*All the quoted dialogue is my paraphrasing*

I'm in the camp that thinks Plainview loved HW. I have no doubt HW as a prop to sell the people on Daniel being a family man was probably the main reason why he "adopted" HW. Hell, the oilman?/lawyer? that Plainview met on the train telling to go find oil in the east even said something like, "It's easy (getting leases) if you have a cute face like that around." However, in my eyes, if HW was just a prop, Plainview wouldn't have done some of the stuff we see if he had no feelings for HW. It's possible to say that Plainview pretended and just played the role, but he seems to be not the kind of guy to pretend that long or to be bothered by it.

We see:
-Daniel playing w/ the baby HW on the train
-talking to HW in a fatherly/schooling way about "quail prices" and how to really make the money they should be making
-celebrating (smiling, laughing, playfully shoving) w/ HW after finding the oil while quail hunting
-the camp fire scene feels father-son-like confidence (HW talking about Abel hitting Mary)
-Daniel's dialogue to HW after the derrick accident ("Tell me where it hurts. Were you hit on your head? Please. Tell me if you were.")
-shit, the long take of Daniel running and carrying HW to the office(?) after the derrick explosion (that's PTA's action, yes, but it's telling)
-Daniel cuddling HW after they dynamited the derrick when HW was still shaken
-Daniel kissing and hugging HW upon returning from abroad
-Daniel never hitting HW (well, from what we see) after setting fire to the cabin or when HW slapped him
-Daniel's flashback of joking around w/ HW after the "orphan" scene
-A twisted example where Daniel probably meant well - pouring whisky(?) on baby HW's bottle nipple (either a funny/kidding gesture ('cause HW doesn't take the bottle, I think) or an ignorant yet earnest attempt at babysitting/parenting)
-Check this deleted scene (turn the sound way up):
http://littlebostonnews.com/


Stuff to back up that Daniel just saw HW as a prop and nothing else:

-Daniel leaving HW after the derrick accident to attend to the derrick and oil well.
(My thoughts: Yes, extremely insensitive, no, fucked up, and not model parenting. However, this doesn't mean Daniel didn't love HW. I mean if he just picked up HW and put 'em aside then left him right away then people might have something.)
-The orphan, bastard in a basket scene, "You were just a prop" scene
(My thoughts: Daniel was drinking full-on by then. He looked wasted. People say mean shit when they're angry and/or drunk. Daniel's competitive streak had something to do w/ it - "That makes you my competitor." I'm sure he wasn't too happy about HW wanting to move away from him. It's the last straw for him (until Eli shows up) 'cause he has no "blood" left as far as he's concerned. Plus, I infer from the way Daniel was talking and what he said in the beginning of that scene shows there's been some tension b/w the 2 for a while. So Daniel is pissed off and retaliates by saying some mean shit to HW. Again, people say mean shit when they're angry and/or drunk even to loved ones.)
-Abandoning his boy
(My thoughts: Daniel said it himself and by the 3rd or 4th "I've abandoned my child," to me, it was genuine. The best thing to do was to have a teacher/support come down to Litte Boston instead of sending HW away so that HW could feel secure and be provided support from pops. I'm under the impression that HW was sent away to get help 'cause Daniel couldn't provide it and not that he was sent away 'cause Daniel wanted to disown or get be rid of him.)
-Spiking HW's milk to get him to sleep so Daniel could do some business
(My thoughts: I never said Daniel was a model parent nor do I think he didn't have some loose screws.)

So, in short, Daniel was by no means the good parent of all good parents, but I do think from the film Daniel does care about HW.


The movie's heart lies in the father-son story and also in the Daniel-Henry line.

I don't think anyone here mentioned Daniel crying after reading his alleged real half-brother's diary/journal after killing Henry/Noah (Noah? Norman?). Daniel's a misanthrope, but he had a soft spot for family - "Having you here is like a second breath. I can't do this alone..."

Speaking of family, Henry said to Daniel, "I know you didn't get along with our father." I'm wondering if Daniel's father beat or abused him (physically or mentally) or if he was like Abel which might have something to do w/ Daniel's misanthropy and distrust of religion.


Speaking of religion. I don't think Eli was a genuine man of God. Seems to me that's why Daniel didn't take much to Eli. He saw him as a salesman and fraud which is what Daniel was, too. (Fraud in the sense that Daniel promised schools and shit, plus, cheating people out of the real value of their land.) This is just pure inference - I think Eli started out (way before Daniel came to town) as genuinely spiritual and religious, but saw the power and influence he had and could have through religion. So, I don't see this movie as dirty, greedy capitalism trumping good ol' religion like I've read somewhere (not here I don't think).



While the heart and conflict of the movie is Daniel's relationship to others, the film is about him which is why I have no problem with the whole 1927 sequence. Taking into account what Daniel confided into Henry ("I have a competition in me"..."I've built up my hatreds over the years"..."I want to make enough money so I can get away from people"...), the 1927 scenes are absolutely fitting for the movie.

I don't like to engage too much into allegory or parable readings of this movie. For me, on a basic level, I enjoy it as a demented rags-to-riches (financially) story...really, a riches (comparatively speaking)-to-rags story in terms of humanity and family. A man who wanted everything, but ended w/ nothing. Fierce determination. Greed. Competition. The 1927 scenes aren't out of place from my perspective.

As for the tone? It's fitting for a man who hates people more and more. Daniel's behavior isn't outlandish considering he's drunk as fuck. If one watches the movie again, the terror and horror is there throughout, Daniel just explodes like the derrick at the very end. Then as he said, "I'm finished."

The black humor in the bowling alley scene isn't out of place or outlandish either.

I gotta admit that while watching the bowling alley sequence for the first time, I felt like, "I don't know about this." However, after the movie, I thought about what happened before it and felt that it's the way to end the movie. Thematically and narrative-wise, the bowling alley is perfect when I watched it a 2nd and 3rd time.


As for filmmaking, PTA and them are masterful. The 1898 and 1902 sequences should be studied. The derrick accident and baptism scenes are instant classics.

Love the fact that PTA didn't overdo coverage shots. The shot where Paul shows Daniel, HW, and Fletcher the map is lovely. It wasn't broken up into a trillion singles. Hell, I even think Daniel's back was to the camera for a while. That's just one of many shots that included 2 or more actors in a medium-long or longer shot. Let the actors act not just w/ their faces, but with their bodies. Daniel and Henry's 1st meeting was mostly done in a long shot-long take if I remember. There's drama in a shot's composition.

The elliptical cut from HW & Mary as children to their wedding? Nice (c) Borat.

Fisk and Elswitt? Shee-it.

I loved the music during the derrick accident - an instant entry into my weighlifting playlist. Love the music during the title card, the landscape shot after we see Daniel crawling on his back, and Daniel gravedigging. From the get-go, you have a feeling shit is gonna go down and there will be blood.

And give me the humor in TWBB over any '07 comedy.