by Jobie Weetaluktuk

Created on: January 16, 2008   Last Updated: January 18, 2008

Daniel Day-Lewis is one on those who is gifted to play larger than life figures. He becomes a larger than life character and is molded in the nature of James Houston and Charleston Houston in that sense. He gets into character and becomes the character in a manner that can be disturbing. In his 2007 role as California oilman Plainview in There Will Be Blood, he has become this very simple man who is yet so driven and complex. There are characteristics, nature, and temperaments of Plainview that Day-Lewis really explores and portrays very convincingly.

Instinct
Plainview has great instincts. There are two scenes that really underline how his instincts serve him. In a community hall, he is making a proposal to locals to lease the land where another oilman has hit a very large oil gusher. Plainview walks away from this, because there is no leadership that he himself can lead and deal with.

In another, "his brother" shows up and Plainview immediately hesitates to trust him. Daniel takes in his brother and the two work together, Daniel in the lead naturally. The more Daniel gets to know his brother, the less he trusts him and eventually trips his brother with a knowledge that he should have.

Plainview hates more than anything else being made a fool off, but he will grudgingly accept being made a fool off in public at the alter of his greed.

Hardness
Throughout this film, Plainview is a hard man. In the opening scene, we already get a sense of his hardness when he strikes gold and then breaks his leg. Then we assume he some distance to go into town up the hills and to the gold smelter. He waits on the bare wooden floor as his gold is being smelted and weighted. That is what he expect of himself and everyone else.

Grudge bearing
Plainview holds grudges like they were grudges, that is in a way a leech would give itself over to its lunch. Plainview will not let bygones be bygones because there are no bygones. The outcome of Plainview's grudges is that he will win.

Bully
Plainview is a real bully. More than anything else, bully is his religion. Plainview has plenty of push and not much in pull.

Greedy
There is not much in way of anything that Plainview wants except greed itself. He loves his drink, but his greed is what really consumes him. Plainview's' greed drives him to work hard, drive hard bargains, figure things out, and accept no offer that is not on his terms. There is a paltry sum of $500 that he will go to great deal of trouble for to keep. If you try to get "his

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