Paul Thomas Anderson’s ‘One Battle After Another’ is a satirical action thriller that never takes a moment to breathe. It reminds me of his earlier work, one of my favourite films, ‘Magnolia,’ where throughout the film’s 188-minute runtime we witness a multi-character drama that never ends and never lets up. For 188-minutes, ‘Magnolia’ gives us scene-after-scene of high drama, characters at their lowest point, one after the other that leaves you breathless. ‘One Battle After Another’ feels exactly like this but instead of drama, it is danger, it is action, it is comic, and it is relentless.

The story revolves around Pat Calhoun (Leonardo DiCaprio), an explosives expert who is part of a revolutionary group called French 75. Alongside his partner Parfidia Beverly Hills (Teyanna Taylor), they commit robberies, armed breakouts of illegal detained immigrants, shut down power grids, and the like all in the name of toppling the capitalist overlords of America. Pat and Parfidia fall in love and become a couple but Parfidia is also the obsession of Steven Lockjaw (Sean Penn), a high-ranking soldier whom she humiliates during one of their revolutionary attacks. When one of their missions go astray, Parfidia is taken into custody and Pat changes his name to Bob and he takes their daughter, now called Willa (Chase Infiniti) and escapes into a sanctuary town. But Lockjaw is not done, he goes after Willa and Pat/Bob must rescue his daughter as the world continues the fight he has left behind when he went into hiding.

‘One Battle After Another’ is a dark, cynical look at today’s world, written by Anderson, who was inspired by Thomas Pynchon’s novel ‘Vineland’. The world he creates in this movie satirizes both revolutionary movements as well as the conservative people in power as the film tangentially tackles racism, immigration, and different forms of oppression. I say tangentially, because the film takes the point-of-view of Pat/Bob, who we get the impression is a middling revolutionary at best. When he moves to the sanctuary town, he becomes addicted to weed and is a drunk and has left that whole world behind. When his daughter gets taken, he must return to the movement, but the movement has continued on without him. As Lockjaw practically invades the sanctuary town and its primarily Latin American population, the people of the town are ready to fight back but all of this goes over Pat/Bob’s head. He only has one thing in mind: getting Willa back.

What’s incredible about Anderson’s direction and writing is how he put together a feisty film criticizing American politics while distracting us from it with humor, fast-paced suspense and action, and an incredible filmmaking style that has us at the edge of our seat throughout the entire film. Shot magnificently in IMAX by cinematographer Michael Bauman. He shifts from a handheld to wonderfully cinematic long shots that truly capture the scope of Anderson’s vision. The film is also scored by the incredible Jonny Greenwood, who uses a jazz score to constantly keep us from ever feeling settled. The syncopated, discordant notes are always keeping us on our toes, never allowing us to breathe.

Everyone in the film is incredible. Leonardo DiCaprio and Sean Penn remind us why they are Oscar winners by completely inhabiting their characters and are playing it to the hilt and allowing for both the seriousness and the silliness of their characters to its full measure. Teyana Taylor is a force of nature as Perfidia. She’s commanding. Her permanent scowl evokes a fierceness that she brings with her to every scene.

Chase Infiniti never gets swallowed by the sheer talent that surrounds her, standing on her own two feet, and shows off a powerful screen presence. Benicio Del Toro is such a wonderful presence as Pat/Bob’s only friend and the de facto leader of the Latin American community in the sanctuary town. 

The film is equal parts funny and thrilling, there’s very little to not enjoy in this movie. But what I love most about it is the way Anderson centers the film on two white people in a predominantly Hispanic and black and female, where one (Lockjaw) is the epitome of the conservative American white supremacist and the other (Pat/Bob), who is completely disconnected from the greater battle that surrounds the film as he only cares for his own personal mission to save his daughter. The way the film represents the current racial crisis in America is so obvious to me despite it not being in the front and center of the narrative. There’s no preaching or moralizing here. The film takes a whole hour to set up the backstory of Pat, Perfidia, and Lockjaw and then the next hour to have Willa taken and Pat-now-Bob chase after her. It’s clever and well-hidden in a flurry of great filmmaking.There’s no question this will to be a front-runner come awards season and it’s definitely one of my favourite cinematic experiences this year.

My Rating:

One Battle After Another is showing on the big screen! Experience Thomas Anderson’s relentless, thrilling vision the way it’s meant to be seen. Check cinema showtimes near you and grab your tickets today!