Is Eli a Twin? An In-Depth Look at There Will Be Blood‘s Conflicted Preacher

In Paul Thomas Anderson‘s acclaimed 2007 drama There Will Be Blood, Daniel Plainview‘s rivalry with young preacher Eli Sunday provides much of the film‘s central conflict. Their clashes escalate over the course of There Will Be Blood‘s detailed look at ambition, greed, and the American Dream. But before diving into the combustible dynamic between these two complex characters, one key question arises – does Eli have a twin? Let‘s take an in-depth look at the preacher‘s role in this modern cinematic masterpiece.

The Dual Role That Launched the Drama

Eli Sunday is indeed a twin – his brother Paul kicks off the film‘s plot in a short but pivotal scene. When we first meet the solitary miner Daniel Plainview in 1898, he‘s approached by a man named Paul Sunday who tells Plainview there‘s oil on his family‘s property in Little Boston, California. This encounter puts Plainview on the path to establishing his booming oil business and the events to come.

So who exactly is Paul Sunday? Paul is the fraternal twin brother of Eli Sunday, though this is not revealed until later. The brothers are played by the same actor, Paul Dano, thanks to a bit of casting shuffle:

• Originally, Kel O‘Neill was cast as Eli and Paul Dano had a minor role as Paul.

• But when filming had already begun, director P.T. Anderson decided to replace O‘Neill with Dano in the pivotal role of Eli.

• To explain the identical appearance, Anderson reworked the script so the brothers became twins. This allowed Dano to take on both parts.

Beyond his short but important scene with Plainview, Paul Sunday virtually disappears from the story and Eli takes center stage.

Eli Sunday – Preacher, Schemer, Opportunist

As a local preacher, Eli Sunday exerts great influence over the small rural community of Little Boston. He‘s described in the script as having an air of "divine power and snake oil salesmanship."

Throughout the film, Eli displays complex, often contradictory motivations:

• Devout faith – He expresses religious fervor and a close connection to God in his preaching.

• Deviousness – But at times he uses his faith cynically for personal gain and manipulation.

• Greed – Like Plainview, Eli wants wealth and influence. But his position forbids direct involvement in oil profits.

• Ambition – He has grand visions for building a shiny new church to expand his dominion over Little Boston.

• Self-doubt – Beneath his bluster, he grapples with (lit QUITE vulnerability and feels threatened by Plainview.

Their interactions expose the layers of Eli‘s multifaceted persona.

Plainview and Eli – A Shakespearean Conflict

Daniel Plainview represents ruthless, unbridled capitalism. Eli Sunday embodies religion, morality, and the community Good…or so he claims. But as money and oil flow into Little Boston, their rivalry grows increasingly toxic and dysfunctional:

• At first, they maintain a cordial partnership – Plainview needs Eli‘s blessing to gain access to oil-rich land and Eli sees Plainview‘s wealth as a means to build his church.

• As Plainview gains power, he openly scorns Eli as "a little man trying to fill his father‘s shoes" and a charlatan.

• Eli resents Plainview‘s lack of faith and influence over the townsfolk. He abuses his position as a spiritual authority to challenge and emasculate Plainview at every turn.

Their scenes bristle with tension – two ambitious men warring over the town‘s soul. Film critic David Edelstein describes it as "a kind of master-slave dialectic, with insults instead of bricks and guile instead of guns."

In the climactic church scene, a humiliated Plainview literally beats Eli into submission, butting their conflict to a violent crescendo. Their rivalry highlights the contradiction between capitalism and religion – neither side quite lives up to its principles.

Dano‘s Performance – Channeling Contradiction

In his breakout performance, Paul Dano brings contradictory facets of Eli to vivid life:

• As a preacher, he‘s grandiose and theatrical, eyes blazing with righteous fury.

• In private exchanges with Plainview, he‘s petty and defensive, seeking to assert dominance.

• Beneath the bluster, flashes of self-doubt and weakness show Eli‘s insecurity and vulnerability.

According to Dano:

"I tried to ground Eli‘s contradictions and extremes in the real life circumstances of the world and themes surrounding his life…I wanted the performance to feel like a living, breathing human who contains multitudes."

He succeeds in crafting a volatile, layered portrait of a man navigating power, ambition, and vulnerability.

Oil, Religion, and American Identity

Stepping back, the conflict between Plainview and Eli also represents broader themes in Early 20th century America:

As film critic Jim Emerson notes:

"There Will Be Blood is a big, ferocious epic about two quintessentially American characters embarking on quintessentially American stories of success, greed, power and identity."

Plainview and Eli‘s clashes around oil, faith, and community in many ways define the American experience.

The Milkshake Metaphor

In an iconic scene, Plainview explains his ruthless business philosophy using the colorful metaphor of drinking someone else‘s milkshake through a straw:

"I drink your milkshake! I drink it up!"

This illustrates his view of bleeding the land and people dry in pursuit of wealth, without regard for Christian values or community.

As Professor John L. Hammond notes, it parallels the real-life practices of industry giants like Standard Oil:

"Just as Plainview‘s long-reaching straw taps oil from properties adjacent to his own, Standard Oil monopolized the industry through tactics like horizontal integration."

So in Plainview‘s world, exploiting others is just business. But to Eli, it counters the communal spirit and Christian decency he supposedly upholds. Their differences boil down to an unbridgeable philosophical conflict.

Eli Meets a Violent End

The final act skips to 1927, when a now-wealthy Daniel Plainview is visited by a grizzled Eli Sunday, whose village and church have become deserted dustbowls thanks to Plainview‘s oil fields. Eli wants to sell the now valueless land, but Plainview smugly explains he drained it dry long ago.

Plainview then reveals his disturbingly paternal feelings towards Eli – "I‘ve always considered you family…I look at you and I see myself." But recognizing Eli as an empty mirror of his own soul drives Plainview to beat him to death, conclusively shattering their poisonous bond.

Conclusion – Dueling Sides of the American Psyche

Through the riveting twin characters of Paul and Eli Sunday, Anderson‘s There Will Be Blood explores twin facets of America‘s foundations – restless ambition and spiritual yearning. Eli Sunday embodies these dueling forces. His supernatural fervor collides explosively with Daniel Plainview‘s unbridled capitalist conquest, birthing a Shakespearean battle for the nation‘s soul.