There Will Be Blood 2007 Review: Daniel Day-Lewis Masterpiece Explained
There Will Be Blood 2007 review: plot explained, Daniel Plainview analysis, ending meaning, PTA direction. Why it’s best film of 2000s.
_H1: There Will Be Blood 2007 Review: "I Have a Competition in Me"_
_Quick Answer_: Paul Thomas Anderson’s 2007 period drama starring Daniel Day-Lewis and Paul Dano. 2h 38min R-rated. Made $76M on $25M budget. Loosely based on Upton Sinclair’s _Oil!_ Follows Daniel Plainview, silver miner turned oil tycoon in early 1900s California. Lone ambition, fake son, war with preacher Eli Sunday. No score for first 15 min, then Jonny Greenwood’s discordant strings. Won 2 Oscars for Day-Lewis and Cinematography. Not a movie, it’s an excavation.
_H2: There Will Be Blood Plot Summary - Oil, Faith, and Hatred_
_Opening_: 1898. Plainview mines silver alone. Leg breaks, crawls out. Sets tone: self-reliant, brutal.
_The Deal_: 1902. Hears of oil in Little Boston, California. Moves there with adopted son H.W., poses as family man to buy land cheap.
_The Conflict_: Clashes with Eli Sunday, young preacher who wants church cut of oil money. Plainview despises religion, people, everything.
_The Boom_: Oil strikes. Plainview gets rich, H.W. deafened in explosion. Relationship collapses.
_Ending_: 1927. Reclusive Plainview kills Eli in bowling alley during drunken confrontation. “I’m finished!”
_Keywords_: There Will Be Blood plot summary, Daniel Plainview analysis, Eli Sunday conflict, PTA 2007 film
_H2: There Will Be Blood Cast - Two Forces Colliding_
**Actor** **Character** **Why They’re Legendary**
**Daniel Day-Lewis** Daniel Plainview Method acting masterclass. Greedy, paranoid, tragic. Won Oscar.
**Paul Dano** Eli Sunday / Paul Sunday Preacher and his twin. Religious fervor vs fraud.
**Dillon Freasier** H.W. Plainview Adopted son. Silent victim of ambition.
**Kevin J. O’Connor** Henry Brands Plainview’s half-brother imposter.
**Ciarán Hinds** Fletcher Hamilton Landowner who sells to Plainview.
_Keywords_: There Will Be Blood cast, Daniel Day-Lewis Daniel Plainview, Paul Dano Eli Sunday, PTA cast
_H2: 5 Reasons There Will Be Blood Is a Modern Epic_
1. *Daniel Day-Lewis Performance*: Vanished into Plainview. Voice, posture, malice. One of best acting jobs ever filmed.
2. *Robert Elswit Cinematography*: Golden California landscapes, oil fires at night. Feels like painting in motion. Won Oscar.
3. *Jonny Greenwood Score*: Discordant, unsettling strings. Sounds like oil boiling underground. Not traditional score.
4. *PTA’s Direction*: No wasted shot. Every frame deliberate. 2h 38min feels mythic, not long.
5. *Capitalism as Horror*: Film isn’t about oil. It’s about what greed does to soul. Plainview ends alone, rich, empty.
_Box Office_: $76M worldwide. Nominated for 8 Oscars, won 2. Lost Best Picture to _No Country for Old Men_.
_Keywords_: Why is There Will Be Blood good, Daniel Day-Lewis Oscar, Jonny Greenwood score, PTA direction
_H2: There Will Be Blood Ending Explained - Milkshake and Hatred_
1. *The Bowling Alley Scene*: 1927. Drunk Plainview forces Eli to renounce God, calls him false prophet, beats him to death.
2. *“I Drink Your Milkshake!”*: Metaphor for stealing oil via slant drilling. Also metaphor for consuming everything around him.
3. *“I’m Finished!”*: Not just to Eli. Plainview admits he’s empty. No family, no faith, no peace.
4. *The Theme*: Capitalism and religion both corrupt. Plainview hates both, becomes both.
5. *The Ambiguity*: Is it tragedy or justice? Audience decides. Plainview gets what he wanted and hates it.
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_H2: Is There Will Be Blood Based on a True Story?_
Loosely based on Upton Sinclair’s 1927 novel _Oil!_
*Facts:*
1. *Fictional Characters*: Daniel Plainview and Eli Sunday are invented. Not real people.
2. *Historical Context*: Early 1900s California oil boom was real. Sinclair wrote about corruption in industry.
3. *Sinclair’s Politics*: Book was socialist critique. PTA made it character study, not political manifesto.
4. *No Real Eli*: Preacher character exaggerated for drama.
PTA: “It’s about the American myth of self-made man becoming monster.”
_Keywords_: Is There Will Be Blood true story, Upton Sinclair Oil novel, Daniel Plainview real person
_H2: Is There Will Be Blood Worth Watching in 2026?_
*Watch it if you like*: _The Master_, _Phantom Thread_, slow-burn epics, character studies, films about ambition. 2h 38min, but immersive.
*Skip it if you want*: Fast pace, likable protagonist, traditional plot. This is deliberate and bleak.
*Parent Guide*: Rated R. Violence, language, disturbing themes. 18+ recommended.
*Rewatch Value*: 9.5/10. Day-Lewis performance alone worth multiple watches.
*Where to Stream 2026*: Usually on Netflix, Paramount+, Max. 4K HDR essential for oil fire scenes.
_H2: Movies Like There Will Be Blood_
If you want greed + religion + American myth:
1. *The Master 2012* - PTA, cult leader and follower.
2. *Phantom Thread 2017* - PTA, obsession and control.
3. *Gangs of New York 2002* - Scorsese, ambition and violence.
4. *The Assassination of Jesse James 2007* - Myth and betrayal.
5. *The Northman 2022* - Eggers, vengeance and myth.
_Keywords_: movies like There Will Be Blood, Paul Thomas Anderson filmography, best Daniel Day-Lewis movies, American epic films
_H2: Final Verdict: 9.4/10 - American Capitalism as Tragedy_
_There Will Be Blood_ is PTA saying the American Dream eats itself. Daniel Day-Lewis doesn’t act, he possesses. Brutal, beautiful, unforgettable.
*Rating: 9.4/10*. Best performance of 2000s.
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Paul Thomas Anderson, Daniel Day-Lewis, Paul Dano, oil, capitalism, religion, 1900s California, period drama, Oscar winner, American episode.
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