(Blog Assignment #3)
There Will Be Blood has been debated incessantly by film critics, academics, cinephiles since it's release four months ago. For this reason, I've decided to skip on titling this blog with some less than clever There Will Be "X". I've now seen the film four times and I position myself squarely on the side declaring that this film is perhaps the best film of the decade. In this entry, I will try to make observations other than the obvious ones that critics are obligated to (amazing performance by Day-Lewis, Anderson is an energetic, virtuosic, postmodern director, etc.) because many readers only read one review.
It seems oil itself is the principle around which Daniel Plainview's identity and the entire film revolves around. At it's simplest, oil is worth a lot of money and is very volatile. Put in a little family drama and that's the most succinct description possible of There Will Be Blood. A related and most obvious symbol that I have not seen mentioned is the phallic significance of the structures that mine the oil. These towers feed Plainview's greed and inflate his masculinity to the point that he loses sight of everything else.
Two other motifs that structure the relationships in the film are whiskey and milk, which are emblematic of corruption and nourishment. When Daniel first assumes the role of father to H.W., he pours whiskey on his milk bottle to stop him from crying. Later, after H.W. loses his hearing from an oil explosion, Daniel pours whiskey into a glass of milk and force feeds it into his son's mouth. By the end, Daniel's attitude toward H.W. is full of hatred, but Daniel does seem to show real affection towards him in some scenes.
Liquids in general now seem to be the substance that all of the film's themes are grounded on. The evil of oil, the goodness of milk, the corruption of whiskey, and the purity of water.
One of the greatest moments in the film and one that I've never seen any mention to is when Daniel's assistant, Fletcher Hamilton, asks Daniel, "is it true that you're taking Henry to see Union Oil?" Throughout the film, Fletcher is a completely undeveloped character with no insights revealed about his past, thoughts, or emotions. After Daniel discovers he has a "brother" named Henry, Henry begins to assume the role of Daniel's main assistant. With that one line by Fletcher, spoken in an almost pleading voice, an entire world of conflict and emotions are suggested. The camera first frames both Daniel and Fletcher in the shot, but then pans to focus only on Daniel, who ignores Fletcher's question and walks away. This kind of suggestion of other conflicts and scenes without actually showing them adds a great deal of depth and texture to the already dense scenes of the movie.
David Bordwell writes about Anderson's use of staging in this article.
2 comments:
I had no idea that there was so much debate on this film. It has a very intriguing, yet fairly simple plot: blood will be shed over greed for oil. I love a good drama, and I suppose I couldn't ask for more in this film. We actually discussed the sountrack of the film in Music History class, which is composed by Radiohead's Jonny Greenwood. Who would've thought he could've composed like that? Unfortnately, the phenomenal soundtrack couldn't be nominated for an Oscar since it wasn't a truly original soundtrack. Though I haven't seen the film yet, you can count on the fact the it will be the next thing that I rent from Blockbuster!
I liked your analysis on the film.You obviously have given this film a great deal of thought. I like what you said about the liquid playing a part in the film. When I saw it with you, I can't say that I was as jazzed about it as yourself but I definitively liked the way you described the relationship between Fletcher and Daniel, with Fletcher's comment.
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