Let me begin with the respect I have for Daniel Day-Lewis (
DDL). While I am not versed in movies as much as other contributors to the site, I do know that
DDL does not take too many roles. Since 1980, he has only appeared in 27 productions. And only ten since his heralded The Last Of the
Mohicans (1992). Obviously he is a man of quality and values, similar to the role he played in There Will Be Blood.
DDL plays Daniel
Plainview, an
unscroupoulous Oil Tycoon in the late 19
th and early 20
th US centuries. Working his way through early exploration in Texas, Daniel
Plainview transfers his knowledge of drilling into wealth through tips on unexplored land and underhanded deals. His obsession with wealth unmasks his inner beast.
The first thing I noticed about the Daniel
Plainview character was that his only business partner was his 8 year old son H.W.
Plainview (the name
HW is classic early American trend into the upper class). Having a son by his side knowing his dealings just showed how much
Plainview did not trust humanity. He is the ultimate
cynicist. My question became, why? I wanted to know what happened to this man that he trusted no one.
When
HW suffers from complete hearing loss in a calamitous oil drilling accident, Daniel's heart breaks for all of two minutes. Another disturbing trait. In what made
HW deaf, Daniel find
exhilarating. After securing his son, he is delighted to know that below a
fiery rig, lies millions of gallons of oil. With
HW losing his hearing, his own son becomes a
burden. In Daniel's eyes his son becomes non
existant. He cannot rely on him in any way and always needs special care for him.
HW becomes so enraged that at one point he tries to kill Daniel
Plainview and his would-be long lost brother.
Plainview eventually commits the ultimate atrocity when he coaxes his son into getting on a train and leaves him behind.
Soon after he deserted his son, Daniel transform his wealthy into power. He kills, undermines his neighbors, and
assaults Paul
Dano, who plays the role of Eli Sunday, a young radical preacher. Daniel's anger towards Eli comes when the preacher is looking for more funds for the church but had not even attempted to heal his deaf son through the Lord. When
Plainview discovers a stretch of land that can be used to transport his oil, his it owned by a faithful servant of God. The only way Daniel can gain access to the land is through the church which happens to have Eli as its pastor. Now Daniel will convert to the church although he does not have a faith and is clearly doing this for financial gain. Eli exposes Daniel as a man of sin who has killed and abandoned his son. Eventually he brings
HW back to live with him as a way to repent. He does all this as an act for his own benefit.
After Daniel attains the land access his wealth is elevated to
extraordinary level. He is surrounded by material items but has nothing of sentimental value or happiness. In my opinion the best part of the movie comes when
HW (now in his late twenties/early
thirties) tells his father that he is starting his own oil company in Mexico. Daniel sees this as a threat He insults his son and his son's interpreter and reveals a secret that causes great hurt but much satisfaction for
HW.
The movie's ending is
extraordinary, as Daniel uses the power of money to make Eli deny his own faith. I give this movie a GUILTY (which means i liked it very much). Superb acting on most occasions. I say most because Paul
Dano squealing in his preacher scenes gets annoying.
DDL is great, as usual. I would recommend it to anyone who does not have ADD. At times it slows down but if you pay attention and appreciate the story, it is well worth seeing, multiple times.
