There Will Be Blood

An epic drama about an oilman consumed by obsession.

At the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, oil prospector Daniel Plainview (Daniel Day-Lewis) is steadily expanding his business. One day, a sharp young man named Paul (Paul Dano) shows up at his doorstep and sells Daniel a piece of information: there is oil on the ranch where his family lives. The ranch indeed proves rich in oil — and also reveals Paul’s brother, Eli (also Paul Dano), who is no less cunning. Eli begins squeezing money out of the oilman, demanding donations for his Church of the Third Revelation.

A flattering comparison has become common — There Will Be Blood is often called Anderson’s own Citizen Kane. The parallels are clear, but while Kane depicts a man who loses his soul as he rises, There Will Be Blood goes further — it tells the story of a man who never had a soul to begin with.

Winner of Oscars for Best Actor and Best Cinematography.