There will be Acting

     There Will Be Blood is a film about Daniel Plainview. The movie follows him through his life, first as a miner and then getting into the oil business. While there are a few missteps, he follows through to the bitter end. Daniel Day-Lewis plays Daniel Plainview. While I knew of him, I never got to investigate his acting techniques and character development. Not only does he prepare for roles, but he also gets into the mindset of that character, even when they are a complex person to act as.

    Upon further research, I discovered that Daniel Day-Lewis was heavily prepared for this role. He read a book that described oilfields and used that in his method of acting to bring the character to life. Edward Doheny was someone that he studied. This man was born in 1856 and dedicated his life to the oil tycoon. For the voice, which is not his regular voice, he said he listened to recordings. While there were no recordings during the time this film was set, he listened to some from Oklahoma. In an interview, he said that he lets the character come to him.  To put so much effort into a role is admirable. 

    Method acting is where an actor becomes the role of the character. All emotions of the character are actually felt by the actor. This strategy allows expressions to be more authentic. Daniel-Day Lewis is well known for this strategy. With all of the research and preparation, mentioned above, he becomes the character. This is the case even if he is not filming. Sometimes accents become regular. In There Will Be Blood, his acting seemed very expressive. One of the most memorable scenes for me was in the bowling alley of his home. The anger towards Eli, with method acting, seemed so realistic. 

    The character, Daniel Plainfield, had a lot of layers for the audience to unfold. While he was the bad guy, there were still moments when one could feel empathetic towards the character. The development that was made with the son was such a good realization for the audience. We see, up until the point he leaves him on the train, the love he has for the boy. When there was the terrible fire accident, Daniel rushes right away for the boy. He obviously cared. But to send him away with such little emotion after that was surprising. It was hard to understand the relationship Daniel Plainfield had with people because he was such a con man. 

  Daniel Day-Lewis is obviously an amazing actor. I think that is because of the acting techniques he uses. The preparation and method of acting plays a big part in why he is so known. There Will Be Blood contains a complex character, Daniel Plainfield, who seems like he doesn't even know what he wants. Dedication to a role makes a difference in the production of a film. 

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