There Will Be Blood

Daniel Plaintive’s Characterization through the Opening Sequence of There Will Be Blood. by: Nicholas Aufderhar

There Will Be Blood, directed by Paul Thomas Anderson Oscar-winning two thousand and seven film based on Upton Sinclair’s novel Oil!, ultimately must be described as a character piece. While overarching themes of consumption vs. religion, and the rise of American industry at the turn of the twentieth century are present within Anderson's two-hour and thirty-minute masterpiece, the film revolves around one man’s story. Daniel Plainview, played by Daniel Day-Lewis, is the central character in the film. Placed in the turn of the century American West, There Will Be Blood concentrates on Plainview’s life from adulthood to old age, revealing very little about his past. The film follows Daniel as he rises to achieve his ultimate goal “to make so much money, I (Daniel) can go away from everyone.” Daniel uses any means possible to accomplish his goal, including adopting a son so he can use the selling point of being a family man and being baptized, though he is not religious, for the pure means of buying a piece of land. Daniel lies, cheats, backstabs, humiliates, others and himself, and pillages his way to become an American tycoon. While the extent of Daniel's actions increases as the film moves forward, it can be argued that a complete portrait of Daniel, his character traits, and his subconscious desires is presented within the first sequence of the film. The opening sequence of There Will Be Blood is a seven-minute dialogue-less scene of Daniel alone, mining for silver. Through the cinematic techniques of shot selection, and editing, Anderson and his team, present Daniel as a single-minded, driven man-of-action, who will stop at nothing to accomplish his greedy goal.

From the very onset of There Will Be Blood the film understands the importance of the land in the development of Daniel Plainview. Nature vs. nurture is on display in the visual representation of the film. The filmmakers understand the influence the western locale has on a character, and what it means to live and survive in such a harsh environment. In a discussion on the Western film and the Western hero, Arthur Reddings points out that the Western figure must “re-adapt themselves to ever-changing environmental conditions, pioneers were forced to either adapt or perish“ (315). Daniel is most certainly a Western figure, he has struck out to the unclaimed western frontier, looking to make it rich. Anderson takes advantage of environmental conditions and this “adapt or perish” attitude when first presenting Daniel Plainview. The opening shot of the film is an extremely wide shot of the New Mexico hills, dry and lifeless with no sign of human civilization in sight (Figure One). In this bleak environment, the film introduces Daniel. The landscape shot situates Daniel in an almost inhabitable environment, he is alone not just surviving, but carving his place in the land. Daniel has separated himself from any type of community, he has wandered off into the dangerous and harsh wilderness in search of his treasure. The land looms over Daniel in an attempt to be an antagonist, but as any Western hero, Daniel, conquers the land, and he does more than adapt he thrives. Near the end of the opening sequence, Daniel falls down the pit hole mine and breaks his leg. Daniel, without the use of his leg, then climbs out of the mine and starts dragging himself towards the nearest town. The final shot in the opening sequence shows Daniel dragging himself through the dirt, the camera then cranes up to show the desolate hills, again emphasizing just how far from any civilization he is located (Figure Two).