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There Will be Blood: Meaning

I have seen other meanings and explanations of the film online but they never really touched on the things that I have picked so here are my explanations.

The film follows the story of Daniel Plainview, a silver miner turned oil prospector, who soon develops a strong distaste for the local preacher, Eli Sunday.

Power struggle between capitalism and religion: This is represented through the relationship of Daniel and Eli. Daniel being a Capitalist at dawn of the oil boom and Eli being religious man at a time many Americans would have been faithful Christians.

Paul exchanges religion for money: Whereas Eli is seen as a religious man, his brother Paul at the beginning of the movie tips Daniel of the oil beneath his family’s land in exchange for money and runs away from his old life.

Duality of Eli: Eli thinks he is smarter than those around him and shows greed for money, he often uses religion as cover to justify himself. You can see Eli’s greed for money and the duality he plays using religion for his own gains. He tries to commercialise religion but evidently fails at the end when he comes to Daniel begging for money.

Daniel & Eli: You can see Daniel has a problem with religion from the beginning of the film when Eli grabbed Daniels hand to do a prayer but Daniel removes it from Eli’s grasp. Daniel also does not Eli because Eli challenges him and speaks to him as his equal and Daniel does not see Eli as an equal and does not like to be told what to do so he always does the opposite of what Eli requests by not giving him the money and not letting Eli address the people for the well’s opening. You can almost say Eli is everything Daniel hates in one person.

Milkshake: Daniel assaults Eli with slaps when Eli comes asking for money, Daniel humiliates him with slaps and covering him with mud.

Eli gets his revenge when Daniel finds an opportunity to buy up the Bandy land on the condition he becomes a member of the church. Eli forces Daniel to confess he has abandoned his child and slaps him back in the face (literally) as he says those words.

At the end of the film Daniel makes Eli admit he is false and to confess he does not actually believe in God. Daniel finally has one up on Eli as Eli to abandons God in exchange for money, finally admitting what Daniel already knew. Daniel then reveals he does not need the land as he took already took the oil from underneath the land using the famous milkshake analogy.

Family: Daniel says he wants to make enough money to get away from everyone however he still longs for family. Is it because he doesn't want to be lonely? or he uses people for his own gains?

After HW goes deaf and his ‘half brother’ arrives, Daniel sends HW away as he’s found someone else he can call family and introduces him to the business, you see Daniel enjoyed the company of his brother.  However after Daniel discovers that man is actually not his brother (after making references to home) but a friend of his brothers, Daniel kills him for his deceit and then brings HW back.

At the end of the film Daniel kills Eli, the last connection Daniel has in his life after disowning HW and says ‘I’m finished’.

One thing I didn't understand is why Daniel is always found sleeping on the floor, apart from the time HW burns the house down.