Analyzing Evil: Daniel Plainview From There Will Be Blood

Police officer: Keep your hands in plain view!
Kid named Daniel: ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

There's nothing mysterious about Daniel... He plainly stated his views and goals... He wanted enough power to tell the world to kiss his ass... It's why he goes off on his adopted son at the end... He's wounded that he views him as some different kind of person, and lashes out... Just like he terrorizes Dano's charachter at the end... He states that his twin went on to start his own modest oil business, and that he was fine with that, proud of him even... That's why he was so pissed at his son... He wasn't mad at his business descision, it was at his son's view of his charachter mentality... A kind of "How the hell could you NOT know who I am???"... Pushing him away was to save him from his wrath that he knows is inside him... Which he directed at Dano's charachter at the end... 2 birds... One bowling pin...

Of all these videos... I think you interpreted him opposite of his actual personality... i don't think he's anti religion, he's anti FRAUD... Eli is a fraud, his "brother" is a fraud, the bankers are frauds in their intentions... The young girls father, is a fraud, and Daniel never lets her be abused again, for ZERO GAIN, other than his son falling in love.... He's the only person in the movie who isn't FAKE... That, in a dog eat dog world, would anybody a cynical asshole... A sane man, in an insane world, is viewed as INSANE...

Dracula of 1920s

Phenomenal film, and an incredible performance by Daniel Day Lewis. One of the all time greats.😊

good video

Daniel Day-Lewis looks exactly like my father in this film and creeps me out to no end 😆

Ci sono commenti eccellenti che mi precedono, so solo che i giudizi morali non sono appropriati per definire e comprendere certe personalità. Ognuno di noi è figlio del proprio tempo e della propria storia e difficilmente siamo in grado di "scegliere" il nostro destino, auasi sempre siamo il portato della nostra storia, e questo vale anche per Plainwue, mi sento invece di dire che delineare una simile complessità è un'opera monumentale, che no ha eguali, per me, nella storia del cinema!! Grandioso Daniel Day Lewis, inarrivbile, e grande Paul Thomas Anderson!!!

Homo sapiens, late Pleistocene. Zero to homicidal in less than 2 seconds over family. Dutiful and fearless preservation of children. Aggressively competitive and contemptuous of those who pretend they are not.

You can't be diagnosed as a sociopath nor a psychopath. Antisocial personality disorder is heavily debated, should it be an umbrella disorder? Or a neurological one? Or as a spectrum? Debate goes on. I personally believe it's a spectrum. Many feel a misguided sense of morals or code, to which they pervert and excuse their actions and behaviors. Others feel nothing yet act appropriately, others feel nothing and simply live as as hedonists and sadists. All while people misrepresent what the aspd diagnosis is, just like narcissist personality disorder or depression and anxiety. I'd frankly add OCD and spewing alcoholic and addict out of their mouths, when they don't realize that the only diagnosis is SUD. Thanks for listening to my ramblings.

I personally like this character. A lot of people don’t know what it’s like to be at the top. And what it takes. That’s why they’re not at the top. But you can’t hate a character in fiction, and then vote for a real life one to be your president

I think the film is also neutral in its position of god. It doesn’t support the existence or the non existence and in many ways supports the notion that he should have had the well blessed to remove the curses set upon him, or maybe it was all just a coincidence

one thing i noticed is that whenever he does something morally ambiguous or wrong, the shots always place him on the left. when he does somthing good hes on the right of every shot

He is not a villain he is just a capitalist

Capitalism And Atheism the two Greatest Evils Men Have Ever Known It’s Interesting How Self Centered People Always Are Atheist And Advocate For Capitalism…….something to that

Eli is just as evil. He's just a coward

Plan and simple, Daniel was a misinhthrope. He also had sociopathic tendencies. The end made for a bitter old man who loved no one.

The fact the creator of this missed one major point! At the beginning he breaks his leg instead of going to get help he goes to get his money for the silver that speaks volumes about him that money was more then anything. Him losing his wife broke him every other act of “god” breaks him further there is good in him or it would be unwatchable he uses the oil fire to distract from the pain of his son he abandons his son because the pain of watching him disabled is to much to bear I think Eli is deep down more evil.

Daniel Day-Lewis deserved every award he could possibly win for this film. The complexity he brought to the character gives Daniel Plainview so many dimensions and angles, even some likability in spite of how evil and violent he is.

Daniel wasn't a good man corrupted by evil. Daniel wasn't an evil man whose exponential power and wealth exposed his evil to the world.

Daniel was a wolf.

I think the reason he hates Eli so much is because he attributes not just superstition and hypocrisy but because it allows him to blame Eli for callousness towards HW safety.

I think a big part of the hatred that Plainview felt for Eli was that he knew that Eli was full of shit, but all these people whose opinion of him matter for his success, believe Eli’s nonsense, and he is unable to call Eli out, lest he lose favor with the common people who he also dislikes, but needs their cooperation. Having to play along with a man, he considers to be a con artist, is humiliating to Plainview, but it also digs deeper at an unknown hypocrisy, in that Plainview himself is just as much of a con artist and manipulator.

The worst is more i'm advanced in age, more i understand Daniel Plainview.

What a bunch of commie nonsense. Danielle sees that profiteers are everywhere, whether they ate poor small town people or rich prospectors. He just has the prescience to forsee what benefits him and his son and moves to insure that he benefits from his actions.

In that case, I'm also evil

I guess PTA deserves some praise too, DDL is great no doubt but PTA's direction is one of the most beautiful thing in this movie.
Also Daniel loved his son truly cause when you watch the "Baptism Scene" you can see a pain and rage in Daniel's eyes when Eli constantly telling him he abandoned his child.

