There Will Be Blood
Overview
There Will Be Blood is a 2007 epic historical drama film directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, based on the 1927 novel Oil! by Upton Sinclair. The film stars Daniel Day-Lewis as Daniel Plainview, a ruthless, ambitious oil prospector in early 20th-century California. The film spans the years 1898 to 1927. Plainview is a silver miner who discovers oil. He becomes an oilman, drilling wells across the state. He is a brilliant businessman, but he is also a misanthrope and a sociopath. He hates people, and he trusts no one. He adopts a young boy, H.W. (Dillon Freasier), after the boy's father is killed in a drilling accident. He uses H.W. as a prop, to make himself seem like a family man. The film follows Plainview as he arrives in the small town of Little Boston, where he believes there is a massive oil field. He is opposed by Eli Sunday (Paul Dano), a charismatic, ambitious young preacher who wants Plainview to pay for the use of his family's land. The film is a meditation on capitalism, religion, and the corrupting influence of power. It is a dark, brutal, and often terrifying film. Daniel Day-Lewis delivers one of the greatest performances in cinema history, winning the Academy Award for Best Actor. The film's most famous scene is the "I drink your milkshake" scene, where Plainview bludgeons Eli to death with a bowling pin. There Will Be Blood won two Academy Awards for Best Actor and Best Cinematography. It was nominated for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Adapted Screenplay. The film is widely considered one of the greatest films of the 21st century.
