“There Will Be Blood” is a loose adaptation of the Upton Sinclair book “Oil!.” Sinclair is a harsh critic of capitalism and a profound proponent of socialism. Maybe the original “Oil!” is more typical of Sinclair but the film adaptation does not strike me as a condemnation of capitalism that one would expect. Many will come away from seeing the film with a different view than I and see capitalism as the villain and harbinger of evil but I think this view is naive and superficial. In fact, I believe this adaptation is so loose that the movie has more in common with Ayn Rand than it does with Upton Sinclair. “There Will Be Blood” is a story bestowing the virtues of self-reliance and family while being harshly critical of “second-handers,” parasites, and those looking to ride the wave of another’s expertise. The films hero’s are not characters virtues of self-reliance and family. The characters play out this interpretation throughout the film, the self-reliant survive while the dependent perish or falter with family providing purpose and direction.
Those riding the coattails of Daniel Plainville’s expertise fail in their quest or meet a premature end by his hands. From the opportunistic preacher, to the carpetbagger oil company, to the con-man “brother,” each is a parasite or “second-hander.” On the other hand, H.W. Plainview and Paul Sunday are the success stories. They stake their own claim and forge ahead on their own merits to make a mark as individuals. Daniel Plainview himself is an interesting contradiction. Although he is the picture rugged individualism, determination and true grit, he is ultimately driven insane by his very human need to share his accomplishments with family, the one piece of success he is unable to achieve. His demise is due to loneliness despite his success but not an inevitable result of it.
The Parasites – The film is harsh on those looking to get a free ride from the expertise and work of Plainview. The most obvious example of this is depicted through the evangelical preacher Eli Sunday. We first meet Eli in his home when Daniel Plainview arrives to make an offer and purchase the Sunday’s land. Plainview makes an offer without mention of the potential riches beneath the soil. Eli Sunday knows of the oil and works Plainview to up his offer. Plainview counters this by directly confronting Eli with reality. The land may have great potential but it has zero value if you cant get to the oil. “Who is going to get to it Eli, you?” Eli knows he will get nothing without the knowledge and experience of Plainview and accepts the offer. Eli leverages his new wealth into a church that he uses to swindle the local population by claiming to be a faith healer. Eli cannot exist without Plainview and the ignorance of the townspeople and clearly represents parasite that should be despised.
Eli meets his demise by the hands of Daniel Plainview in a dramatic final scene. Many years later Eli comes to Daniel’s home in a continuance of his parasitic nature. Eli has squandered his radio evangelist fortunes in the stock market. His fiscal failure is yet another example of Eli’s leaching off the accomplishments of others. We witness Eli denounce himself as a false profit before prostrating himself for yet another handout from Plainview. We see that the parasite cannot survive without the host.
Anther parasite is the Standard Oil Company. An entity that built a fortune on the accomplishments of others. Standard Oil offers to purchase Daniel Plainview’s land tracks for 1 million dollars after it is apparent he has struck an “ocean of oil.” Daniel refuses the offer and makes specific reference to the parasitic nature of Standard Oil. Daniel opines on how Standard does not “scratch around” in the dirt for the oil and only buys others hard-fought claims.
Daniel Plainview’s long lost “brother,” Henry is an important character as a parasitic example as well as providing more insight into Plainview’s need for family. Daniel determines the “brother” to be a fraud and a con man and kills him. Henry is shown asking Daniel for money hours before his death. Henry was a friend of Daniel’s actual brother but stole his story in an effort to leach off the success of Plainview. Daniel quickly brought Henry into the business in an effort to share his success with family. Daniel originally wanted to share his success with his adopted son H.W. but when he becomes aware of actual kin, he proves blood is thicker than water. Daniel opens up to Henry of his desire to build a home to live out his days with family. Daniel gets the home but never the family to fill it.
The Winners – The characters that venture out from Denial Plainview and make their own claim, survive and even flourish. There are two examples of this, Paul Sunday and H.W. Plainview. Paul Sunday is the brother of Eli the parasite. Paul sells Daniel the lead that leads to Daniel’s fortunes. We find out in the final scene that Paul took the money he received from Daniel and used it to start his own oil venture. His venture allows him to be independent of Plainview and survive on his own merits. H.W Plainview also ventures out on his own by leaving the shadow of his father and staking a claim in Mexico as an oilman with his own company. H.W. is able to achieve the one thing his father could not…family. H.W. marries his childhood friend and with her plans on building his own company. Daniel sees this success and is further driven into madness and loneliness. He sees the departure of his son not only as a betrayal but also he envies his success and loathes H.W. because of it.
“There Will Be Blood” is a parable for self-reliance and the importance of family. With self-reliance and hard work one can achieve fortune but fortune in the absence of family is not success.