There are two ultimate forms of storytelling: the comedy and the tragedy. The difference between the two is simply this: the comedy has a happy ending where a lesson is learned and there is life change for the better, and the tragedy means that there is a lesson given, but not learned by the main characters, and the story ends as a downer—no happily ever after in a tragedy. A tragedy is the kind of film There Will be Blood is (now on DVD).
The Basic Story
The driller, Daniel Plainview, in "There Will Be Blood"
All in all, there isn’t excessive violence as the title implies—the reference to blood is actually refering to the oil, in its raw state, coming up from the ground.
IMDB.com sums the story up with this synopsis: a story about family, greed, religion, and oil, centered around a turn-of-the-century prospector in the early days of the business. The basic story is about a oil driller. He tricks a town’s people into letting him drill in their area. After being offered a special prayer to bless the fruit of his labor by the local church, which he turns it down, everything for his business starts to go down hill.
We also see the life of the minister of the church that offered to pray for the driller. He’s not much better than the driller, all things considered. His problem is he makes up his spirituality to suit his own fleshly desires. Whereas the driller knows he’s a lier, the minister has convinced himself he’s honest, but both abuse the people around them for their own gain, and the two men continuously bump heads together in the effort to make their own fortunes.
A lot of time goes by as the story unfolds. The minister gets through life basically pleasing the people around him, thus avoiding confrontation. The driller makes enemies with every living person that comes in contact with him (note: both main characters demonstrate some psychological disorders). Come the climax, the driller has banished all signs of family and friends in his life—but, he’s basically content in his terrible muck of a pitiful existence.
The minister comes to see the driller years after they last saw each other. The driller is now a wealthy man and lives in a luxerious home, and that is where the minister visits him. In the meeting, the minister asks for money, to which the driller says he’ll help the minister out if the minister will deny his faith and testify he is a fraud and there is no God.
The minister gives the driller what he wants (not that this should bother Christians, because, after all, the minister’s religious practices are not all that biblical or Christian. The minister is a false prophet). Then the driller tells the minister he will not help the minister make his fortune, and you could say that the two get into a fight, which ends with the driller murdering the minister.
That’s the story in a nutshell. Like I said, it is a tragedy.
The Good
It had some great cinematography. The locals were authentic to the point you might think this is based on a true story, but I don’t know if it is or isn’t. You get a good overview of what it meant to be a pioneer in the oil business in America in the early 20th century. You also get an authentic portrayal of misguided religion of the day out west. There was a lot of false prophets/teachers that mislead the people with their own self-proclaimed connection to devine authority.
The Bad
I didn’t much care for the story. It is a tragedy, which is the kind of film that is usually intended to be heart-wrenching and more meaningful than a story with a happily ever after. Don’t get me wrong. There was a strong moral to the story and the parallels between the two main characters were clear. But this film was not satisfying. It was annoyingly narrow-minded in the whole of the story.
So in the end, it is a story about how two men were REALLY wrong in how they lived their lives. There is no redemption. It makes a good point, but one that could’ve been made better with some redemption…
Also, the score was exceptionally annoying. I didn’t get anything from it. There was a lot of dissonance and mindless rhythmic noise.
The Ugly
There was some language used that was common of the time (early 20th century). However, it wasn’t in-your-face. There was at least three accidental deaths caused by the drilling process. There was two murders, and three fist-fights. It’s a man’s rugged old west kind of story, with a lot of grit to go along with it. If you can handle it, be my guest.
All In All
Don’t see it. It’s not worth your time. I’d say it was 1.5 out of 4 stars. I know some ‘real’ critics would rate the film highly, but it’s not meant for audiences. The film is meant for the slightly confused—those that confuse watching a couple of guys ruin their lives for a well-meaning story.
The Odd
I only saw it because someone recommended it to me after I saw The Dark Knight. Interestingly, both share the same points. But as far as I’m concerned, The Dark Knight did the same story a whole lot better.
Also, the driller actor got the academy award for best actor last year. His performance was alright, but the norm for this actor. I’ve seen him in other stuff, and he played pretty much what he always plays. I don’t think he deserved the recognition, bu that’s just me.
