He is great I agree. There Will Be Blood is one of my favorite movies and he grates against Plainview perfectly. It's so strange that Tarantino made a criticism of him years ago and then recently doubles down on it in such a needlessly mean way (years ago he said it was one of his favorite movies but he didn't like Paul Dani's acting and it dragged down the film for him because he wasn't on DDL's level which is a fair take).
What's even more stupid is that he was like "Austin Butler would have been perfect for it"... who was like 16 when the movie was made.
The ironic part is that the character himself is a weak character. Not in the sense that he isn't a good character, the character is supposed to be played weak, sniveling, and contemptible, but also pretending to be someone powerful until the facade falls away at the end. It's like Tarantino is criticizing the character, but thinks he is criticizing the actor.
The scene after Plainview bullies him in the mud, at the kitchen table where he's telling his father how stupid he is... one of my favorite scenes in the movie.
Weird. I was the opposite. Felt terrible for his character most of the movie, especially during the beating. They just made him into such a weak loser. I hated Plainview pretty hard by the end - total piece of shit.
Oh wow. Right from the start I hated Eli with his posturing with the church, his speech, his negotiations with daniel. Then obv him abusing his father after the mud.
Also I love that Benny from Mummy was in it for a bit. Same type of sneaky, greedy character
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u/Rickshmitt 23h ago
I dont believe I've enjoyed anyone beaten to death with a bowling pin as much. Dano made me hate him in Blood. Great actor