MovieChat Forums > There Will Be Blood (2008) Discussion > What happened to Daniel in Kansas? Was t...

What happened to Daniel in Kansas? Was the backstory ever revealed?

posted 6 years ago by Geff (453)
3 replies | jump to latest

At one point during a conversation with his supposed brother he mentions that he worked for a survey and then moved to Kansas. He says, "I couldn't stay there, I just couldn't - I don't like to explain myself"

He also doesn't want to talk about his supposed son's mother in the same conversation. Ofcourse we know that he didn't father HW. He mentions that he has built up hatered for people little by little over the years. There must be some torrid past that the audience is not privy to. I know typically some movies have characters that have a complex backstory that is only known by the writer/director and the actor playing the character.

I wonder if Daniel's backstory was ever leaked. Does anyone know?

[–] Geff (453) 6 years ago

I was watching the Charlie Rose interview with PTA and Daniel Day-Lewis and something struck me: watch this (starting 24:39). DDL says that the experiences before we meet Plainview sharpened Plainview's competitiveness. This makes me more curious about what happened to him and makes me more suspicious that more about the character was written which the audience didn't get to experience.

https://youtu.be/0SFvaootAL8?t=24m39s

[–] Renovatio (2990) 6 years ago

I'm glad we never know his backstory... We have too many explanations in movies... Some mystery is good...

It's more than enough for me that there is a vague sense that he has a past...

[–] BourbonKing (5649) 6 years ago

I always took Plainview's disassociation from the past as evidence that he murdered his way to the top.

This movie is not as deeply layered as people claim it is, although it is very expertly filmed and paced and the writing is just minimalist enough that it avoids over-exposition of character (think Oliver Stone's movies and their pedantic monologues). In the end it's just a story about a sociopath who is greedier than his competition.