"There Will Be Blood"

Title: "There Will Be Blood"
Director: Paul Thomas Anderson
Producers: P.T. Anderson, D. Lupi, J. Sellar, and S. Rudin
Editing: Dylan Tichenor
Composer: Johnny Greenwood
Starring:
- Daniel Day Lewis as Daniel Plainview
- Dillon Freasier as Young H.W. Plainview
- Russell Harvard as Adult H.W. Plainview
- Kevin J. O'Connor as Henry Plainview
- Paul Dano as Paul Sunday
- Paul Dano as Eli Sunday

Plot and Critical Review: In 1902 Daniel Plainview, a mineral prospector, discovers oil and establishes a small drilling company. Following the death of one of his workers in an accident, Plainview adopts the man's orphaned son (his mother nowhere to be found). The boy, whom he names H.W., becomes his nominal business "partner".

Nine years later, Plainview is approached by Paul Sunday who tells him about the oil deposit under his family's property in Little Boston, California. Plainview attempts to buy the farm at a bargain price but Paul's twin brother Eli, wise to Plainview's plan, holds out for $10,000, wanting the money to fund the local church, of which he is the pastor. Plainview has Eli's father agree to the bargain price instead, and goes on to snatch up the available land in the Little Boston area, except for one holdout - William Bandy. Oil production begins. Later, an on-site accident kills a worker, and later still, a large explosion robs young H.W. of his hearing.

One day, a visitor arrives on Plainview's doorstep claiming to be his half-brother, Henry, and is seeking work. Plainview takes the stranger in, and though H.W. discovers flaws in his story he keeps the news to himself; the boy then attempts to kill Henry by setting his bed linen alight. Angered at his son's behavior, Plainview sends the boy away to a school in San Francisco. A representative from Standard Oil later offers to buy out Plainview's local interests, but Plainview elects to strike a deal with Union Oil instead and construct a pipeline to the Californian coast, though the Bandy ranch remains an impediment. After spending more time with Henry, Plainview also becomes suspicious; Henry finally confesses that he was actually a friend of the real Henry, who has long since died from tuberculosis. Assuming the worst, Plainview kills the fake-Henry and buries his body.

The next morning, Plainview is awakened by Mr. Bandy, who appears to be aware of the previous night's events. Bandy agrees to Plainview's deal but only on the provision that the latter mend his ways and join the Church of the Third Revelation, where Eli humiliates him as part of his initiation. Plainview soon reunites with H.W., and Eli eventually leaves town to perform missionary work.

In 1927, Plainview has become an alcoholic but is extremely wealthy, living in a mansion with only a servant for company. H.W. asks his father (through an interpreter, as he still has significant hearing loss) to dissolve their partnership so he can establish his own business. Betrayed, Plainview mocks his son's deafness and tells him of his true origins, leaving H.W. with no regrets when he finally leaves.

Some time later, Eli, now a radio host and the head of a larger church, visits Plainview, but it becomes clear that Eli is in dire financial straits and desperate, explaining that Mr. Bandy has died and that he offers to broker a deal on his land. Plainview agrees to the deal if Eli confesses, "I am a false prophet; God is a superstition", subjecting Eli to the same humiliation Eli had put him through years earlier. Eli does so after much berating by Plainview. To Eli's horror, Plainview then reveals scathingly that he had already drained the oil from the property through surrounding wells. Plainview suddenly goes into a rage, chases Eli about the room, and then beats him to death with a bowling pin. When Plainview's butler comes down to check on him, Plainview simply says "I'm finished" as the film ends.

2007 was a great year for the film industry. We enjoyed the epic "Atonement" alongside Pixar's newest digital project, "Ratatouille". Action and adventure fans got their will with "American Gangster" and "3:10 to Yuma" while drama and suspense junkies were satisfied with titles such as "Michael Clayton" and "Eastern Promises". But above all these rose two titans, "No Country For Old Men" and "There Will Be Blood". Both earned around $100 million (between theatre and DVD sales) and were nominated for 8 Academy Awards. While "There Will Be Blood" took home 2 Oscars (including Daniel Day Lewis' Best Actor award), but lost three of its 8 nominations to "No Country..." which went on to win Best Picture and Best Director. Both films appeared in many "Top 10" lists for 2007 and "There Will Be Blood" was almost universally agreed to be the best film of the '00s. If you've not seen it, you're wasting time reading my words and should get to the video store as soon as possible.

