SCREEN IT! PARENTAL REVIEW: THERE WILL BE BLOOD

"THERE WILL BE BLOOD"
(2007) (Daniel Day-Lewis, Paul Dano) (R)

Alcohol/ Drugs	Blood/Gore	Disrespectful/ Bad Attitude	Frightening/ Tense Scenes	Guns/ Weapons
Heavy	Heavy	Extreme	Moderate	Heavy

Imitative Behavior	Jump Scenes	Music (Scary/Tense)	Music (Inappropriate)	Profanity
Moderate	Minor	Heavy	None	*Mild

Sex/ Nudity	Smoking	Tense Family Scenes	Topics To Talk About	Violence
Mild	Extreme	Heavy	Moderate	Extreme

QUICK TAKE:: Drama: A charismatic but antisocial man must contend with various obstacles as tries to build his business and turn himself into an early 20th century oil tycoon.

PLOT:

Years after accidentally discovering oil while prospecting for silver at the turn of the 20th century, the charismatic yet antisocial Daniel Plainview (DANIEL DAY-LEWIS) has made a tidy profit for himself, yet yearns for even more. With the aide of employees such as Fletcher Hamilton (CIARAN HINDS), and using his own adopted son, H.W. (DILLON FREASIER), as a family-friendly prop to convince land owners to sell to him, Daniel is looking to turn himself into an oil tycoon and thus compete with the likes of Standard Oil.

His latest project is in a small California town where young evangelical preacher Eli Sunday (PAUL DANO) holds sway over the residents. The two men clash over what they believe in, but share the similarity of using manipulation to gain more power for themselves.

As Daniel contends with him, an injury to H.W., and the arrival of Henry Brands (KEVIN J. O'CONNOR) who claims he's his half-brother and wants a job, the oil man attempts to buy land in order to build a pipeline that will carry his product to the sea and thus allow him to undercut his competition.

WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT?: Older teens might be interested, but unless anyone is a fan of someone in the cast, it doesn't seem too likely.

WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: R: For some violence.

CAST AS ROLE MODELS:: DANIEL DAY-LEWIS plays a charismatic, but antisocial oil man who will do or say most anything to continue building his empire. Only looking out for himself, he uses others (including his son), drinks, smokes, and kills several people.
PAUL DANO plays a young, evangelical preacher who wants to use the money that Daniel is bringing into the town to build and strengthen his church and congregation. Also power hungry, he clashes with Daniel and tries to manipulate him and others for his own gain.
DILLON FREASIER plays Daniel's son who doesn't realize his adoptive father is using him solely as a prop to further his business interests and greed. After he loses his hearing in an accident, he then sees his father's true colors.
KEVIN J. O'CONNOR plays a man who shows up, claims to be Daniel's half-brother, and wants a job. He drinks and visits a brothel, but must contend with Daniel's suspicion of him.
CIARAN HINDS plays Daniel's loyal employee who does his bidding and occasionally smokes.; PAUL DANO plays a young, evangelical preacher who wants to use the money that Daniel is bringing into the town to build and strengthen his church and congregation. Also power hungry, he clashes with Daniel and tries to manipulate him and others for his own gain.
DILLON FREASIER plays Daniel's son who doesn't realize his adoptive father is using him solely as a prop to further his business interests and greed. After he loses his hearing in an accident, he then sees his father's true colors.
KEVIN J. O'CONNOR plays a man who shows up, claims to be Daniel's half-brother, and wants a job. He drinks and visits a brothel, but must contend with Daniel's suspicion of him.
CIARAN HINDS plays Daniel's loyal employee who does his bidding and occasionally smokes.; DILLON FREASIER plays Daniel's son who doesn't realize his adoptive father is using him solely as a prop to further his business interests and greed. After he loses his hearing in an accident, he then sees his father's true colors.
KEVIN J. O'CONNOR plays a man who shows up, claims to be Daniel's half-brother, and wants a job. He drinks and visits a brothel, but must contend with Daniel's suspicion of him.
CIARAN HINDS plays Daniel's loyal employee who does his bidding and occasionally smokes.; KEVIN J. O'CONNOR plays a man who shows up, claims to be Daniel's half-brother, and wants a job. He drinks and visits a brothel, but must contend with Daniel's suspicion of him.
CIARAN HINDS plays Daniel's loyal employee who does his bidding and occasionally smokes.; CIARAN HINDS plays Daniel's loyal employee who does his bidding and occasionally smokes.

CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO

HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE

Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit?
Then read OUR TAKE of this film.

(Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below).

OUR WORD TO PARENTS:

The following is a brief summary of the content found in this R-rated drama. Profanity consists of a handful of expletives, while some religious and colorful phrases are also uttered. Some brief, sexually related dialogue is present, as is a brief scene set at a brothel (where a man asks another for some money - presumably for sex - and some brief making out is seen in the background).

Violence consists of several murders (one with bloody results), as well as some accidental deaths and injuries, as well as the striking of others. Some of that might be unsettling or suspenseful to viewers, while various characters have varying degrees of bad attitudes. Characters smoke and/or drink, tense family material is present, and some behavior might be enticing for some kids to imitate (including putting liquor in young children's milk).

