Sometimes you leave a movie with questions, and maybe you think the source material will have answers. Or maybe you are simply interested in reading the novel that inspired or was adapted into that movie. But walking out of There Will Be Blood last night, I wasn’t so inclined to read Upton Sinclair’s Oil! Instead, I wanted to rush to the nearest Barnes and Noble and pick up a copy of the Bible.
I’ve taken enough film classes to know that it helps to have an understanding of the Bible in order to properly discuss a lot of cinema’s greatest works. However, I’ve managed to get by just fine in my film studies without having picked up the Good Book. Maybe I’ve depended too much on other scholars and experts to spell out the religious connections in specific films, but with There Will Be Blood I’m finally thinking its time to do the reading on my own. Most films studied in my classes had those obviously apparent shots evoking Biblical imagery — a man positioned in a crucifix pose, two distinct lines intersecting like a cross, etc. — and it was easy to think I knew enough to notice basic parallels. When it came to more specific Biblical allusions and imagery, I simply missed out on some deep textural appreciation, no different than missing out on allusions to other texts unread by or unknown to me.