My Rating: 8.5/10

Content to Caution:
V-3 - Several injuries and deaths related to the dangers of working on derricks are shown with intense realism. Daniel fights with Eli and kills another man with a pistol.
L-2.5 - Some coarse and abrasive language.
DU-2 - Some smoking and drinking.
RT-1 - No comment.
H/S-2 - Several moments of suspense related to oil drilling and Daniel's pursuit of success and fortune.
CH-1 - No comment.
S/N-0 - No comment.

The "Reel Revelation": "Bad Religion"

"There Will Be Blood" presents some of the most intriguing and towering characters ever to grace the silver screen. Many believe that Daniel Plainview will go down as one of the most memorable characters of them all. Daniel's drive and ambition to succeed lead him to unthinkable lengths and beyond. And then there's Eli Sunday, the seemingly confident but ultimately troubled young man who believes his calling from God grants him supernatural power and influence over the lives of those around him. When these two characters collide, we witness a dramatic battle that stands out as being one of the most poignant in all of film.

If you quickly examine both characters, you'd probably estimate that God would side with Eli, wouldn't you? After all he is young, ambitious, devoted, enthusiastic about his faith, and willing to do anything for the Lord. We even learn that he did extensive traveling as a missionary. Surely God will stand with this young Christian, right?! But if that is all we think of him, we manage to overlook several instances in which Eli shows his true intentions; to control the lives of others. Consider this scene in which Eli confronts his Abel, his Father, regarding the sale of the Sunday ranch to Plainview:

Eli: You are a stupid man, Abel. You have let someone come in here and walk all over us. You let him in and do his work here, and you are a stupid man for what we could have had.
Abel: I followed His word, Eli. I tried.
Eli: You didn't do anything but sit down. You're lazy, and you're stupid. Do you think God is going to save you for being stupid? He doesn't save stupid people, Abel.

That, my friends, is a case-in-point example of "bad religion"; using an external element (of whatever kind) to control the people around us. But we must remember that in his own heart, Eli believed he was doing God's will and communicating God's Truth to his Father. Perhaps we've done the same in our own lives; acted out in "faith" and ended up doing something outside of God's plan because we incorrectly discerned God's leading. We wouldn't be the first people to do such a thing; the Bible is littered with people who practiced bad religion, even though they believed they were doing God's will. Let's race ahead to the end of the movie and see where Eli's faith is when he comes to Daniel, begging for a lease on the Bandy tract. (I've trimmed the dialogue for the sake of length...)

Plainview: But there is one condition for this work. I’d like you to tell me that you are a false prophet. I’d like you to tell me that you are, and have been, a false prophet, and that God is a superstition.
Eli: But that’s a lie. It’s a lie, I cannot say it...
[PAUSE]
Eli: When can we begin to drill?
Plainview: Very soon.
Eli: How long will it take to bring in the well?
Plainview: It shouldn’t take long.
Eli: I would like a 100,000 dollar signing bonus, plus the five that is owed to me with interest.
Plainview: That’s only fair.
Eli: I am a false prophet and God is a superstition, if that’s what you believe, then I will say it.
Plainview: Say it like you mean it.
Eli: Daniel…
Plainview: Say it like it's your sermon.... Don’t smile!
Eli: I am a false prophet, God is a superstition--
Plainview: Eli, Eli, stop! Just imagine this is your church here, and you have a full congregation, so…
Eli: I am a false prophet, God is a superstition!
Plainview: Say it again.
Eli: I am a false prophet, God is a superstition!
Plainview: They can’t hear you in the back!
Eli: I am a false prophet, God is a superstition!
Plainview: Those areas have been drilled.
Eli: What…? No they haven't…
Plainview: Yes; it's, uh, it's called drainage, Eli. See, I own everything around it; so of course, I get what’s underneath it.
Eli: But there are no derricks there. This is the Bandy tract, do you understand?
Plainview: Do you understand Eli, that's more to the point, do you understand? Every day, I drink the blood of Lamb from Bandy's tract.
Eli: Oh Daniel. Daniel. Please? I am in desperate times.
Plainview: I know.
Eli: I’ve sinned. I need help, I’m a sinner. I’ve let the Devil grab hold of me in ways I never imagined. I’m so full of sin.
Plainview: The Lord sometimes challenges us, doesn’t He, Eli?
Eli: [becomes hysterical] Oh yes He does, Daniel, yes He does--
Plainview: ...Yes He does...
Eli: This… I must have this, Daniel, I must, I must, I must, I must, I must have this. My investments have... If I could grab the Lord’s hand for help I would but He does these things all the time, these mysteries that He presents and while we wait! While we wait for His word!
Plainview: Because you're not the chosen brother, Eli. 'Twas Paul who was chosen. See he found me and told me about your land, you're just a fool.
Eli: Why are you talking about Paul? Don’t say this to me.
Plainview: I did what your brother couldn't, I broke you and I beat you. It was Paul told me about you, he's the prophet, he's the smart one. You know what the funny thing is? I paid him $10,000 cash in hand, just like that. He has his own company now. Prosperous little business. Three wells producing $5000 a week.
[Eli weeps]

