Saturday, 9 July 2022

My Brother



“Are You Familiar with 
The Thought Experiment,
The Ship of Theseus’ in 
The Field of Identity-
MetaPhysics..?”





Put. That Coffee. DOWN.
Coffee's for Closers, only.

Alec Baldwin Glengarry Glen Ross Speech

Daniel Plainview :
Get out of there! 
 Can I help you? 

Henry :
 Daniel?

Daniel Plainview :
Who's that? 

Henry :
My Name is Henry. 

Daniel Plainview :
Yeah? 

Henry :
 I'm Henry. 

Daniel Plainview :
 What can I do for you? 

Henry :
I'm Henry Plainview. 
I'm from Fond du Lac. 
 I'm Your Brother, 
from Another Mother. 
 Ernest is My Father. 

Daniel Plainview :
 Who are you? 

Henry :
 Henry.

Daniel Plainview :
Mary Branch
Is that Your Mother?

Henry :
Yes, sir, that's right. 
 I read about Your Gusher 
in The Paper, about Your Success. 

Daniel Plainview :
 You heard about my strike? 
You just show up

Henry :
 Our Father's Dead
 Ernest Died, I heard. 
I wanted to find you. 

Daniel Plainview :
 When? 

Henry :
 Three months ago. 
I got a letter from Annabelle

Daniel Plainview :
 My Sister, Annabelle? 
Where is she?

Henry :
Still at Home. 
Fond du Lac. 

Daniel Plainview :
 You came all the way 
from Wisconsin 
to tell me this? 

Henry :
I'm coming from New Mexico. 
I've been there. I came to find you. 
 Did you know about me? 

Daniel Plainview :
 Do you have Identification
 Do you have this letter?
Where are you coming from? 

Henry :
From New Mexico. 

Daniel Plainview :
 Yes, I know, but 
from where? 

Henry :
 Silver City. I've been there for two years. 
I was trying drilling of my own for years.
Getting leases in Texas. Louisiana. 

Daniel Plainview :
Anything that produced? 

Henry :
 No. Not like Your Success, no. 

Daniel Plainview :
Are you married? 

Henry :
No. I spent time in jail. 
I had a stretch of very bad time. 
I had nothing. I was 
picked up in Louisiana. 
I worked on a chain gang 
for six months building roads. 
 That was a very hard time. 
 Are you married? 

Daniel Plainview :
 What were you in jail for

Henry :
Believe it or not, for all 
the terrible things 
I've gotten myself into, 
 when they picked me up, 
I hadn't done anything

 But I've done my share of things 
 that shouldn't be talked about. 


Daniel takes a milkbottle, fills it 7/8ths up with whiskey, tops it off with milk, and then forces his deaf son 
to drink it in one --

Daniel Plainview :
 Drink it. Drink it! Come on. 

Now Daniel and Henry 
can talk in Private --

Daniel Plainview :
 So... What do you want, Henry? 

Henry :
 Nothing. If you can spare something, 
I can work for you in any way. 
I know I'll keep moving, before long, 
to get back to Fond du Lac. 

Daniel Plainview :
Do you have any money? 

Henry :
Some. Not much. 

Daniel Plainview :
Just answer me directly. 
 You say "nothing," then you say 
you'd like to stay and work. 
And it's better, I'd just like 
to hear you say you'd like to be here

Henry :
I'd like to be here
I'm a good worker. 
I worked cable tool 
rigs, built railroads. 
I won't need any favours

Daniel Plainview :
 Good. What did My Mother know? 

Henry :
I don't know. I don't know if she knew 
and looked the other way
if she never knew. 
 Why did you leave? 
 I know you didn't get on 
with Our Father. 
 
Daniel Plainview :
I worked for The Geological Survey 
and went to Kansas. 
I couldn't stay there. 
I just couldn't

 I don't like to explain myself. 
Are you an angry man, Henry?

Henry :
About what? 

Daniel Plainview :
 Are you envious
Do you get envious

Henry :
I don't think so, no. 

Daniel Plainview :
I have a competition in me....  
I want no one else to succeed. 
I hate most people. 

Henry :
That part of me is gone
 Working and not succeeding, 
 all my failures have left me... 
I just don't care.
 
Daniel Plainview :
 Well, if it's in me, it's in you. 
 There are times when I look at people 
and I see nothing worth liking
I want to earn enough money, 
I can get away from everyone. 

