Re-review

Last night I watched There Will Be Blood for the second time. After my first viewing months ago I was not sure how I felt about it. I think the ending left me with a very sour taste for the film but as time went by, I kept thinking about the rest of the story and realized how much I liked it. Well, after the second viewing, here are some thoughts:

If you leave out the last 10 minutes of the film (from when Eli visits Daniel), then this is a great movie. I absolutely love the story of greed and the deceitfulness that inevitably goes with it. I think I saw more of that aspect last night than I did the first time. The only problem I still have with the story is that there is no redeeming value to Daniel Plainview, despite evidence here and there to the contrary.

Now I know that there are supposed to be all these analogies and allegories about Plainview representing capitalism and Eli representing religion and how the two are opposed to one another and blah blah blah. But I don’t watch movies, nor do I read books in this way. For me, that’s a quick way to ruin a great story. For me, Daniel Plainview simply represents himself, and I felt great sympathy for him. He is indeed capable of love. But he too often he pushes those he loves away. We see that when he finds the picture of his real brother, and of course in the great “I’ve abandoned my boy!” scene in the church.

So, I guess I really do love this movie but perhaps not in the ways I’m “supposed” to. Maybe that’s why the ending, with his son leaving him, left me so empty. I had built up so much sympathy for Daniel only to hate him for what he said. (By the way, I think he was lying. Of course he loved H.W.) But life isn’t about happy endings. And greed, power, hate, and even religion too often get in the way of love.

Now, the last 10 minutes were so stupid and pointless that I don’t even want to write about it here. But I will if anyone wants to discuss.

-Reid

~ by Reid on May 1, 2008.