In Defence of Daniel Plainview

This article was originally published on passionforcinema.com


This is not exactly a review of There Will Be Blood. This article is more in support of Daniel Plainview.

There is almost a 5 minute sequence in There Will Be Blood, which captures the essence of the movie. The scene starts off with a fire in one of the oil wells owned and operated by Daniel Plainview. Without even blinking or gaping at the enormity of the fire, we find Daniel Plainview running towards HIS oil fields. He knows that his adopted son is somewhere near the well and most of us are fooled into thinking that he is running for his son’s life. He does manage to take his son out of danger zone, but even before his son is completely out of danger he runs back again to his oil fields. And this time there is no illusion about his intent. He is out there to protect his oil fields. His oil fields are much dearer to him than his own son. This time Daniel Plainview not just takes his first son (oil fields) out of danger zone but also ensures that it is completely out of danger. We are not told how much time has lapsed but it does look considerable. Such is the intensity of the scene that I found myself running along with Daniel Plainview. The deftness and dexterity with which he handles a catastrophe of this magnitude makes you wonder, if this is man we talk about while using the word Genius.

Daniel Plainview is an oil man, and he is very proud of it. The look and posture of Plainview is such that it often gives you a feeling that its oil and not blood that runs through his veins. He reminds me of famous character Nathaniel Taggart from the fiction Atlas Shrugged. The man who started off alone guided by nothing but his own vision and succeeded against all odds.

The film starts off with a brilliant scene depicting Daniel Plainview’s quest for silver and ultimately oil. The starting scene is reminiscent of the famous dawn of man scene from the space odyssey. Much like his predecessor, Anderson is out to show that real dawn in the life of man starts off with his quest for something productive. For a good 15-20 minutes we don’t have any kind of dialogue. But the effect of those scenes is such it creates a complete character sketch of Daniel Plainview – Strong, focused and determined. This scene is also a tribute to never ending power of human spirit which has the ability to overcome each and every obstacle. But soon we are exposed to the fact that it is much easier to fight nature and natural obstacles but it’s almost impossible to fight the obstacles created by useless men who just don’t want you to succeed.

Daniel Plainview soon finds luck on his side when he is informed about an ocean of oil which can be bought at the price of quail. Overcoming all obstacles, both natural and man made, he starts drilling in this oil reservoir. It is here that he encounters his nemesis, Eli, whose father happens to own the large chunk of the reservoir.

Eli is an epitome of evil. He is all what Daniel Plainview is not. He doesn’t believe in doing anything productive. He holds power not because he is immensely productive but because he has the ability to bring down productive men on their knees. Fittingly, he is being made a priest, which was one of the first forms of government in western history.

“I look around people and find nothing worth liking”. This is what Daniel Plainview confesses to his imposter brother. Daniel liked to work and work efficiently and it seems logical that the only ability he can appreciate is excellence. But such is the state of the world around him that he encounters stupidity and self pity everywhere. In the earlier scenes, his son demonstrates the ability of an efficient and an able man, but after the accident we find that he is consumed with self pity. No wonder Daniel refuses to keep his son with him.
“Its not just that I want to succeed. I don’t want others to succeed.” Adds Daniel to his brother. Well, any sane man surrounded by stupidity will like stupidity to fail.

“And what is my sin actually? Drilling” Slowly and steadily, we find that Daniel Plainview has come to realize that he is being hated for his excellence and productive capacity. This is reminiscent of the turmoil that all the heroes of Atlas Shrugged had to go through before realizing the truth. And who has made people hate excellence. A root cause analysis will reveal that the preachers of truth and guardians of the society are the ones who have nurtured this tradition in society. Finally we find Daniel Plainview doing what should have been done ages ago - Silencing the voice of the incompetent.

A lot has been written about the technical aspect of the movie. There is nothing much that I can add to such articles. For me, every aspect of the movie like acting, writing, sound, camera work etc, is just about perfect. IMO, it’s a modern day masterpiece and I regard it as one of the best movies ever made.

I don’t know what the intentions of Writer/Director of the movie were, but to me it is a fitting tribute to one of my favorite novels – Atlas Shrugged. The turmoil of central character is reminiscent of the turmoil faced by the heroes of Atlas Shrugged. I had read somewhere that Anderson regards this movie as a horror movie. Indeed it’s horrific, more so when you find the central character being subjected to pain and suffering which he doesn’t deserve.

I have read umpteen reviews on There Will Be Blood, but could not find a single review which appreciates the character of Daniel Plainview. For me, he is how a man should be.
He might look at my face and find nothing worth liking, but I look at his face and admire the beauty of it. Such men have always been my hero and I stand in defense of Daniel Plainview.