Starring Daniel Day Lewis, Paul Dano, Ciaran Hinds, and Kevin J. O'Connor

The film follows the rise to power of Daniel Plainview (Lewis, Gangs of New York) - a charismatic and ruthless oil prospector, driven to succeed by his intense hatred of others and psychological need to see any and all competitors fail. When he learns of oil-rich land in California that can be bought cheaply, he moves his operation there and begins manipulating and exploiting the local landowners into selling him their property.

Plainview gains the cooperation of almost all the locals with lofty promises to build schools and cultivate the land to make their community flourish by using his young adopted son H.W. (Dano, Little Miss Sunshine) to project the image of a caring family man, ultimately, Plainview's gradual accumulation of wealth and power causes his true self to surface, and he begins to slowly alienate himself from everyone in his life.