One Battle After Another

Renowned filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson’s engrossing One Battle After Another is a politically charged thriller about combating cruelty, oppression, and power. It also examines the struggles of the revolutionary lifestyle. His 10th film is an extraordinary feat of suspense and character, powered by gripping storytelling, astonishing craftsmanship, and remarkable ensemble acting. This could possibly be his magnum opus and most ambitious endeavor yet.

Bob Ferguson (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his partner, Perfidia Beverly Hills (Teyana Taylor), are revolutionaries and members of a group called The French 75. They break into an immigrant detention center and set the detainees free, and in the process, Perfidia publicly humiliates the evil Col. Steven J. Lockjaw (Sean Penn). Meanwhile, Lockjaws is determined to extract revenge, and he ends up confronting Perfidia in a women’s bathroom as she is planting explosives at a courthouse bathroom. He doesn’t arrest her or shoot her; he tells her to meet him at a hotel, where they both meet up and have a consensual rendezvous that involves Perfidia sexually degrading Lockjaw. Months later, we see Perfidia pregnant during a striking image of Perfidia shooting rounds with her fellow comrades Deandra (Rebecca Hall), Mae (Alana Haim), and Junglepussy (Shayna McHayle).

Courtesy Warner Bros.

Time passes, and Perfidia begins to feel disconnected from Bob. As the father, their young child Willa gravitates more to Bob, as Perfidia feels down after carrying her for months on end, and now she spends so much time wanting to be away from her mother. Things go awry for the French 75 once Perfidia ends up shooting a bank security guard during a bank robbery. She ends up getting caught and re-encounters Lockjaw once again, where he ends up promising her immunity if she stays with him. Perfidia uses this opportunity to escape the United States, and she ends up taking refuge in Mexico.

The film jumps 16 years later, and we see Bob living off the grid and raising Willa (Chase Infiniti). He is very paranoid, smokes a lot of pot, and lives on the outskirts of a sanctuary city. Bob also isn’t as idealistic and seems broken down, and he’s very protective of Willa as well. During his spare time, he watches The Battles of Algiers, and you can certainly see PTA’s influence from that film. Willa is in high school, and she takes karate lessons from Sensei Sergio St. Carlos (Benicio Del Toro). Lockjaw is determined to join an ultraconservative, elite club of wealthy racist men who call their club the Christmas Adventurers Club. This club is determined to uphold white supremacy through active measures and propaganda, and they all hold very racist and xenophobic ideas.

Courtesy Warner Bros.

P.T. Anderson continues his streak. The majority of his films are indeed masterpieces; even his minor or lesser works like Inherent Vice and The Master have so many fascinating moments. Whereas his last film, Licorice Pizza, offered more joy and innocence with levels of human complexity, perhaps it was a summation to something lighter for his career. One Battle After Another finds him at his most ambitious on both a technical and thematic level. After all, it is his most expensive production to date. With a budget of over $120 million, you never see one ounce of Anderson’s vision compromised. Casting Leonardo DiCaprio for the first time, who has a long history of working with many other cinematic giants like Martin Scorsese, Christopher Nolan, James Cameron, Quentin Tarantino, and Alejandro G. Iñárritu, to name just a few. You can sense that DiCaprio is very in tune with Anderson’s vision, turning in a compelling performance as Bob that is both amusing and wrenching. You can sense that DiCaprio is having a blast with the role; he’s also putting in a lot of genuine emotion as well. The exchanges between Bob and Willia feel personal, almost as if P.T. Anderson reflected his experiences of being a father. He’s an evolving anti-hero, while Sean Penn, playing his vicious role of Lockjaw, transforms himself into a grotesque, scowling, and menacing character. He’s a character that could easily be dismissed as a caricature, but his performance is quite effective, and this type of character deserves ridicule.

Moreover, One Battle After Another is being released at just the right timing. Recently, Ari Aster’s Eddington was just released, as it taps into our current political landscape just as One Battle After Another does. Where Eddington takes place during the polarizing election year of 2020, P.T. Anderson’s films dive into the fabric of our nation and how there will always be a struggle against the machine. Aster’s film is more about our discourse and how the internet reshapes our ideologies. Anderson’s film is a revelatory work in itself. What’s even more impressive is just how flexible Anderson is with the tone, holding elements that are absurdist with a harrowing reality as it reflects our current milieu while sustaining a sense of exhilaration and tension throughout. Anderson expertly starts this film off with ultimate sensation, and the film’s third act will constantly defy your expectations. This film is epic, an instant game changer one that is timely and timeless. This is certainly one of the defining films so far of the 2020s, and Anderson has crafted one of the greatest politically charged thrillers ever made.

One Battle After Another opens Friday, September 26th in theaters everywhere