Sunday, March 9, 2014
There Will Be Blood: Milkshake Scene
The most memorable scene in Paul Thomas Anderson's There Will Be Blood is the movie's final scene, sometimes referred to as the "Milkshake Scene." In this scene, Daniel Plainview exerts complete and utter dominance upon Eli, his rival throughout the film. Daniel reveals that Eli's brother Paul was the one who informed Daniel of the oil in Little Boston. Daniel takes out all of his frustration on Eli after the baptism he was forced to participate in, where Eli slapped Daniel across the face repeatedly. Daniel is harsh, and rubs in the fact that Daniel is wealthy and Eli is not. At one point in Eli's desperation, he says, "Please don't bully me Daniel." Then, Daniel makes the "milkshake analogy," where he repeats, "I drink your milkshake," and puts his hands in Eli's face. This analogy refers to the enormous power that Daniel has over Eli. At this point in the plot, Eli has no leverage in negotiations with Daniel. Daniel has control over virtually everything Eli could want. Daniel drinks Eli's milkshake. I also believe this scene is significant in regards to the movie's score. There is a loud, tense orchestra playing at many moments during the film, and this music seems to be building towards a climax or explosion of some sort. I believe that the milkshake scene is what the movie's music is building to, an absolute release of tension, and Daniel being thrown over the edge, ultimately resulting in Eli's brutal death. The combination of brilliant acting and scriptwriting make this scene my favorite scene in There Will Be Blood.
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Reach, I loved this scene too not just for the amazing cinematography and use of dialogue, but because Eli got brutally beat up by Daniel. The entire movie, Paul Thomas makes the viewer so annoyed with Eli. I think Thomas may have added this part in for the viewer's to get their satisfaction. It's also interesting in this scene because we see Daniel is chewing on some cold chicken, which is a common theme for Daniel to have food or something in his mouth to chew on. Well done Nikkas
ReplyDeleteThis is a very interesting commentary of what happened. I agree with what you are saying and that the music in the film was reasonably tense up until the end scene where the two men hash it out and then there is a release of tension (after Daniel beats weak Eli to death) and lighter music is played. Daniel is one crazy man and I think this scene perfectly depicts his true madness and aggression.
ReplyDeleteYa. Hard. I think this scene was Daniel finally releasing his anger and frustration. He has always been relatively calm because he knows that he is above everyone else. However in this scene, he is reassuring Eli and himself that he is truly btter than his counterparts. Nice job handsome!
ReplyDeleteI love this scene. I think what makes it so explosive that this relationship has been building tension throughout the whole story and it truly pays off in this final scene. The way it parallels Daniel’s baptism is hugely important; the outbreaks of actual aggression in the constant passive-aggressive struggle between Daniel and Eli grow in severity: Daniel slapping Eli around in the mud like a child, Eli hitting Daniel across the face repeatedly in front of his congregation, eventually ending in Daniel bashing Eli’s head in with a bowling pin. It is an ending that is brutally satisfying.
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