Not only is Eli emotionally ruined, he actually renounces his faith to satisfy the terms of the contract with Daniel! What measure of devotion is this, to be so devout one moment and so spineless in the next?! Earlier in the movie he was bold enough to declare God's judgment and damnation over his own Father, but now he's left a weeping mess in Daniel's bowling alley. And Daniel, in a startling revelation, speaks what seems to be the truth into Eli's life, for indeed it was Paul who was able to "prophecy" (or "prospect", in the proper vernacular) the presence of oil underneath the Sunday ranch. What sort of religion does Eli represent? Not a very trustworthy one, it seems. But in the end we're able to see both men were controlled by the very same vice; greed. While Eli used God (and an ecstatic and charismatic incarnation of the Christian faith) to establish spiritual dominion over others, Daniel used his skills in the oil trade to gather financial strength for himself. If we peel back all of the outer layers, we discover that Eli and Daniel are actually the same person. Both men practiced "bad religion", and I believe that we have all done the same.

"But no one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God; from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be this way." (James 3:8-10)

These are some of the most challenging verses in all of Scripture for they explain, in no uncertain terms, how frail and broken our human nature is. Indeed, with the tongue alone we are able to do great good and terrible evil. Think also of how we use our hands, to build up and tear down. When considering how easy it is to go from one to the other (blessing to cursing), it's no wonder Jesus said, "If your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out and throw it from you." (Matthew 18:9) Sometimes it seems preferable to simply disable or "pluck out" the parts of our lives that allow us to both worship and commit acts of darkness. But there is hope, and I know i'm in need of some when I consider how much more likely I am to act out in sin than in righteousness for Christ.

"Delight yourself in the Lord;
And He will give you the desires of your heart.
Commit your way to the Lord,
Trust also in Him, and He will do it.
He will bring forth your righteousness as the light
And your judgment as the noonday." (Psalm 37:4-6)

Ask yourself these two simple questions; "What do you desire?" and "Where is your trust?"

Do you desire to do good in the world and to give glory to God? Do you desire to be a vessel of peace and mercy for those who are in need? Do you desire to set your own intentions aside and seek wholeheartedly after the plan God has laid before you? "Delight yourself in the Lord; and He will give you the desires of your heart."

Do you trust in your own morality and ethical code, or in the divine love of God? Do you, like Eli, rely on your own common sense and natural impulse to guide you, or do you trust God to lead you in the way you should walk? Do you trust in your own strength to keep your tongue from cursing, or do you trust in the grace of God to give you a heart full of blessing and praise? "Trust also in Him, and He will do it."

Because we are human we will always struggle with the perverseness of the flesh. But because we are loved by a God who is divine and yet became human, we know that He will empower us to overcome the images of "bad religion" in the world and represent a faith of love, forgiveness, repentance, and peace; the faith of the Family of God.

See you tomorrow - E.T.

P.S. - I apologize for the length of today's reflection. I find myself so emotionally influenced by this movie that it's not always easy for me to get my thoughts out in a succinct manner. I apologize, likewise, for the length of the last few reflections. All the same, it's my prayer that God will remove the dross of my confusion and offer a refined product for the benefit of your lives. Thanks for reading.