ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER
2025 | Dir. Paul Thomas Anderson | 162 Minutes
"You know what freedom is? No fear. Just like Tom fucking Cruise."
2025 | Dir. Paul Thomas Anderson | 162 Minutes
"You know what freedom is? No fear. Just like Tom fucking Cruise."
The former a bomb-maker for the far-left revolutionary group the French 75, Bob Ferguson lives a seemingly over-cautious life with his teenage daughter Willa. When a formidable enemy from the past discovers their current whereabouts, the ex-rebel finds he is woefully unprepared to protect his girl.
Inspired by Thomas Pynchon's 1990 satirical novel Vineland, the world of Paul Thomas Anderson's One Battle After Another is one in which the influence of organized bigotry reaches alarmingly far and the struggling opposition is undermined by division. The film's duo protagonists caught in the conflict consist of former revolutionary Bob who is hilariously too drunken and stoned to keep up with the times and headstrong teenager Willa who is suddenly forced to learn hard truths about her place in the context of history. Both characters serve as fitting analogs respectively representing the previous and current generations of those who oppose fascism in a reasonably grounded depiction, stripped of any glorification or romanticism. The pacing of the picture is relentless, from its extended prologue detailing the radical actions of the far-left revolutionary group and their eventual dissolution to its prolonged epic car chase finale. While the plot tends to meander, the picture is consistently engaging, and every story thread weaves together impeccably by its highly satisfying conclusion.
Shot on 35mm film using VistaVision cameras, cinematographer Michael Bauman's work on One Battle After Another is absolutely stunning. The oner tracking Bob as he makes his way through Sensei Sergio's refuge for undocumented immigrants as they prepare to evacuate the city is impressively complicated but incredibly inventive and executed concisely. The sequence leads to a visually striking evening rooftop flight backlit by a mix of city and police lights as protestors and cops clash on the streets below. The chase sequence in the finale is staged elegantly, as Willa is pursued by a cold-blooded killer and Bob struggles to catch up, each shot of desolate highway keeps the viewer at the edge of their seat in anxious anticipation of what awaits down the road.
Amusingly pitiful and pitifully amusing, Leonardo DiCaprio delivers yet another performance worthy of acclaim as burnt-out retired revolutionary Bob. Chase Infiniti is captivating as young Willa, convincingly clever and tough in her film debut. As the hateful colonel antagonist, Sean Penn is at his most believably despicable, face locked in a pained snarl while he trots along with a distinct gait as if he literally has a stick lodged deep into his rectum. Though she only briefly appears is the picture, Teyana Taylor's presence is strong and unforgettable embodying complex force of nature Perfidia Beverly Hills. As his coolest, Benicio del Toro also turns in memorable performance as the calm and collected wise sensei and family friend who always has a contingency plan in his back pocket.
One Battle After Another is a harrowing journey through a deeply troubling vision of America (that might as well be tomorrow if the country stays its baffling course). While there are plenty of genuinely funny moments throughout, nearly all of the levity comes at the expense of the ex-rebel's failure to keep up with increasingly confusing circumstances due to years of constant self-medication. It's grim, but the picture offers hope by demonstrating how those who keep a level head will stick around long enough to see the next battle.
FRAGMENTS
- The idiotic division amongst the revolutionaries as depicted in the film, best exemplified by the fraught communication between Bob and Comrade Josh as they argue over passwords, reminds me of how Jin Yong depicts the rather ineffectual rebellion against the Qing Dynasty in his satirical wuxia novel The Deer and the Cauldron
- It seems absurd but totally believable for the white supremacist secret society to be Christmas-themed
- Kevin Tighe makes a brief appearance as the leader of the white supremacist secret society, but I'll always remember him as John Locke's asshole father on Lost
007 CONNECTIONS
- Benicio del Toro (Dario in Licence to Kill)
MCU CONNECTIONS
- Wood Harris (Officer Gale in Ant-Man)
- Benicio del Toro (Taneleer Tivan in Thor: The Dark World, Guardians of the Galaxy, and Avengers: Infinity War)
Inspired by Thomas Pynchon's 1990 satirical novel Vineland, the world of Paul Thomas Anderson's One Battle After Another is one in which the influence of organized bigotry reaches alarmingly far and the struggling opposition is undermined by division. The film's duo protagonists caught in the conflict consist of former revolutionary Bob who is hilariously too drunken and stoned to keep up with the times and headstrong teenager Willa who is suddenly forced to learn hard truths about her place in the context of history. Both characters serve as fitting analogs respectively representing the previous and current generations of those who oppose fascism in a reasonably grounded depiction, stripped of any glorification or romanticism. The pacing of the picture is relentless, from its extended prologue detailing the radical actions of the far-left revolutionary group and their eventual dissolution to its prolonged epic car chase finale. While the plot tends to meander, the picture is consistently engaging, and every story thread weaves together impeccably by its highly satisfying conclusion.
Shot on 35mm film using VistaVision cameras, cinematographer Michael Bauman's work on One Battle After Another is absolutely stunning. The oner tracking Bob as he makes his way through Sensei Sergio's refuge for undocumented immigrants as they prepare to evacuate the city is impressively complicated but incredibly inventive and executed concisely. The sequence leads to a visually striking evening rooftop flight backlit by a mix of city and police lights as protestors and cops clash on the streets below. The chase sequence in the finale is staged elegantly, as Willa is pursued by a cold-blooded killer and Bob struggles to catch up, each shot of desolate highway keeps the viewer at the edge of their seat in anxious anticipation of what awaits down the road.
Amusingly pitiful and pitifully amusing, Leonardo DiCaprio delivers yet another performance worthy of acclaim as burnt-out retired revolutionary Bob. Chase Infiniti is captivating as young Willa, convincingly clever and tough in her film debut. As the hateful colonel antagonist, Sean Penn is at his most believably despicable, face locked in a pained snarl while he trots along with a distinct gait as if he literally has a stick lodged deep into his rectum. Though she only briefly appears is the picture, Teyana Taylor's presence is strong and unforgettable embodying complex force of nature Perfidia Beverly Hills. As his coolest, Benicio del Toro also turns in memorable performance as the calm and collected wise sensei and family friend who always has a contingency plan in his back pocket.
One Battle After Another is a harrowing journey through a deeply troubling vision of America (that might as well be tomorrow if the country stays its baffling course). While there are plenty of genuinely funny moments throughout, nearly all of the levity comes at the expense of the ex-rebel's failure to keep up with increasingly confusing circumstances due to years of constant self-medication. It's grim, but the picture offers hope by demonstrating how those who keep a level head will stick around long enough to see the next battle.
FRAGMENTS
- The idiotic division amongst the revolutionaries as depicted in the film, best exemplified by the fraught communication between Bob and Comrade Josh as they argue over passwords, reminds me of how Jin Yong depicts the rather ineffectual rebellion against the Qing Dynasty in his satirical wuxia novel The Deer and the Cauldron
- It seems absurd but totally believable for the white supremacist secret society to be Christmas-themed
- Kevin Tighe makes a brief appearance as the leader of the white supremacist secret society, but I'll always remember him as John Locke's asshole father on Lost
007 CONNECTIONS
- Benicio del Toro (Dario in Licence to Kill)
MCU CONNECTIONS
- Wood Harris (Officer Gale in Ant-Man)
- Benicio del Toro (Taneleer Tivan in Thor: The Dark World, Guardians of the Galaxy, and Avengers: Infinity War)
