There Will Be Blood Reaction

This film was an incredibly entertaining and followed an intriguing plot that kept me engrossed the entire in. Daniel Day-Lewis is magnificent in playing his part of Daniel Plainview. His ability to show convey a sense of inhumanness and a disregard for anything except wealth and money helps the viewer understand his character. There Will be Blood exemplifies the business of oil. From “black gold” to “Texas tea,” the film struck me by showing the crude and raw side of a business that, one can argue, was and is the backbone of our country. This is no better shown than in Daniel Plainview’s conversation when he first meets Henry, “I have a competition in me. I want no one else to succeed. I hate most people.” These feelings are shown throughout the film in Henry's actions, from when he rudely turns down Standard Oil’s offer, to when he beats and kills Eli when he comes back asking for help. I truly believe that this was what the film was made for; to illustrate the violence and brutality that accompanied California’s oil boom in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Daniel Plainview is not a single person, rather I believe that he represents the majority of “oil businessmen” during the time. Millions of dollars of wealth, all profited by acquiring people’s land and then drilling in it. And with a limited amount of land and no patience for people like Eli who would slow down their business, violence soon followed. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this movie and I thought it helped me understand a brutal part of American history that I didn't have as much knowledge of before.