If you're still concerned about the film and its appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home who may be interested in seeing it, we suggest that you take a closer look at our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content.

For those concerned with bright flashes of light on the screen, there's some flicker from a campfire.

For those prone to visually induced motion sickness, there's some bouncy camerawork in the film.

ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE: Daniel pours whiskey into a baby bottle for young H.W.
Daniel drinks from a flask and later appears to be passed out on the floor.
Daniel pours liquor into milk and makes his son guzzle that down (to go to sleep).
Daniel and Henry have drinks.
Daniel and others drink.
Daniel talks of getting liquored up and taking women to a dance.
Henry may be drunk at a brothel.
After killing a man, Daniel drinks a lot from a flask.
Daniel orders whiskey with his meal in a saloon where others also drink. He then drinks another man's whiskey.
Daniel has a drink.
Daniel is drunk and then passed out.
Daniel slaps himself on the back of his own head and then drinks from a flask.
Eli visits Daniel and then makes drinks for both of them, but then has both drinks for himself.

BLOOD/GORE: We see a flashback to an oil drilling accident where a big metal pipe falls and lands on a worker. We then see the body being pulled out, covered in oil, mud and/or blood.
Daniel slaps Eli, and then does so again several more times, knocking him to the ground and slightly bloodying his face.
Daniel grabs a man and then throws bowling balls and pins at him. He then hits him on the back with one, and then proceeds to strike him repeatedly with that. We don't see the impact, but do see blood splatter elsewhere, and then a large pool of blood on the floor next to the dead victim.

DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE: Daniel pours whiskey into a baby bottle for young H.W.
Daniel will do or say most anything to gain access to oil-rich fields, including selling himself as a family man (using H.W. as a prop -- which seems genuine at first, but becomes clear as the plot progresses). In relation to that, he states that his wife died in childbirth (while H.W. was the infant of another worker who was killed in an accident, with Daniel unofficially adopting the boy).
Daniel lies that he and H.W. have arrived to hunt quail and just need a place to stay on the Sunday ranch, when they're really scoping out the place for oil.
H.W. says that a young girl, May, told him that her father (also Eli's father) beats her if she doesn't pray.
To show his power over him, Daniel doesn't allow Eli to deliver the blessing for the oil drilling (after Eli asked to be the one to deliver that), and instead allows someone else.
Daniel tells Eli that oil men don't have time for religion and oil (some viewers might not like that mindset/sentiment).
Daniel is worried about H.W. after he's injured in an oil rig accident and rushes him to safety. However, he then puts the structure's viability ahead of his son and leaves him with someone else as he goes to deal with that matter.
Eli tells his father, "You're a stupid man, Able." He then climbs over the table to attack his father, knocking and then pinning him to the floor, causing the old man pain.
Daniel pours liquor into milk and makes his son guzzle that down (to go to sleep).
Daniel is competitive and hates most people.
H.W. sets fire to a cabin, with Daniel then chasing, grabbing and then carrying the boy.
Daniel tells an oil man that he will find him and cut his throat.
Spoiler Alert: Henry admits that he lied to Daniel and has been posing as Daniel's half-brother who earlier died of tuberculosis. Daniel then kills that man.
After H.W. (as a young man) states that he wants to start his own oil company in Mexico, Daniel is not happy. His anger and displeasure grow, with Daniel then telling H.W. he was an orphan and that Daniel needed a sweet face (as a prop) to buy land from others.
Daniel wants Eli to say that he (Eli) is a false prophet and that God is a superstition (to humiliate Eli and his beliefs), all after Eli comes asking for his oil money. He then says that Eli is afterbirth "that slid out of your mother's mess."
Daniel kills another man.

FRIGHTENING SCENES: Scenes listed under "Violence" might also be unsettling or suspenseful to younger viewers and/or those with low tolerance levels for such material.
While prospecting for silver, Daniel plants dynamite in a vertical shaft. While pulling his gear up with a rope, the dynamite goes off before expected. When part of the ladder structure breaks, he ends up falling down the shaft, first hitting the wall and then the ground hard, injuring his leg. He then laboriously pulls himself out, all while in a great deal of pain.
An oil rig explodes, blowing H.W. off a tower and onto an adjacent roof. He lands hard, and most of his hearing is gone. Oil then spurts out and catches on fire, sending flames shooting skyward, while the structure also catches on fire and eventually collapses.
Realizing he's been lied to, Daniel holds a pistol on another man. He then holds that man's head and then shoots him dead (no blood) and then buries him.
Daniel grabs a man and then throws bowling balls and pins at him. He then hits him on the back with one, and then proceeds to strike him repeatedly with that. We don't see the impact, but do see blood splatter elsewhere, and then a large pool of blood on the floor next to the dead victim.

GUNS/WEAPONS: Daniel carries a rifle while prospecting.
Daniel and his son fire rifles while faking that they're hunting quail.
Lots of dynamite is used to cap an oil fire, while Daniel earlier uses some while prospecting for silver.
H.W. finds something involving pistols and Henry.
Realizing he's been lied to, Daniel holds a pistol on another man. He then holds that man's head and then shoots him dead (no blood) and then buries him.
Daniel shoots things in his mansion.

IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR: Phrases: "One G*ddamn hell of a show," "I'm going to bury you underground," "You're a stupid man," "You're lazy and you're stupid," "I'm your brother from another mother," "Don't be thick in front of me," "You look like a fool," "You're lower than a bastard," "Bastard from a basket" and "You sniveling ass."
Daniel pours whiskey into a baby bottle for young H.W.
Daniel pours liquor into milk and makes his son guzzle that down (to go to sleep).
H.W. sets fire to a cabin, with Daniel then chasing, grabbing and then carrying the boy.
Daniel shoots things in his mansion.

JUMP SCENES: A sudden sound might startle some viewers late in the film.

MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE): There are heavily dramatic and ominous chords, but nothing tense or scary occurs with most of them.

MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE): None.

PROFANITY: At least 1 ass, 1 hell, and 3 uses of "G-damn."

SEX/NUDITY: We see Daniel and Henry shirtless at and in the ocean.
Henry may be drunk at a brothel where he asks Daniel for money (we see miscellaneous making out, out of focus, in the background of the shot).
As part of his evangelical baptism speech, Eli states that Daniel has lusted after women.
After Eli comes asking for his oil money, Daniel says that Eli is afterbirth "that slid out of your mother's mess."

SMOKING: Daniel smokes around 10 times (pipes and cigarettes), Fletcher smokes several times, and various minor and miscellaneous characters also smoke.

TENSE FAMILY SCENES: H.W.'s real father is killed in a drilling accident, but the boy is just an infant and doesn't realize that (with Daniel then unofficially adopting the boy).
H.W. says that a young girl, May, told him that her father (also Eli's father) beats her if she doesn't pray.
Daniel is worried about H.W. after he's injured in an oil rig accident and rushes him to safety. However, he then puts the structure's viability ahead of his son and leaves him with someone else as he goes to deal with that matter.
Eli tells his father, "You're a stupid man, Able." He then climbs over the table to attack his father, knocking and then pinning him to the floor, causing the old man pain.
Henry arrives, claiming to be Daniel's half-brother with news that their father is dead (from 3 months ago).
H.W. sets fire to a cabin, with Daniel then chasing, grabbing and then carrying the boy.
Realizing he's a liability, Daniel leaves H.W. on a train, with Fletcher then grabbing the boy to prevent him from getting off the train after Daniel does.
When they're reunited (after Daniel sent the boy off to a school for the deaf), Eli slaps and tries to hit his father.
After H.W. (as a young man) states that he wants to start his own oil company in Mexico, Daniel is not happy. His anger and displeasure grow, with Daniel then telling H.W. he was an orphan and that Daniel needed a sweet face (as a prop) to buy land from others.

TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT: The oil business now and then.
Daniel's idea of building a pipeline to take his oil to the coast rather than use the railroad (thus cutting that associated cost out of his business).
Daniel promises the benefits of oil (running water, a school, etc.) to the locals to persuade them to allow him to set up his oil operation on their land.
Deafness and sign language.

VIOLENCE: While prospecting for silver, Daniel plants dynamite in a vertical shaft. While pulling his gear up with a rope, the dynamite goes off before expected. When part of the ladder structure breaks, he ends up falling down the shaft, first hitting the wall and then the ground hard, injuring his leg. He then laboriously pulls himself out, all while in a great deal of pain.
While buckets of oil are lifted out of a vertical shaft, part of the structure breaks, with a big piece falling and hitting at least one person down in the oil-filled bottom.
We see a flashback to an oil drilling accident where a big metal pipe falls and lands on a worker. We then see the body being pulled out, covered in oil, mud and/or blood.
An oil rig explodes, blowing H.W. off a tower and onto an adjacent roof. He lands hard, and most of his hearing is gone. Oil then spurts out and catches on fire, sending flames shooting skyward, while the structure also catches on fire and eventually collapses.
Daniel slaps Eli, and then does so again several more times, knocking him to the ground and slightly bloodying his face. He then grabs him by the hair and drags him across the ground into some oil.
Eli tells his father, "You're a stupid man, Able." He then climbs over the table to attack his father, knocking and then pinning him to the floor, causing the old man pain.
H.W. sets fire to a cabin, with Daniel then chasing, grabbing and then carrying the boy.
Realizing he's been lied to, Daniel holds a pistol on another man. He then holds that man's head and then shoots him dead (no blood) and then buries him.
As part of his ritual of baptizing Daniel, Eli slaps Daniel.
When they're reunited (after Daniel sent the boy off to a school for the deaf), Eli slaps and tries to hit his father.
Daniel shoots things in his mansion.
Daniel grabs a man and then throws bowling balls and pins at him. He then hits him on the back with one, and then proceeds to strike him repeatedly with that. We don't see the impact, but do see blood splatter elsewhere, and then a large pool of blood on the floor next to the dead victim.

Reviewed December 3, 2008 / Posted January 4, 2008

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