Logline: A story of family, religion, hatred, oil and madness, focusing on a turn-of-the-century prospector in the early days of the business.
Theme: Ambition and the American dream
Credits: Written for the screen by Paul Thomas Anderson
Breakdown and analysis by Angelina Napoleone
Act I
1.ext. desert - day (1898)Story Beat: HookNotes: The very first scene shows Daniel's resilience solely through action. He drags his injured body out of the cave without a second thought. No worry or delay, just getting up and moving along.Theme: Explored
2.ext. desert - day (1902)Notes: With very few lines of dialogue we're shown an event that changes the rest of Daniel's life. Daniel's relationship with H.W. has a huge effect on his life story, and the beginning of it is portrayed here in such a simple way.
3.int. house - (1911)
4.int. house - night
5.int. daniel's office - nightTheme: Explored
6.ext. sunday ranch - dayNotes: Daniel seems to have an immediate distrust of Eli. Them being identical twins seems off-putting to Daniel, as if he might have thought for a second that he was being tricked.
7.ext. SUNDAY RANCH - DAYTheme: Explored
8.int. sunday ranch - nightStory Beat: Inciting IncidentNotes: Eli is onto Daniel immediately. He and Daniel are both ambitious and determined, and neither wants to let anyone walk all over them. Although they strike a deal, they'll always be battling each other.Theme: Explored
Act II
9.int. loans office - day
10.ext. train depot - day
11.ext. sunday ranch - dayNotes: The small, innocent interactions between H.W. and Mary don't seem like much, but they lay the foundation for a believable marriage at the end of the film. It makes sense that even after his injury, she'll care enough to try to communicate with him and understand him.Theme: Explored
12.ext. sunday ranch - night
13.int. loans office - dayTheme: Explored
14.ext. sunday ranch - night
15.ext. SUNDAY RANCH - dayNotes: Eli convincing Daniel to bless the well is a way of him establishing authority over Daniel. Eli knows that Daniel wants nothing to do with the church, but if he can get Daniel to do something he doesn't want to do - in front of everyone, no less - then who knows the limit of what he can get away with.
16.ext. sunday ranch - day
17.
Act III
39.ext. BANDY RANCH - dayNotes: Now, the one thing that Daniel despises the most - Eli's church - is the only thing getting in the way of him owning all the land he desires. As much as he tries to avoid it, he eventually gives in. Anything for the business.Theme: Explored
40.int. church - dayNotes: This is the peak of Eli's humiliation of Daniel, a retaliation for Daniel's severe physical beating. A demonstration of power that fell right into Eli's lap, thanks to William Bandy's faith.
41.ext. sunday ranch - day
42.int. restaurant - day
43.ext. train depot - DAY
44.int. church - day (1927)
45.int. daniel's house - nightStory Beat: ClimaxNotes: H.W. has seen how the desire for power is all-encompassing in Daniel's mind. In his attempt to separate himself from this aspect of his father, he's made it worse. It's always a competition with Daniel, and there are no limits to the lengths he will go to shame and diminish his competition.Theme: Challenged
Plot threads
H.W. growing up
H.W. is orphaned.
Daniel uses H.W. to increase his likability with investors.
Daniel lets H.W. in on his scheme.
Mary talks to H.W.
H.W. tells Daniel of Mr. Sunday's physical abuse.
H.W. is deafened by an explosion.
H.W. is suspicious of Henry.
Daniel abandons H.W. on the train.
H.W. expresses his anger towards Daniel.
H.W. practices sign language.
H.W. marries Mary Sunday.
Daniel disowns H.W. and reveals his true heritage.
Daniel and Eli's rivalry
Eli negotiates with Daniel.
Eli convinces Daniel to bless the well.
Daniel watches Eli's sermon.
Daniel beats Eli to the ground for his false prophet claims.
Eli attacks his father for allowing Daniel into the family.
Eli baptizes Daniel and makes him repent his sins.
Daniel kills Eli.
Henry
Henry arrives at the ranch.
Henry wants to work for Daniel.
Daniel opens up to Henry.
Daniel is suspicious of Henry.
Daniel kills Henry.
Characters
Daniel PlainviewWhite · MaleDaniel has an unrelenting motivation and drive to succeed. Nothing and no one will stop him. He fights through any obstacles and pushes himself to his limits. This intense desire to better his own life gets in the way of him having any real connections with anyone.What does your character want?: He wants money and power.How will your character attempt to get it?: By any means necessary - he will destroy everybody else's lives in order to get what he wants. The casualties do not matter, because he only wants himself to succeed.What does your character need?: He needs real, honest connection with other people.How will your character realize it?: When he bonds with Henry, and learns that Henry lied to him.
