcend the historical context of the film. In many ways now and in the past, oil is a symbol for greed. Anderson uses Daniel to explore this concept with great detail. The careful study of greed and evil comes to a dramatic conclusion that is quintessential Paul Thomas Anderson. The closing of this film sets this film apart from other works of historical fiction in that Anderson has no qualms about showing the (sometimes ugly)nature of his characters.