Daniel Day-Lewis has adorned many different faces during his time as an actor, playing antagonistic, protagonistic, and even side characters. From good and bad to the hero or the one who needs saving, it is safe to say that his filmography is one of the most diverse in Hollywood.
None, however, have invoked a reaction as big as his character in his 2007 film, There Will Be Blood. Daniel Plainview is a man who, on his path to success, becomes heartless, greedy, and manipulative toward all that surrounds him, including his own adopted son.
It is safe to say that this is one of Lewis’ most hated characters, which only proves how good the actor was in this role. Fans cannot help but feel no sympathy towards him, and his actions are to blame for this.
However, it would seem that one of the most critically acclaimed filmmakers of all time, Quentin Tarantino, feels otherwise. The Kill Bill director spoke in great detail about this film and mentioned that he believes that it is Daniel Plainview’s actions that help make his behavior excusable and justified.
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Quentin Tarantino Defends Daniel Day-Lewis’ Character
Quentin Tarantino gave his review of Paul Thomas Anderson’s There Will Be Blood in a lengthy interview, via Farout, where he spoke dearly of the much-hated character, Daniel Plainview, played by Daniel Day-Lewis. He started by praising the first twenty minutes of the movie, more specifically, all that was left unsaid and off the actual film.
The character ends up finding gold in a mine, but not before breaking his leg in the process. What happens immediately afterward is not elaborated on, leaving it open to the audience’s interpretation.
Tarantino said the following:
“The opening 20 minutes of the movie, which is more or less silent, is actually quite terrific,” Tarantino said. “One of the things to take in is when Daniel Day-Lewis’ character breaks his leg in the mine and finds the gold. Look at that surrounding landscape around him, those rocks; it seems like he’s out in the middle of nowhere. It doesn’t show his journey back to town.”
Tarantino mentioned that this would mean that the character of Plainview had to leave his gold back in the mine and crawl his way from the middle of nowhere to civilization, in agonizing pain, in order to get the medical attention he needed. Dragging his pain-ridden body through the rough terrain in the emptiness of his surroundings would be a traumatizing experience for anyone, regardless of their flaws.
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Quentin Tarantino Believes That Daniel Plainview Had A Right To Do All That He Did
Quentin Tarantino clarified that he does not think that the fact that this was left out of the movie was an accident and a mistake on Paul Thomas Anderson’s part. He believes that the way Daniel Day-Lewis plays this character makes the audience think that this is what would have happened for him to be like this. He mentioned that having experienced something so terrible before his success leaves an imprint on the mind of Daniel Plainview, causing him to behave the way that he did for the rest of the movie.
He said:
“As much of a bastard as this man proves himself to be, that courage that it took to do that actually gives him the heroic right for almost everything that he does throughout the movie. He went through hell to get this fortune. He is not just a bloodsucking businessman, even though the film works as a text for the beginning of capitalism in the Industrial Age.” Tarantino continued, “The fact that the man would be able to accomplish such an act almost gives him the right for everything that follows down the line. The fact that Paul didn’t need to show it meant that you have to make that move yourself. It’s actually quite profound.”
He added that this gave him the right to do whatever he wanted for the rest of his life, including being ‘as much of a bastard as this man proves himself to be’. The filmmaker believes that, having done something so brave and so challenging, there is nothing wrong with all he does down the line. Tarantino also mentioned that the genius of Thomas Anderson not showing that in the film forces the viewers to come to, or not come to, this conclusion themselves.