Daniel Day Lewis = Dutch Van Der Linde (RDR2)

I didn't see his character as evil at all. Maybe i'm evil.😃

Thanx

Ending was in 1929, according to your narration..

Given what Eli says in the scene,and the fact that This Movie could be a Depiction of one Very Small aspect of America’s first Guilded Age.. it Would Make Sense, that the Deranged, Ruthless, Capitalist Oilmen, met his metaphorical and/or literal end, just before the crash of 1929.

(I’m Assuming Daniel Plainview goes to prison for murder, at some point, after this scene..)

He wasn't the evil one, the preacher kid was the evil one... u didn't understand the movie at all ..

Daniel was a character that I knew I wasn’t supposed to like or respect. But I do. I see a guy that will stop at nothing get what he desires. He even wouldn’t let his own son’s injury stop him. But I see the whole world just trying to beat him down and it truly breaks him in many ways. But Eli, I can’t stand him. A small man that likes to rub any little success he gets in life in people’s faces. If Eli hadn’t come to talk to Daniel, even gloats a bit, he would have lived. I believe this story is about the sin of pride and how it can be used to destroy you in many ways.

H.W., the boy, isn't Daniel's son. The miner who dies early in the movie is the boy's father. Plainview is a complex character and speaks for itself. Reducing a personality like that to a handful of words like greedy, competitive and narcissistic is simplistic. You're motivation is clearly to ride the back of an incredible script and movie, an true piece of art. You're amateur at best.

My dad almost become a Daniel Plainview when he lost his business, going through a drinking binge that lasted years. Instead of lashing out emotionally, to the point of murder like in the film, my dad's body gave up first and now he lives with feet that are withering away due to gangrene. We did have to call the cops due to him throwing tantrums, but i dont think he has the energy to really do that now.

❤

I know im late to the party here and dont know if you read comments----I just wanted to say ive seen TWBB about 5-6 times (bc I love it so much and QT said it NEEDS to be re-watched several times, at least) and I absolutely loved your analysis. It is so well described, edited and thought through. You have a great voice, tone and delivery....not to mention a great use of vocabulary. Well done. I also subscribed. Thank you!

I dont agree that Daniel's tears for his false brother were out of remorse; I think they were betrayal, frustration, and self-pity. Daniel has a paradoxical desire for genuine compassion and love, while also hating almost everyone. His ideal companion would be a clone of himself that wouldnt compete against him.

He doesnt feel bad that he killed a man that he was close with, he feels bad because he THOUGHT he thought he had the connection he wanted, and it wasnt real.

Daniel isnt someone devoid of care or love or feelings. He just detests other people so much it seems that way.

I never got this film at all. Wouldn't recommend it to anybody. Daniel Day Lewis is so far up his own arse maybe some people like that kind of acting but me I just find it tedious.

I know daniel day lewis had been atound for awhile b 4 he hit it big but once he did it was almost there he was an bam now hes gone
He was truly fantastic in gangs of new york an this movie

Is Lewis the best of all time ? Must be up there

I find it interesting that in the same way Daniel refuses to attribute any of his success to fate, rather his actions alone, he is utterly incapable of realizing that his actions are the perpetual cause of his misery, which we as the audience realize he attributes to everything but himself.

Ironically, he also seems devoid of the consideration that his agony is a spiritual thing, even after his outpoor at the church, a point after which I personally was sad to see him decline since it seemed to be his act of true redemption in the story.
(Not to mention heavy literary symbolism)

I understand it’s insinuated that he does it only to purchase the land for his pipeline, but the scene was very powerful and it’s uncommon for people to have a baptism without experiencing some kind of internal revolution. The absence of this reaction in him is perhaps to further indicate his sociopathy and the spiritually reprehensible extremes he is willing to explore in order to obtain his wealth.

It’s common for men with great ambition to obtain everything they want and feel empty. This is because the purpose of men is to have communion with God, and so in his absence we really can’t be complete.

That to me is the major lesson in this film, which really is evident in its major character. This video brings me to a place of sadness and compassion for him

But what an extraordinary film! I recently watched it with my father. He’s no film guru but after the viewing he said to me “Michael, I bet you could take a class on that movie” boy was he right! a truly special film, big ups to Mr. Day Lewis he is a remarkable talent<3

Also WELL DONE on the video!! I’ve been trying to find more video essays on this film; this one is by far the best I’ve seen, keep up the good work:)

peace to my fellow film lovers I riff with this community<3

Previous comment aside though, narcissistic personality disorder isnt characterized by a complete incapacity for empathy though. And not all criteria need be met to qualify for the disorder.

I love this goddamn movie. I grew up among narcissists and the dynamic between the vulnerable narcissist antagonist and the grandiose narc brings up so many, recent and distant, memories.

What good is ones purse if they be poor in their heart?

"bastard from a basket" and the "I drink your milkshake!" speech are iconic parts from this movie.

Plainview is the genius embodiment of the type that destroyes the world today.

He wasn't Evil, he was The American Dream given corporeal form.
Take a stroll around your Capitol.

with regard to narcissism, I think addressing it at all detracts from the argument. If your theory of his villainy is that he's pathologically selfish, it would be better to simply present the evidence (which you also do, admirably well), and to let the audience draw the conclusion itself. Words with competing medical and colloquial definitions like narcissism or autism or ADHD or any of the popular diagnoses always sound more like conclusions one makes than evidence for an argument, and are better left mentioned rarely by the author, or not at all.

Daniel's character is the personification of the evolving American corporation. All the traits, all of the manipulation, beautifully acted by one of the greatest actors in film history.
The entire film experience changes when you view the main character from this point of view.
Excellent analysis of this underappreciated film masterpiece.

Every time I've heard of a band being accused of being industry plants they're an all-female group.

Daniel day Lewis is just an amazing actor and nobody could have pulled of this character like he did he is a one of a kind actor