There Will Be Blood
2007 • Rated R
Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson

There Will Be Blood (2007) was recently named the Film of the Decade by Total Film Magazine. This movie—a grim retelling of the novel “Oil!” by Upton Sinclair—reveals how corruption and greed engulfs two men living during the oil boom of Southern California in the late 19th century. In doing so it leaves little room for hope and only hints at redemption through its conspicuous absence. No one leaves the theater with a warm-fuzzies but that is not to say no one leaves unmoved.

At the center of the story are Daniel Plainview (played with brutality by Daniel Day Lewis) and Eli Sunday (Paul Dano). In fact, Dano plays two characters (or are they?); Eli and his twin brother Paul.

Plainview’s approach to the world is ultimately pragmatic—he will get what he wants and has little use for others unless they help him to that end, including even his own son. There is no room for God in his worldview, not necessarily out of spite, but simply because he is the ruler of his kingdom.

Eli, on the other hand, cannot turn a phrase without a pharisaical reference to “the Lord.” Even his posture, with hands folded and head bowed, reveals his attempt to personify piety. But Dano’s performance here leaves no doubt about the intentions of Eli’s heart; every phrase, every gesture drips of self-serving intentions as slippery as the oil for which Daniel is drilling. He, like his nemesis in the film, is intent on building his own kingdom, though under the guise of building God’s.

And while this film will not be enjoyed by everyone, it does engender strong reactions. For the purposes of this viaRenovo reView we will take a look at how one section of the film uses cinematography to help tell the story of how two men go about building their own kingdoms.

To begin, watch the following 11 minutes of the story (in two parts). It begins with a wide shot of the land Daniel is developing for his oil rig. As the camera moves in we see Eli leading a train of church members who have come to invite the hired oil men working at the derrick to a church service:

Part 1

Part 2

The establishing shot is designed to feel menacing. Not only are Eli and his flock encroaching on Daniel Plainview’s territory, but so is the camera. It moves in slowly, entering through the open passageway of a porch as if crossing a boundary.

We then see Eli and the church goers enter from the right of the screen. Many filmmakers have the antagonist enter from right to left which, to people accustomed to reading left to right, feels awkward and threatening. However, the landscape is so wide, so barren that the encroachers seem to be endangered as well. The result? Conflict is imminent.

Daniel watches from the desk of his onsite “office” overlooking the camp as the churchgoers invite the men to church, pinning cloth crosses to their shirts, claiming those they have “won.” Eli then makes his way across the camp to speak to Daniel (again in a very broad shot which feels very much like a man trespassing).

A conversation in the office follows, making use of camera angle to indicate the power struggle between these two men. Daniel makes no effort to stand and greet Eli upon his entrance but, like a king on a throne, remains seated. His facial expression and restrained use of words communicate contempt for his visitor.

The shot here does not even show Eli (who is speaking) in the frame: there is distance and tension between these two men. The oil worker to the right of the screen does not speak but takes up more space than Eli. Eli is not welcome here and though Daniel is looking up at Eli and agrees to have him bless the well, Daniel is clearly in the position of power (the dialogue in the scene is equally impressive and reminiscent of two men dueling). Eli gives unwanted instructions on how the blessing of the well should proceed and Eli even gives Daniel the words he would like said about him, “Before you begin, you should introduce me. You’ll see me walk up…and then you can say my name…and then you could say, ‘the proud son of these hills, who tended his father’s flock…and then you could say my name.” Daniel seems to agree to Eli’s terms but we will discover shortly that he has no such intention.

The following scene takes place at the blessing of the well and the camera tells us immediately that Daniel remains in a position of power; The camera shows him in a position above Eli indicating that he is running the show and we follow him down the steps of the derrick toward the people over which he wields power. Eli is seen lower in the shot (indicating his lack of power) seen just to the right of Daniel’s hat.

Eli is anticipating being honored in front of all of the townspeople. The opening of the well is the biggest event to ever happen in this small town and he desires to be center-stage, a move which he believes will strengthen his dominion over his personal kingdom. Daniel wants to rule with money and influence. Eli wants to rule through divine respect and awe. The camera then looks up at Eli as he awaits his “humble” introduction. Because the audience is looking up at Eli (the camera is just above belt level) we share in his (wrong) assumption that he is still in control—a smug smile on his face—believing that Daniel will honor him with the privilege of saying the blessing.

Eli may be thinking about how the infusion of money and people into the community will strengthen his position and build his church but he is soon to grasp that he has a manipulative adversary in Daniel Plainview. Instead of introducing Eli as the “the proud son of these hills” and inviting him to pray, Daniel brings up Eli’s sister Mary, calls her the “proud daughter of these hills” and skips the prayer all together. He then turns and walks back up the stairs, retaining his position of power. Eli is again seen in the background, head bowed and the people walking away from him, knowing he has been outwitted.

