There Will Be Blood poster

There Will Be Blood

2007158 minutesR
5.4
Arcplot Score
📝 Unconventional
Unverified
⭐ 8.2IMDb
🍅 91%Rotten Tomatoes
Ⓜ️ 93/100Metacritic
🎬 8.1TMDb
📊 7.2Popularity
🏆Won 2 Oscars. 114 wins & 138 nominations total
Genre: Drama
Directed by: Paul Thomas Anderson
The intersecting life stories of Daniel Plainview and Eli Sunday in early twentieth century California is presented. Miner turn oilman Daniel Plainview is a driven man who will do whatever it takes to achieve his goals. He works hard but he also takes advantage of those around him at their expense if need be. His business partner is his son H.W., who in reality he "acquired" when H.W.'s biological single father, who worked on one of Daniel's rigs, got killed in a workplace accident. Daniel is deeply protective of H.W. if only for what H.W. brings to the partnership. Eli Sunday is one in a pair of twins, whose family farm Daniel purchases for the major oil deposit located on it. Eli, the local preacher and a self-proclaimed faith healer, wants the money from the sale of the property to finance his own church. The lives of the two competitive men often clash as Daniel pumps oil off the property and tries to acquire all the surrounding land at bargain prices to be able to build a pipeline to the coast, and as Eli tries to build his own religious empire.

Box Office

Budget:$25.0M
Revenue:$77.2M
Profit:$52.2M

Arcplot Score Breakdown

Beat Timing Precision3.7/10
Emotional Arc Impact5.5/10
Thematic Consistency7/10
Overall Score5.4/10

Beat Sheet

15 plot points

There Will Be Blood Arcplot
1
Opening Image
1 min
2
Theme Stated
10 min
3
Set-Up
25 min
4
Catalyst
40 min
5
Debate
55 min
6
Break Into Two
70 min
7
B Story
85 min
8
Fun and Games
100 min
9
Midpoint
115 min
10
Bad Guys Close In
130 min
11
All Is Lost
145 min
12
Dark Night of the Soul
150 min
13
Break Into Three
155 min
14
Finale
157 min
15
Final Image
158 min

Emotional Arc

+100-10

Plot Points

#1

Opening Image

1 min

1902. Daniel Plainview searching for silver in remote California. Harsh landscape, isolation, ambition beginning.

#2

Theme Stated

10 min

Plainview: "I drink your milkshake!" Theme of ambition, greed, obsession, and moral corruption introduced.

#3

Set-Up

25 min

Plainview discovers oil. Adopts H.W. as son. Begins oil drilling enterprise. Ambition drives actions. Family and business intertwined.

#4

Catalyst

40 min

Community approaches Plainview for land. Eli Sunday appears, promising partnership. Conflict of greed vs. religion, ambition vs. morality begins.

#5

Debate

55 min

Should Plainview trust others? Tensions with Eli. Negotiation of land deals. Ambition testing limits. Isolation increasing. Morality questioned.

#6

Break Into Two

70 min

Plainview acquires land. Oil gushes. Power and wealth grow. Success brings isolation, ethical decay, and increasing obsession.

#7

B Story

85 min

Relationship with H.W. strained. Eli Sunday antagonistic. Themes of corruption and loneliness deepen. Human connection eroded.

#8

Fun and Games

100 min

Oil empire expands. Negotiation, drilling, and competition. Audience witnesses power, manipulation, and ambition in action.

#9

Midpoint

115 min

H.W. accident leads to deafness. Personal loss. False victory: wealth but human loss. Stakes heightened: ambition vs. relationships.

#10

Bad Guys Close In

130 min

Eli challenges Plainview publicly. Rival oilmen and family issues press. Isolation worsens. Obsession grows uncontrollably.

#11

All Is Lost

145 min

H.W. leaves Plainview. Emotional devastation. Moral failure complete. Ambition fulfilled materially but void emotionally.

#12

Dark Night of the Soul

150 min

Plainview alone in mansion. Confronted by emptiness of life, ruthless choices, and lack of human connection.

#13

Break Into Three

155 min

Plainview decides final confrontation with Eli. Resolved to assert dominance, crush opposition.

#14

Finale

157 min

Confrontation: "I drink your milkshake!" Violence, power, and obsession culminate. Eli defeated. Plainview ultimate victor materially.

#15

Final Image

158 min

Plainview alone in mansion bar. Surrounded by wealth, but emptiness prevails. Moral decay and isolation complete.