Henry : 
What Will You Do 
about Your Boy? 

Daniel Plainview : 
I don't know. 
Maybe it'll change
 
Does Your Sound 
come back to you?
I don't know. 
 
Maybe no-one knows that.
Doctor might not know that. 
 
Henry :
Where's His Mother? 

Daniel Plainview : 
I don't want to talk 
about Those Things. 
 
I see The Worst in People, Henry. 
I don't need to look past seeing them 
to get all that I need. 
 
I've built-up my hatreds 
over the years, 
little by little. 
 
Having you Here gives me 
a second Breath of Life
 
I can't keep Doing This 
on my own with 
these people





Henry : 
Daniel! 
Daniel, wake up! 
Daniel! 

Daniel Plainview : 
Just have to Go and Have a Word 
with The Conductor

I'll be right back. 
You stay here. You understand? 
You stay here. I'll be right back. 
 
 
No! No! No! 
Tilford!
 
Plainview. 
 
 Daniel Plainview :
This is My Brother, 
Henry Plainview 
from Fond du Lac. 
 
H.M. Tilford. 
 
Pleasure. Henry Plainview. 
J.J. Carter. So... 
Shall we?

Tilford, of Standard Oil : 
Yes. How's your boy? 

Daniel Plainview :
Thank you for asking. 

Tilford, of Standard Oil :
Is there anything we can do? 

Daniel Plainview :
 Thanks for asking is enough. 

Tilford, of Standard Oil :
 So what are your plans? 

Daniel Plainview :
Is this about buying up my tracts here? 

Tilford, of Standard Oil :
 Yes. 

Daniel Plainview :
The Cable was about my Coyote Hills lease.

Tilford, of Standard Oil :
We'd like that, too. 

Daniel Plainview :
What's your offer on Coyote Hills?

Tilford, of Standard Oil :
We'll offer $150,000 for full title. 

Daniel Plainview :
That's A Deal. What's next? 

Tilford, of Standard Oil :
 You have 11,000 acres in Little Boston. 
You have one proven well that was damaged... 
 
Daniel Plainview :
I have three wells proven
You haven't been
Paying Attention
That's three proven wells.

Tilford, of Standard Oil : 
 We'll make you a millionaire while you're sitting here 
from one minute to the next. 
 
Daniel Plainview :
And what else would I do with myself? 
 
Tilford, of Standard Oil :
Are you asking me?
 
Daniel Plainview :
What else would I do with myself? 
 
Tilford, of Standard Oil :
Take Care of Your Son...?
I don't know what you would do. 
 
Daniel Plainview :
If you were me and Standard offered to buy 
what you had for a million dollars, why? 
So, Why? 

Tilford, of Standard Oil :
You know why. 

Daniel Plainview : 
Yeah, you fellas should just 
scratch around in The Dirt 
and find it like the rest of us
instead of buying-up 
Someone Else's Hard Work. 
 
 Tilford, of Standard Oil :
I've scratched around The Dirt, Son. 
 
 
 Daniel Plainview :
You going to change your shipping costs? 
 
Tilford, of Standard Oil :
We don't dictate shipping costs. 
That's railroad business. 
 
Daniel Plainview :
You don't own the railroads? 
 'Course you do. Of course you do. 

Tilford, of Standard Oil :
 Where you going to put it all?  
Where? Build a pipeline? 

Make a Deal with Union Oil? 
Be My Guest. 
 
But if you can't pull it off
you've got an ocean of oil 
under your feet with 
nowhere to go. 
Why not turn it over to us? 

We'll make you rich. 
You spend time with Your Boy. 
 
It's a Great Discovery. 
 Now, let us help you

Daniel Plainview :
Did you just tell me how to run My Family? 

Tilford, of Standard Oil :
It might be more important
now that you've proven the field 
and we're offering to buy you out.
  
Daniel Plainview :
One night I'm going to come to you, 
inside of Your House, 
or wherever you're sleeping, 
and I'm going to cut your throat

Tilford, of Standard Oil : 
What? What are you talking about? 
Have you gone crazy?

Daniel Plainview : 
Did you hear What I Said?
 
Tilford, of Standard Oil :
I heard What You Said -- 
Why did you say it?
 

Daniel Plainview :
You don't tell me about My Son. 