As much Daniel and Eli despise one another they also need one another. Daniel needs Eli because the people are deeply religious and without his approval there will be no workers for the well. Eli needs Daniel for the money and affluence he can bring to the town which will in turn help his church grow. This alliance involves no affection and in this scene Daniel makes his intentions clear to Eli. This is no public humiliation as the townspeople know nothing of Eli’s request, but it is a personal message from Daniel to Eli that he will not give up his ground easily.

We will now skip over two sections of the film. The first is a scene where Daniel (as if in response to Eli’s intrusion on his kingdom) intrudes into Eli’s family privacy and confront’s Eli’s father about apparent child abuse.

The second scene shows one of the oil workers dying in an accident (it is actually the man seen receiving the cloth cross earlier). Because of this Daniel has to go visit Eli’s church to make funeral arrangements. He arrives during a service in which Eli is apparently casting out a demon from an elderly woman. His approach to the church is reminiscent of Eli’s earlier approach to the oil well. He too enters in the jarring right to left direction while his “kingdom” of the oil camp is seen in the background.

The next shot, much like our opening shot, takes you through a boundary (the church doorway) as Daniel enters the church. He too initially refuses to take a seat and watches what he considers to be religious theatrics. Eli is shot from below, letting the audience (and Daniel) know whose kingdom it is in which we find ourselves, as he preaches and proceeds with the exorcism.

Daniel is plainly not impressed and considers the proceedings a charade. The people, however, seem to be under Eli’s spell. After the congregation departs Daniel approaches Eli ostensibly about the dead man but proceeds to again establish his power.

The shot shows them on even ground, face to face, with the oil camp lying between them. It’s as if the director wants us to know what is at stake. This is a tug of war and the oil camp is the battle ground. Eli suggests the death could have been avoided had he blessed the well and Daniel counters that the men aren’t rested because they are attending so many church services. They talk over one another and as the scene progresses, Daniel threateningly moves into Eli’s half of the screen, his body language reinforcing his menacing words; if the men aren’t rested even to work the well won’t produce oil and “blow gold all over the place.” Though it is never said, the message is clear; “we both want the money the well will produce and if you don’t comply with my wishes you won’t see any of it.”

The section of the film that we are dealing with here then comes to an end with two final scenes which show each man anxiously ruling over his kingdom. The first shows Daniel sitting on the porch of his camp office with his back to Eli’s church. He first casts an eye toward the setting sun and presumably the oil derrick—sitting and watching over that which he has built.

Then, in a brilliant reveal of Daniel’s insecurity, he leans back in his chair, and like a school boy checking out his enemies play fort, uses his spy glass to keep an eye on Eli.

Meanwhile, Eli supervises the building of the church addition, indicating that an uneasy alliance between these men has been built. Though the funeral scene was never shown he apparently complied with Daniel’s wishes and eased the people’s fear by speaking at the funeral. In turn the people keep attending church, working at the well and making “gold blow all over the place.” How do we know this? The church is expanding. Eli, though humbled through his encounters with Daniel, has played his cards well and the final scene shows him imagining himself preaching in the newly expanding sanctuary as the workers build in the background. It was this final shot that first made clear to me the battle of the kingdoms between the two men.

And thus ends the portion of There Will Be Blood that sets the stage for a conflict that ends in tragedy. So goes kingdom building of men who do not seek God.

Jesus warned us of this in Luke, chapter 12:

¹⁶And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. ¹⁷He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’
 ¹⁸“Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. ¹⁹And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.” ‘
²⁰“But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’

And so goes kingdom building in my own life (and likely yours). When it is my kingdom that I am building the focus inevitably becomes just that—“my kingdom.” And my kingdom has little use for you other than as a servant or means to an end.

We are meant to be kingdom builders, just not our own. We are meant to rule, just not alone. God invites us to rule alongside him but we don’t like the idea of power-sharing. Our attempts at kingdom building not only fail, but are an expression of our attempts to save our selves—the refusal to trust God and rely on our own solutions.

I am not meant to rule my own kingdom and every time I try it will only result in alienating others, isolating myself and create an environment based on fear and shame. When I seek to stake my own claim, increase my respect, build my own reputation, win my own fame it will always end in tragedy; maybe not murder of another person but eventually a murder of my ability to love.

And that is why we there must be blood. Jesus was not content to watch us self-destruct and so he stepped down off of his throne, laying aside his kingdom rights, and entered into to the kingdom of men. The result? His blood was poured out but it was not wasted like the blood in this film. It actually restored for us the right to reign alongside him in His kingdom.

~Travis Stewart