'There will be Blood' strikes big in theaters

by Sasha Malaeb, editorial assistant

 

“There Will be Blood” is an exploration of the depths of human greed, passion, envy and the lengths one man is willing to go to in order to be on top of the world.    

The movie, loosely based on the book “Oil” by Upton Sinclair, narrates the story of the life of a man who faces the good and bad of his fortune and fame in the oil business.     

The movie is set in the 19^th and early 20^th century during the oil boom. Daniel Plainview strikes oil and begins his career as a powerful business mogul.         

Along with his son, they travel across the globe and make a fortune digging up oil. With his confidence and son in hand, Plainview, plays by award-winning actor Daniel Day-Lewis played the role of a stern, hard working man.

As the film starts off with no words, you can easily feel the tension while the dirty man digs and pickets through a dark hole in the ground and strikes oil, starting his career off as the “ground shaker” Plainview.

“There Will be Blood” is a movie about entangled relationships between a father and son, H.W., played by newcomer Dillon Frasier. With the quiet relationship of trust and awkwardness, Plainview uses H.W. to have a nice “family face” while traveling through California sniffing out prospects and convincing frenzied farmers to sell their land for drilling.

One day, Paul Sunday, an awkward and smiling man, comes up to Plainview and tells him about a land that is covered in oil. There he sets off to the lonely town of misery, cactus, and ground seeping with oil. 

With things going the way they were, a sneaky, snake-like character, Eli Sunday, slithers his way into the story. He is a preacher for the church in town, and Plainview offers him promises he knew he wouldn’t keep. Desperate with greed and hungry for money, the town goes crazy and tragic things begin to happen left and right.

 The story ends in a depressing, sad way, which is what the director was obviously aiming for. All the characters are focused on envy, filled with rage and betrayal. The movie is a must-see, though a drawback may be that it lasts nearly three hours. The characters race through and try to contain what Plainview unleashed. I highly recommend seeing this movie, and give it two thumbs up for film excellence.