![]() ![]() This set takes a pastime accessible to many – bowling – and elevates it to an otherworldly, wealthy pursuit by making it private, empty and devoid of emotion.Everything feels closely attuned in order to speak to the story and its themes. This production design elevates the scene for a number of reasons. Something feels off and claustrophobic as Eli arrives to speak with Plainview. ![]() The “ I Drink Your Milkshake” scene takes place in an unusual space, a spacious private bowling alley. Production design is something that screenwriters should consider in their script writing. With this knowledge though, one can see the additional layers of meaning Anderson weaves into this final scene. Without this foreknowledge, the “I Drink Your Milkshake” scene still works as a feat of dramatic tension, if bordering on farce. So all this has pushed Daniel into decline. This causes HW to walk out on him, also threatening to compete with him business-wise. Since then, Plainview has revealed that HW was just a “bastard from a basket” and not his son. Previously, Eli had publicly humbled Plainview by confronting him about abandoning his son, HW. Eli’s character personifies an unhealthy relationship between religion and American wealth and capitalism. The “ I Drink Your Milkshake” scene shows the confrontation between Plainview and Eli Sunday, a preacher whose church resides on a neighbouring oil field. His hubris, together with the toll of his sacrifice, has turned him into a barely functioning alcoholic. Plainview’s private hurt is revealed in his fondness for destructive, hurtful language. In this process, he has alienated those closest to him. Plainview has moved from tenacious trailblazer to rich, successful oil tycoon. “Scene Analysis: There Will Be Blood’s Baptism Scene.” Cognitarium, BlogSpot, 16 July 2012, /2012/07/ Milkshake scene is the finale of There Will be Blood. “There Will Be Blood.” Senses of Cinema, 30 June 2015, / 2015/cteq/there-will-be-blood/. Anderson also uses lighting to clearly show the audience which man has the power in the scene.įidler, John. Anderson conveys this message by using parallels between scenes in the movie where the power role is switched between the two each time. To conclude, Daniel and Eli are both power-hungry men who consistently battle for power. Anderson communicates the long standing one-upmanship between Eli and Daniel by constantly reversing the power roles between the two. This scene is a parallel to Daniel’s baptism scene, however, the power roles have since been reversed. Eli reluctantly admits this, which signifies him submitting to Daniel and accepting Daniel’s power over him. ![]() In this scene, Daniel is standing above Eli and promises to pay him as soon as he confesses that he is a false prophet and god is a superstition. The last scene of the movie is set decades after the baptism scene, and Eli is visiting Daniel at Daniel’s mansion. Daniel proceeds, with hesitation, to say: “I am a sinner.” It is obvious that Eli has the power in this scene because Daniel is kneeling next to Eli, and is also forced to say something he does not want to say. During the baptism scene, Eli tells Daniel to kneel and confess his sins. Next, Anderson uses parallels spread throughout the movie to expand on the power struggle between Eli and Daniel. In summary, Anderson uses lighting in Daniel’s baptism scene to display Eli’s power in the scene and Daniel’s lack of control over Eli. Daniel, on the other hand, is shown in a darker and cooler light to minimize his presence in the church, and to put forth his frustrated emotions because he does not have control over the situation. Since Eli is speaking with passion in front of the members of his church, and has a moment to speak down on Daniel he is shown in a warmer and more positive light. Daniel is not looking at Eli, and the lighting has a cooler and more of a blue hue to it. The camera cuts to Daniel in the congregation and the change in lighting is sudden. The sunlight behind Eli warms up the frame to give him a god-like presence. As Eli is speaking to the congregation, he is backlit by the cross-shaped window, “giving him an almost holy aura” (Cognitarium). Anderson uses lighting and parallels of Daniel Plainview and Eli Sunday to enhance the fact that both men take advantage of others in order to assert their power and to get what they want.Īnderson uses lighting in Daniel’s baptism scene to assert Eli’s power over him. Plainview is an ambitious, manipulative oilman, while Sunday is an evangelical and hopeful preacher at his own church- the Church of the Third Revelation. The film, There Will Be Blood, directed by Paul Thomas Anderson in 2007 conveys a constant power struggle between the central characters: Eli Sunday, and Daniel Plainview. ![]()
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