One Battle After Another Delivers Grim Comedy, Exhilarating Action, and a Pitch-Perfect Leonardo DiCaprio in a Bathrobe

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Whenever Paul Thomas Anderson releases a new film, it’s often treated with the kind of reverence usually reserved for a special religious occasion. Because he’s known for making thought-provoking and ambitious movies like *There Will Be Blood* and *The Master*, many film enthusiasts anticipate each new release as a major event. While it’s good to be respected, this creates a difficult position for a filmmaker, particularly now that movies are often viewed as just another form of home entertainment. With so much content available on screens big and small, it’s becoming harder to stand out. In this environment, a director who truly cares about their work-like Anderson-faces a challenge: should they try to create something as grand as their previous masterpieces, or should they offer audiences something unexpected and delightfully strange?

In *One Battle After Another*, director Anderson focuses on action, and it works well. Leonardo DiCaprio plays Bob, a revolutionary expert in explosives. The film opens with Bob and his crew – who call themselves French 75, after the cocktail – raiding an immigration detention center. They dramatically free the prisoners being held by the U.S. government, loading them into a truck to escape. Bob’s girlfriend, Perfidia (Teyana Taylor), is the group’s most principled member, and like many revolutionaries, their strong beliefs sometimes overshadow their actual goals. However, they are clearly fighting for the underdog. During the raid, Perfidia – fast, strong, and captivating with a no-nonsense attitude – confidently disarms and takes control of the facility’s stern commander, Col. Steven J. Lockjaw (Sean Penn), using his own gun and barking orders at him, leaving him visibly shocked. And that’s not all that gets a reaction.

Perfidia and Bob eventually have a daughter named Charlene. Bob is completely devoted to her, but Perfidia, who comes from a family of activists and is always seeking the next big cause, feels restless. Her mother observes this difference, telling Bob, “You’re grounded and settled, while she’s always moving on.”

After a bank robbery goes wrong, Perfidia and Bob are split up, and their daughter, Baby Charlene, ends up being raised by her father. Years later, she’s a teenager named Willa (played by Chase Infiniti), and her father is doing his best to keep her safe from the dangerous life he and Perfidia once led. Though he still holds revolutionary ideals, he’s built a new life for them both and wants to shield Willa from their past.

I’m really excited about *One Battle After Another*. The author was inspired by Thomas Pynchon’s *Vineland*, and honestly, going in knowing too much about the plot would ruin it. What I can tell you is it’s set in a deeply fractured America – and it’s kind of eerie because the division he portrays feels like a few years ago, even though things are even *more* tense now. It’s a comedy, but a really dark one, about a world where violence feels like the only solution. The author isn’t celebrating that at all – he seems genuinely worried about it – but he still manages to find humor in some really tough, heartbreaking truths. It’s funny, but it stings a little too.

Paul Thomas Anderson seems particularly inspired by the complex works of Thomas Pynchon, much like he was when he adapted Pynchon’s *Inherent Vice* in 2014. His new film, *One Battle*, feels like a blend of both their styles, taking Pynchon’s ideas and atmosphere and reimagining them through Anderson’s unique lens. It’s delightfully quirky and unpredictable – where else would you encounter rebellious nuns called the Sisters of the Brave Beaver, or see Benicio del Toro as a supremely cool martial arts teacher, Sensei Sergio St. Carlos? The movie throws a lot at the audience, jumping between many different storylines, making it hard to predict how everything will come together. However, Anderson skillfully manages all these elements, aided by cinematographer Michael Bauman and editor Andy Jurgensen. One standout scene is a beautifully filmed car chase that’s surprisingly relaxed – the drama comes from the sweeping highway scenery, not from quick cuts or frantic action.

Despite its serious themes, *One Battle After Another* is surprisingly funny, though it can also be unsettlingly insightful. The film’s complex plot includes a secret white supremacist group called the Christmas Adventurers’ Club, who greet each other with a chilling “Hail, St. Nick!” and are led by a seemingly respectable figure played by Tony Goldwyn. While their self-importance is initially comical, the film subtly points out that such groups no longer need to hide in secret – they now operate openly. *One Battle* isn’t necessarily a depiction of a terrifying future, but rather a strange sort of longing for a time when bigotry was at least practiced discreetly, even while gaining power.

The film *One Battle After Another* feels remarkably relevant without being preachy. Its seriousness is subtle, almost playful, giving it a similar impact to *Dr. Strangelove*. Anderson even manages to make some of the revolutionaries seem appealing. Regina Hall portrays one with convincing passion, while Alana Haim – who was quietly brilliant in *Licorice Pizza* – plays another. She’s dressed simply, appearing completely ordinary, which makes it surprisingly unsettling to consider the lengths she might go to for her beliefs.

Anderson understands that stories about perfectly righteous revolutionaries can become tiresome. The film subtly points this out – even a dedicated character like Comrade Josh gently scolds a colleague for forgetting a crucial code word, implying a need for better dedication to the cause. While the movie explores fighting for beliefs, at its heart, *One Battle* is a more relatable story: it’s about Bob, played by DiCaprio, a single father simply trying to keep his life and his daughter safe. Willa doesn’t know her mother – she’ll eventually learn both the truth and a lie about her – but she deeply loves her father, and Infiniti portrays their complex relationship convincingly. Ultimately, though, the film rests on DiCaprio’s performance as Bob, a man who once passionately embraced every cause, but now finds that fire dimmed, replaced by a quiet life and the occasional joint. One character even jokingly calls him a “reefer addict.”

Despite the bleak circumstances, Bob hasn’t given up-his motivation has simply shifted. DiCaprio brilliantly portrays a washed-up figure, shocked by the world’s problems, but primarily focused on safeguarding his child. The film concludes with a comforting, though somewhat unrealistic, scene-the kind of simplified truth we tell children to help them feel safe. Anderson seems to understand that in the face of harsh realities, we need a little hope. He suggests that fighting for a better future requires rest, and without that small comfort, the film would end on a defeated note-something we’re not quite ready to accept.

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2025-09-18 20:06