My good friend's dad designed the oil rig used in the movie. He had never worked on a film before but was recommended as a local carpenter. I love the film, although I prefer No Country for Old Men (both filmed in West Texas, released in 2007, dark as hell, etc.).
I guess I look at possession differrent than some of you, I thought Daniel was consumed by greed and Eli was consumed by attention, both to the point where I thought there was evil in them. i kept getting the vibe that Eli was causing all the problems in the city, so that also made me question him. And at the end we saw the evil that was in Daniel.
Just a phenomenal movie in every sense of the word. Nobody was possessed. It was just the dichotomy between a man completely driven by his own self-serving greed (and insatiable ego) vs. a man completely driven by his desire to do good, no matter what the costs.
How much for him to build me one? I want to start buying up some mineral rights and drilling for that **** old school. Daniel Planview is up there with Magneto and Joker as coolest villains ever.
but isn't greed the act of Satan? I mean almost every decision he ever made in his live was powered by greed, therefore every decision he made in his live was powered by the devil... and I think possession is when Satan has enough control of your mind to effect your decisions and your body, it doesn't have to be like "The Exorcist" type of possession for the Devil to control you... does that make any sense? And I don't think Eli cared at all about doing right, he wanted to grow his church so he could be famous. This is why he had such extreme sermons and was on the radio.
:grin: The derrick was made of wood and probably would not be fit for modern purposes. I'll ask for you.My friend was going to be an extra in the movie but they wanted to limit the amount of Mexicans. I agree that Daniel ("God's Judgment"--God-complex) Plainview (simpleminded--refusing to let people close) is a great character (also, "There Will Be Blood" because Daniel Plainview wills violence). The last scene of the movie is great.. Many of my friends have criticized it. The "I'm finished" line after Eli tries to convince him they are indeed brothers gives solid closure to the movie. I don't know if Eli is as corrupt as Daniel, but it's a fair argument to have. Evangelical preachers who must disguise the truth to survive v. capitalists who have no need for disguise. They are both motivated from greed but it seems to me that Eli has no desire to kill other humans. You could argue he feigns respect in order to take advantage of others, but this is arguably more noble than killing others due to their threatening your own wealth and personal image. Daniel disfigures or kills everyone close to him.
