MovieChat Forums > There Will Be Blood (2008) Discussion > Daniel was not "evil" or a sociopath

Daniel was not "evil" or a sociopath


This is just my personal opinion from my observations after seeing the film many many times.

Yes, he "used" his child as a sweet face for his business but he truly cared for him and it shows several times throughout the movie. It was horrible that he abandoned him, but he didn't do it because he had no use for him after he went deaf. He did it because he didn't know how to tend to a child who was setting fires to his home and he didn't understand his condition or how to deal with it. Again, he felt horrible about it and after being forced to confront himself with it, he brought his son back. It's not like he just put him on a train and wished him luck, he had him sent to a home with other kids. It was a terrible thing, yes, but the fact that he realize that it was terrible and that he had made a mistake shows that he DID have compassion for the boy. Most men, especially single men, probably were not good at raising children on their own at the time. Not to mention juggling the several oil wells and businesses, I can imagine it was extremely difficult. But he did, for years, when he didn't have to.

While murder is never justified, honestly look at the people who he did kill. The man pretending to be his brother was taking advantage of him, and it hurt Daniel to know he was still alone in his mindset of just wanting to be alone and enjoy his success. He was lied to, manipulated and fooled into believing he had family when he really had none. The man was using him. He didn't deserve to die, sure, but he was no innocent. As for Eli, well just watch the movie and you can identify the reason he had for murdering him. Not to mention he had reached a point in his life where he was all alone, depressed and an alcoholic. Eli, after humiliating him and always trying to win one over on him, was trying to take advantage of this and just like the man who pretended to be his brother, was only wanting a slice of what he worked so hard to acheive for years. If both of these people had stayed out of his life, they would have survived, but they were absolutely no better than Daniel. If anything, they were worse because they didn't want to work for their success, they wanted to leech off of Daniel's.

The final scene with his son, he said some awful awful things, but it was because he felt betrayed. All Daniel had ever known was his business and his son, and to have his own son attempt to compete with him (as he saw it) as well as marrying the daughter of his enemy and running off, was obviously very hurtful for him even if in a way, he did deserve it. In turn, he wanted to hurt his son emotionally in the way he was hurt. The flashback scene shown shortly after was obviously written to show he really did love his son and this was what pushed him so deep into depression that he was hardly recognizable anymore.

In the beginning of the film, we see that he turns a place that was basically a slum into a nice place to live, providing food, roads, schools and even the church despite hating religion. He mourned the man who died on his oil rig and instead of just cracking the whip and forcing everyone to continue working, he allowed them a day or two to mourn as well. People claim he took advantage of Bandy but in reality, he just outsmarted him and did nothing illegal. Same with Eli. He was an aggressive business man, just like the hundreds that exist today that operate the businesses you probably support on a daily basis.

Was he perfect? No. Was he a saint? Hell no. Was he a psychotic, sinister sociopath who went around stealing and murdering for the hell of it? No. He said himself, he wanted to be left alone and to be away from people. If the man posing as his brother had never attempted to take advantage of him, if Eli hadn't attempted to revel in his pathetic state while trying to get money from him, he would have never killed anyone. It's not really an excuse, but to me, the comeuppance Daniel gets at the end is what he deserved and earned through his mistakes and actions through the film. Even with his enemies dead, he still has to live out the rest of his life with his worst enemy, himself.

Let me know if I forgot anything. I also want to hear your opinion on these things.

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I don't understand why he killed ELI. He had already basically destroyed his life at that point, emotionally and financially.

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I believe Daniel was taking out all his anger and frustration with humanity on Eli.

Thit and thpin!

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He killed him so that he couldn't just ask God for forgiveness after he left. Daniel wanted him to go to hell if there were one.

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If he had any kind of common sense he was no doubt begging for forgiveness in his mind seconds after the last time he said "God is a superstition"

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i think that at that point, Daniel can't think straight anymore. He's become erratic to an extreme extent, and that is visible in his previous dialogue with H.W., in which he shows affection at one moment, and disgust on the next.

He's absolutely unstable, not only phisically (the way he wobbles as he walks, etc)

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All these excuses, he was a sadist, and a horrible evil person.

Sure he had his problems, but he had himself to blame for most of the things.

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[deleted]

I'd agree with everything except for how he treated his son. He became so senile and proud that he cut off his only family. You can tell he let his business dominate his life when he didn't even bother to learn sign language to speak to his son.

I also hated Eli personally. He got what was coming to him. But Daniel doesn't deserve justification in all areas

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I agree with about 90% of what you said.

It's a good explanation of a very complex character, wonderfully portrayed in a masterpiece of a film (even though it's a downer).

I was shaking due to the emotion of many scenes in this movie, esp. at the end.

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incorrect. he was definitely a sociopath, the "good" things he did were not an excuse for his sociopathic behavior. he did not value life as most do, he viewed everyone, including his "son" and himself as potential prospects if they are useful. that is very sociopathic behavior, he was able to turn on and off his morality and conscience at will, another sign of such, he was reclusive and subdued in his private life, yet able to be charming and charismatic when he needed to close a deal, or buy/sell from someone. also a perfect definitive sign of a sociopath.

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He definitely was a sociopath. He abandoned his boy, because he was deaf and no longer could listen to him rambling. Instead he used his "brother" as a listener.
He did nothing for the sake of others. He only wanted to get rich and get the *beep* away from people, whom he hated (another very sociopathic trait).

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He did nothing for the sake of others?

What part of taking a poor dirt covered town and turning it into a thriving community with jobs and economic growth did you miss?

Everyone is entitled to pursue their own self-interests. You don't need to live for the sake of others and you shouldn't expect others to live for the sake of you.

Successful entrepreneurs are always self-driven and selfish. And this is not a bad thing. Because it is very hard to become rich without providing a good or service that benefits multiple people.

Altruism is actually not a positive characteristic for someone. How can you have any self-worth if you are selfless? You will live your life filled with resentment and regret by placing the happiness of others in front of yours. This is exactly how people like Eli are able to manipulate and exploit people.

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you are an idiot, and most likely a sociopath as well.

he didnt help the dirt covered town, he turned it into a slum with crazy fanatics of eli.
most entrepreneurs are sociopaths secretly. they have used the system against people in order to make profits. they destroy people and lives for profit.

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and you're a moron as well. I'd rather be a proud sociopath then a f**kin retard like you naïve to the ways of others around you. You probably think people don't use you in your day to day life and whatever friends you might have are a result of your magnificent personality. HAHA what a chump. I'd rather hate people then ever give them the opportunity to drive me away from my goals or sabotage any of my hard earned successes. Your probably just a loser with who's never done anything significant in his life, so people keep you around because it makes them look good. Try actually improving yourself and watch how quickly people turn on you when you make significant improvements that make them look worthless in comparison. You'll be lucky if you've got even 2-3 people having your back when that happens.

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Very well put.

Altruism is actually an evil notion. The truth is that people SHOULD look after themselves, otherwise they unfairly pass that burden onto others, and if you’re smart you’ll realise that helping others is an integral part of helping yourself.

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Easy xthe_shiznitx.. Damn your name is even dumber than mine. Brisk317 is entitled to an opinion, don't call him an idiot. But apart from that, you are right.
Daniel only helped the town so he could steal their oil which he hustled from Eli's dad in case you forgot, Brisk317.


I'm *beep* bitch

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nobody is "entitled" to an opinion, you either have one or dont, if you have an idiotic opinion that is loaded with nonsense, you need to be corrected or you continue to seem like a dumbass.

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Go get laid, buddy. You really need it.

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ummm, superior retort? wtf.

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Daniel was a misanthrope.

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