Pan and Slam

One Battle After Another

R 2h 41m

• Director
  • Paul Thomas Anderson
• Writers
  • Paul Thomas Anderson
  • Thomas Pynchon
• Stars
  • Leonardo DiCaprio
  • Sean Penn
  • Benicio Del Toro

By Jason Koenigsberg

Paul Thomas Anderson joins forces with Leonardo DiCaprio for the first time, a collaboration that should make most film lovers salivate for One Battle After Another. DiCaprio turned down the role of Dirk Diggler in PT Anderson’s breakout film Boogie Nights (1997). He has recently stated that he wish he took that role since he considers it one of the best movies of the 90’s but instead Leo chose to star in a little movie called Titanic so I would say things worked out well for everyone. Since 1997 Leo has established himself as one of the best actors of his generation and PT Anderson has directed critically acclaimed films for nearly thirty years now. Their paths have never crossed until One Battle After Another and those who appreciate artistic filmmaking at the highest level should rejoice. This is indeed one of the best movies of the year. A smart, funny, political thriller of sorts. A friend of mine described the plot as The Big Lebowski (1998) meets Taken (2009) and that is essentially the best way to describe the events that unfold. But the best way to experience this wild and topical adventure film is to just sit back and enjoy the ride. Let Paul Thomas Anderson work his magic and the audience will walk out satisfied.

The opening shot is a woman walking on the streets with the sun on her back and she puts on a black hat. She is meeting up with a group of revolutionaries, or domestic terrorists depending on what term you want to use to describe them that are trying to free illegal immigrants from an internment camp. Leonardo DiCaprio’s character is working with her as their explosives expert. They infiltrate the camp and there are shots of the infamous border wall and that seems to be the social commentary One Battle After Another is setting up. But the first fifteen minutes also contains weird sexual humor between the female we see in the opening shot and a bizarre love triangle develops between her, DiCaprio, and military man running the camp played by Sean Penn. But then something happens that should not be spoiled. The movie flashes forward fifteen years and the narrative really gets rolling as DiCaprio has to find and save his daughter from Sean Penn’s sadistic soldier.

One Battle After Another does not condone nor does it endorse the domestic terrorist acts from the main characters. The movie has a laissez faire attitude towards the actions of the main characters and the government response. It does clearly make Sean Penn’s soldier out to be a monster possibly a commentary about what our military is doing to migrant families and there is a secret society of upper class white people that seems to be in control of a lot of aspects of our government and they are meant to resemble Trump and the people who put him in power. It is obvious Paul Thomas Anderson really does not care much for rich white men even though he is one himself . The less said about the plot the better so viewers going into One Battle After Another can enjoy the two and a half hour roller coaster.

Not enough can be said to commend the performances. Leonardo DiCaprio dominates an auteurs vision once again. He commands the screen with an empathy and humble strength few movie stars can match even here as he plays a sad sack loser for the majority of the film. It cannot be understated that DiCaprio may be the best actor of his generation but his comedic talents may be his most overlooked quality. For some of his best films in the past decade and a half his adept and subtle comedic stylings have enhanced movies such as The Wolf of Wall Street (2013), Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019) and now here in One Battle After Another he seals the deal as someone who can nail funny and serious with a bullseye. Sean Penn plays a despicable character very well and deserves as much praise as DiCaprio for this film. Benicio Del Toro as the Hispanic Sensei also has outstanding scene stealing moments. There are four Oscars between those three men and One Battle After Another takes advantage of all of their talents exquisitely.

The best moment of One Battle After Another is a car chase and it is unlike any car chase ever seen. The camera goes up and down these hills and the cinematography usage pays off with how the chase ends. Kudos to PT Anderson for shooting a car chase in the desert in an inventive and way that will enthrall audiences. This review has mentioned a lot of other movies but two other films that immediately come to mind that may have influenced the writer/director are Commando (1985) where Arnold Schwarzenegger has to save his daughter, and Running on Empty (1988) about a counterculture couple on the run from the FBI and their son played by River Phoenix has to pay for the mistakes of his parents. The ending shows that even though the battle as far as this movie is concerned is over there is no reason to be optimistic since this is a seemingly never ending war against the powers that be and a systematic change may never come. One Battle After Another is an easy film to recommend and is likely going to be remembered for years to come.