Eli SundayWhite · MaleEli is a passionate and theatric preacher, who creates strong, trusting relationships with his congregation. Despite his good-natured appearance, his sermons and beliefs come off as performative to Daniel. Eli's lack of authenticity bothers him right from the start.What does your character want?: He wants to expand his church.How will your character attempt to get it?: By taking advantage of Daniel's wealth.What does your character need?: He needs someone to question his teachings.How will your character realize it?: When Daniel calls him a false prophet. He's the only one who's challenged Eli about the performative nature of his sermons.
ext. SUNDAY RANCH - DAYNotes: This is more of a power play for Daniel than it is a sincere concern for Mary's wellbeing. Daniel is no stranger to abuse, as he's the perpetrator of it towards H.W. He's no more of a caring father than Mr. Sunday is, but he can pretend just to get under his skin.
20.int. eli's church - dayNotes: This is the first time Daniel sees Eli in action. If it's possible for his perception of Eli to be worse than it already is, it happens here. He sees Eli as a fraud - but a fraudulence that appears to be far different from Daniel's own schemes, so that any similarities would be unrecognizable to him.
21.ext. SUNDAY RANCH - day/nightStory Beat: Plot Point 1Notes: Daniel's business now has a record of multiple fatalities and a life-changing injury. This is the price Daniel chooses to pay for his success. As he states later on, he doesn't care about anyone's success but his own.Theme: Symbolized
22.EXT. sunday ranch - day
23.int. SUNDAY RANCH - day
24.int. SUNDAY RANCH - dayNotes: Although the injury is fresh, it's already clear that Daniel will not make an effort to adapt to H.W.'s new way of life. Instead of trying to find other ways to communicate, Daniel continues speaking to him, refusing to be inconvenienced by helping H.W.
25.ext. SUNDAY RANCH - day
26.ext. SUNDAY RANCH - day
27.int. SUNDAY RANCH - nightNotes: Freshly beaten and humiliated, Eli takes his anger towards Daniel out on his father. Though Daniel's the one doing the beating, his father's decision gave him the opportunity and permission to do it. That being said, Eli is the one who struck the final deal with Daniel. He could have been more persistent towards an outright "no" on the deal, but instead, Eli bargained with Daniel for his own benefit.Theme: Explored
28.ext. SUNDAY RANCH - dayStory Beat: Midpoint
29.int./ext. SUNDAY RANCH - DAY
30.EXT. SUNDAY RANCH - NIGHTNotes: Daniel has walls up when it comes to every human interaction, but with Henry, he feels that he can be honest. It's a taboo thing for Daniel to say that he hates people and hopes for their failures, but he trusts Henry with these feelings. Finally, he's met someone that he may be able to partner with, instead of building his empire all alone.Theme: Stated
31.int. sunday ranch - nightNotes: H.W. has no proper way to express his anger towards Daniel, so he resorts to destruction.
32.int./ext. train - dayTheme: Explored
33.int. train depot - dayTheme: Explored
34.int. sunday ranch - day
35.ext. bandy ranch - day
36.ext. beach - dayNotes: Daniel can usually tell right away when someone is playing him, but the mention of his father and sister blinded him from the truth. Now that he knows something's up, it's hard for him to believe that it took him this long. He hasn't just believed a lie, he's been the victim of manipulation.Theme: Stated
37.int. bar - day
38.ext. campfire - nightStory Beat: Plot Point 2Notes: Daniel lies to everyone he meets, but to him, this lie is an unforgivable betrayal. The lie made Daniel open up to him and trust him with his feelings, an occurrence so rare that this manipulation could cause Daniel to never open up to anyone again. In the final scenes, we see he's soured with age. He doesn't appear to be someone who's gained any fulfilling emotional relationships throughout the years.Theme: Explored
46.
int. daniel's house - nightStory Beat: ResolutionNotes: Daniel wins. He even won before killing him, with the knowledge of the drained land and the dire financial state that Eli is in. But killing him is removing him from his life entirely - no more begging, no more humiliation, no more religious power plays. He is a thing that is perpetually standing in the way of Daniel's success, therefore, he must be dealt with.Theme: Challenged