The Ending Let us preface this by saying that Daniel Day-Lewis as Daniel Plainview is arguably the finest performance to have hit screens since 2000. Day-Lewis faultlessly portrays the life of a tyrant as he grows increasingly uncompromising, ruthless and deranged as the years pass on. By the close of the film having murdered the imposter that had for months impersonated his estranged brother Henry and having severed ties with his adopted son H.W., Plainview is left wallowing in drunken isolation surrounded by the trophies of his wealth which provide no solace. An altercation with local pastor and long-time nemesis Eli leads to the man of God having his head beaten in with a bowling pin. Depressing because Though he may not seem like it, Daniel Plainview is a real person. Well; not literally, but everybody knows that the economic juggernaut that is modern America is what it is today thanks to the ruthless pursuit of capital as typified by Plainview. Its no coincidence that megalomanic business giants such as Charles Foster Kane, Sam Ace Rothstein and C. Montgomery Burns are so prevelent in fiction. There Will Be Blood is a stark, visceral reminder of the countless attrocities commited to improve the bottom line. Its scary how the selfishness of but a few individuals can affect the lives of whole communities. A Silver-Lining? Daniel Plainviews lifetime of greed and selfishness brings him nothing but grief and loneliness. His final utterance of Im finished is that of a broken man. Justice is served.
Hailing from South East London, Sam Heard is an aspiring writer and recent graduate from the University of Warwick. Sam's favourite things include energy drinks, late nights spent watching the UFC with his girlfriend and annihilating his friends at FIFA.
