Madeline
Taking place in the late 1800s, an “oil man”, as he calls himself, or Daniel Plainview, makes a fortune by taking advantage of the less fortunate by purchasing valuable land for a small amount, mining it for oil, and making a fortune at any cost and There Will Be Blood.
The opening scene of There Will Be Blood starts the tone. It shows the story of how Plainview got to where he is without a single word. Fifteen minutes of mining, and oil drilling, and death, and babies, and a lot of schmutz. You understand who he is, what he does, and how he got there. This part could have easily dragged on for over an hour, if there way dialog. But instead of being a long dragged on boring setup, instead, all the points are made and shown in a matter of minutes.
Although dialog is later added, there is a theme throughout the movie of leaving out drawn out scenes. And instead using exclamation point scenes that say all there is to be said.
As the story of There Will Be Blood goes on, you start hating the “oil man.” He cons people and even abandons his adopted son because he becomes deaf. Even when he “sees” god, it feels like an act just to get what he wants from the poor people of the town.
The actor that steals the show for me is Paul Dano. I know the face but not the name. Go ahead. Look at his IMDb linked above. I’ll wait. He has played some fantastic roles in some fantastic movies but none like this. He is acting with his whole body to the point where even on my tiny iPad screen, I found myself tensing up. His role in this movie is quite dramatic and he plays it well. And of course Daniel Day-Lewis is fantastic as always, playing the lead role of Plainview.
