Edward Doheny was the first person to successfully drill for oil in Los Angeles. Originally a silver and gold miner, Doheny found oil in an area near modern-day Dodger’s Stadium at the end of the nineteenth century. This discovery set off an oil boom in Southern California. In the years to follow, the influx of prospectors and oil infrastructure transformed Los Angeles into a temporary hub of the oil industry and initiated the city's rapid urbanization.
In 1927, Upton Sinclair published the novel Oil!. Loosely based on the life of Doheny, the book follows oil tycoon James Arnold Ross and his relationship with his son. These days, Upton Sinclair spends his time terrorizing high school US history students by forcing them to memorize words like “muckraker.” In Sinclair’s free time, he inspired Paul Thomas Anderson to write There Will Be Blood.
There Will Be Blood initially began as an adaptation of Oil!. There are even a few aspects of the book that survived to the final cut. The name Paul, for instance, didn't come from actor Paul Dano; Paul and Eli were characters in Oil!. The iconic final scene in There Will Be Blood was even shot at the bowling alley of Doheny’s estate (Greystone Mansion in Beverly Hills).
As the movie spiraled into its own project, Anderson changed the name of the script from Oil! to There Will Be Blood. This new title certainly fits the project much better than the original. There Will Be Blood adds to the movie’s eerie and sinister tone. Oil! sounds more like the name of an off-broadway musical about Dick Cheney or a cookbook you’d buy your mom for Christmas after a disappointing day of window shopping.
On top of simply sounding cool, There Will Be Blood works on both a literal and figurative level. Literally, the promise of gore in the title adds to a sense of rising tension throughout the film. The audience doesn’t actually see blood in the movie until the final scene, so the title adds to the suspense viewers feel as they wait longer and longer (and witness greater and greater atrocities) until the promise is fulfilled. “Blood” can also be seen as a symbol of violence. For my money, There Will Be Blood is a movie about the depravity of capitalism and the inhumanity of the people who sit atop capitalism’s hierarchy. The title is a metaphor for the brutality committed in the name of accruing capital and power.
Many have speculated that the title is also a biblical reference. In some translations, it’s an exact quote from Exodus 7:19:
The Lord said to Moses, “Say to Aaron, ‘Take your shepherd’s rod and stretch out your hand over Egypt’s waters—over their rivers, their canals, their marshes, and all their bodies of water—so that they turn into blood. There will be blood all over the land of Egypt, even in wooden and stone containers.’”
Is that a reach? Well, faith and religion are central themes in the movie. Plus, Exodus 7:19 seems to perfectly describe Daniel’s actions; he take a natural resource and turns it into cruelty. Ultimately, a better question to ask may be “is that explanation meaningful to you?”
There Will Be Blood excels at getting viewers to ask that question. Did Daniel ever really love his son? Is Daniel’s hatred of people the cause or effect of his capitalist desires? Did Daniel actually believe the regret he expressed during his baptism? The answers to these questions are ambiguous. Often, There Will Be Blood is so powerful to viewers because of what is left up to interpretation. Maybe that’s also why it takes some people (including myself and Ireland’s own Ayo Edebiri) multiple watches to truly fall in love with this movie.
Anyway, I saw this in 35mm at the San Francisco Roxie with Billy! Such a delight to hear the whirring of the projector as the film ran through its sprockets. Would make an incredible double feature with Chinatown. There certainly was blood!
January 11, 2024.