Tilford, of Standard Oil : 
Why are you acting insane and 
threatening to cut my throat? 

Daniel Plainview : 
You don't tell me about my son.
 
Tilford, of Standard Oil :
I'm not telling you anything
I'm asking you to be reasonable
If I've offended you, I apologize
 
 Daniel Plainview :
You'll see What I Can Do. 
 


This parcel here is the 3,000-acre ranch owned by B.L. Harper. This is San Luis Obispo County land. 
 And from here to the coast, it's all Union Oil. 

Daniel Plainview :
 What's this? Why don't I own this? 
Why don't I own this!? 
 
That's the Bandy tract. 
He was The Holdout, when we were doing The Buying.  
He had hoped to Speak with You. 
Can't you just build the pipeline around this tract? 
 
 Daniel Plainview :
Can I build around 50 miles 
of Tehachapi mountains
Don't be thick in front of me, Al.
 
I can go to him again. 

Daniel Plainview : 
No, I'll Go and Talk to The Man. 
I'll Talk to Him. Show you How It's Done. 
All right. Pack it up, Henry. 
 
Daniel Plainview :
How big is His Room? 
 
 
He's sharing with another boy. 
 
Daniel Plainview :
Who?
 
An older boy. About 12. 
He's been there for a year. 
Named Ballard.

Daniel Plainview : 
How big is The Room? 
 
It's a fair size. 
Got enough space. 
.....are you taking Henry 
with you to meet Union Oil..?



*****

Daniel Plainview :
Are you the son of William Bandy? 

Bandy : 
Grandson. 

Daniel Plainview :
Is he here? 

Bandy :
No, he's out. 
 
Daniel Plainview :
Where is He? 
 
Bandy :
Told you, He's out. 
Now, what do you want
 
 Daniel Plainview :
I'm Daniel Plainview. 
I want to Talk with Him about 
His Property

 
About what? 

Daniel Plainview :
I believe I'll talk with him about that.

You're that oilman, aren't you? 

Daniel Plainview :
That's right. 

 We don't want you drilling out here. 

Daniel Plainview :
I don't want it either. 
Now, when will he be back? 


 Few days. 

Daniel Plainview :
 Tell him I'd like to speak with him. 
Not about drilling. 
 And I'll be back in a week. 

*****

Daniel Plainview :
 Put that in a glass case. 
 Here's to Union Oil. Hundred miles of pipeline, 
 and all the independent producers 
of this great state. 
Cheers. 
 
Daniel Plainview : 
There's that house in Fond du Lac 
 that John Hollister built. 
Do you remember it?  
I thought as a boy that was 
The Most Beautiful House 
I'd ever seen, 
and I wanted it. 
 
I wanted to live in it. 
And eat in it. And clean it. 
 
And even as A Boy, 
I wanted to have children 
to run around in it

Henry
You can have anything 
you'd like now, Daniel. 
And you should 
Where are you going to build it?

Daniel Plainview : 
Here, maybe. 
Near The Ocean. 
 
Henry :
Would you make it look like That House? 
 
Daniel Plainview :
I think if I saw That House now, 
it'd make me sick
 



Henry :
We can eat and get some women. 
Take them to the Peachtree dance. 
I say get liquored up 
and take them to the 
Peachtree dance. Yeah. 
  
Can I have some money -- please? 


*****
 
Daniel Plainview :
I want you to tell me something. 
 
Henry :
What? 
 
 Daniel Plainview :
What's the name of the farm 
next to The Hill House? 
 
What was the name of the farm, 
next to the Hill House? 
 
Henry :
I can't remember... 
 
 Daniel Plainview :
Who are you? 
 
 
 Henry :
I'll leave, Daniel. 
 
 Daniel Plainview :
Who are you? 
 
 Henry :
I'm No-One. 
Just let me get up and go. 
 
 Daniel Plainview :
Do I have A Brother? 
 
Henry :
I met A Man in King City 
who said He was Your Brother.  
We Were Friends for months. 
Working in King City. 
And he wanted to make 
his way to you, Daniel. 
 
We didn't have any money. 
He died of tuberculosis. 
 
He wasn't harmed. 
Wasn't killed, nothing bad. 
 
But he told me about you, 
and I just took His Story
used His Diary. 
 
Daniel. Daniel, I'm Your Friend. 
I'm not trying to hurt you. Never
Just Survive
 
 
No!