The revolution gets energized in Paul Thomas Anderson’s dynamite ‘One Battle After Another’

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Paul Thomas Anderson’s new movie, “One Battle After Another,” really hit home for me. It made me think – honestly, that title could describe pretty much the entire story of humanity! I often find myself daydreaming about living in a more peaceful time, but then I pause and wonder… when *was* a calm time, really? It’s strangely comforting to realize struggle seems to be built into the human experience.

Each generation fights for progress – whether it’s the right to vote, equal treatment, independence, good healthcare, a fair wage, or simply the freedom to continue the fight. When Thomas Pynchon published his novel “Vineland” in 1990, he explored this struggle through the story of a group of 1960s counterculture activists. He seemed to believe the movement had failed to fundamentally change America, suggesting that even after the Watergate scandal, while leaders changed, the underlying systems of control simply became more subtle and pervasive.

Paul Thomas Anderson’s take on this story is surprisingly upbeat. While it definitely acknowledges the ongoing conflicts – the clash between those with ideals and those who just follow orders, the fight between progressives and traditionalists, the battle between the dedicated and the self-serving – it ultimately focuses on the positive. It’s almost…inspiring to see people still willing to stand up and fight for what they believe in, even amidst all the chaos. It chooses to see the glass half full, and honestly, I appreciated that.

I just finished watching Anderson’s “Battle,” and it’s a wild ride! It follows this fictional revolutionary group, the French 75, over a 16-year period. Teyana Taylor is incredible as Perfidia Beverly Hills, the intense leader, and the group is filled with fascinating characters like Regina Hall as Lady Champagne, Alana Haim as Mae West, and Junglepussy. There’s also Leonardo DiCaprio playing Ghetto Pete, who’s Perfidia’s lover and eventually the father of their daughter, Willa – Chase Infiniti does a great job as the teenage Willa later on. Under Perfidia’s leadership, they’re involved in everything from freeing immigrants to blowing up campaign offices and even taking down the power grid. What’s really cool is that Anderson intentionally keeps the timeline a little blurry – it honestly feels like it could be happening right now, like it was filmed in the future!

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Paul Thomas Anderson, the filmmaker behind acclaimed movies like “Boogie Nights” and “There Will Be Blood,” is back with a powerful and intense new film exploring American protest and disagreement, inspired by Thomas Pynchon’s novel “Vineland.”

Over the long history of film, other actors have certainly played characters who are as alluring, strong-willed, and fiery as Taylor’s Perfidia – a character who is nine months pregnant and skillfully wielding a machine gun. However, it’s hard to think of anyone who has combined all those qualities with such impact. You genuinely feel she could deliver a devastating, and potentially fatal, blow, much like the deadly kiss described by author Thomas Pynchon.

The film’s powerful female leader takes center stage in the first act, completely overshadowing DiCaprio’s character, who appears weak and insignificant in comparison. She immediately challenges him to impress her, but he consistently fails. DiCaprio excels at playing flawed, almost comical characters, much like his portrayal of a desperate Jordan Belfort in “The Wolf of Wall Street” – someone who’s lost control and is struggling. Shortly after, this leader confronts and belittles Colonel Lockjaw (Sean Penn), unexpectedly revealing his hidden and intense sexual desires.

Lockjaw, a powerfully built but unsettling man, is obsessed with Perfidia and determined to control her – strangely, he’s aroused by her dominance over him. He’s a deeply submissive character, a conflict brilliantly portrayed by the actor when Lockjaw first arrives at Perfidia’s home with flowers, and later returns with a battering ram after she ignores him. While the author envisioned him as a smaller man with an athletic gait, the actor plays him with an exaggerated, swaggering walk.

Lockjaw strongly dislikes Bob DiCaprio, and Perfidia isn’t happy about becoming a mother. She feels trapped and wants to prove she’s more than just a mother. Bob encourages her to join the revolution as she leaves. He cradles their baby, unaware that in fifteen years, he’ll be a single father living in secrecy, and the revolution he and his friends fought for will have failed. Perfidia’s history, much like Lockjaw’s, will eventually catch up with them, forcing Bob and their daughter, Willa, to flee separately, hoping each has the skills to survive. Bob doesn’t handle the situation well, but he does suffer a serious fall – plummeting forty feet from a building.

Comparing “Battle” to “Vineland” is being kind. The film feels like Anderson drew inspiration from Pynchon, then deliberately struck out in his own creative direction. While both works share a similar playful, sexually charged, and morally ambiguous tone – and both enjoy a bit of mischievous, suggestive humor – “Battle” ultimately reflects Anderson’s unique vision and style.

He’s refocused the story and its characters on issues of race, and it’s interesting to note that the blended family of characters Bob and Perfidia resembles the director’s own family with Maya Rudolph. A brief, poignant moment where Bob admits he doesn’t know how to style Willa’s hair is particularly effective. Just like a bartender updating the classic French 75 cocktail – originally created during World War I to honor an Allied weapon – the director understands you can swap elements (like changing champagne to grenadine, or the DEA for ICE) while still challenging the established order.

Lockjaw is struggling with a strange obsession while also wanting to be accepted by a group of pretentious white nationalists created for the movie, “The Christmas Adventurers Club.” (Their motto is brilliantly funny and we don’t want to give it away!) The makeup and hair teams have deliberately made these powerful, prejudiced characters look unpleasant and sickly, and they’ve done the same for a group of heavily tattooed members of a rural extremist group. These characters certainly don’t represent the idea of a superior race.

This film presents a disturbing trio of characters – a ruthless oilman like the one in “There Will Be Blood,” a controlling spiritual leader reminiscent of “The Master,” and modern-day, nationalistic figures. Anderson seems to be arguing that these types have twisted the original ideals of America’s founders. While Anderson usually lets audiences interpret his films, “Battle” takes a clear stance, likely because the director particularly dislikes this character, Lockjaw. Unlike the compelling, complex villains in Anderson’s previous films, Lockjaw isn’t given any charm. He’s not just a racist, but someone who uses racist ideas to advance his own selfish goals – a hollow and opportunistic con artist. Though Lockjaw can be frightening in his obsessive pursuit of Willa, he’s ultimately as pathetic as the film’s other weak characters.

The story mainly revolves around different groups either trying to safeguard Willa, who carries the dangerous genetic code of Perfidia, or eliminate her. Throughout it all, Jonny Greenwood’s unsettling music, driven by a relentless and almost frantic piano, creates a sense of unease. This feeling of disorientation is echoed by Bob, who has forgotten the crucial code words needed to contact the resistance, lamenting that he’s completely lost his memory.

The story has a couple of small weaknesses: the idea that any single person is uniquely important in an endless fight against injustice feels out of place, and one character’s sudden change of heart isn’t very believable. More importantly, the film emphasizes that humanity’s biggest struggles aren’t in the future-they’re happening right now. The way Lockjaw justifies sending in troops, using immigration raids as an excuse, leads to real harm for many people, especially people of color.

Anderson avoids emotional manipulation, maintaining a brisk pace throughout the film with editor Andy Jurgensen. His boldest decision is trusting the audience to feel sympathy for the individuals portrayed, even without overly dramatic, close-up shots of their suffering. Instead, a simple image – bored children in jail tossing a crumpled foil blanket – delivers a powerful emotional impact.

The film also features wonderfully playful and insightful scenes with Benicio del Toro as Sergio St. Carlos, Willa’s karate instructor and a modern-day guide for undocumented workers, much like Harriet Tubman. One striking shot, beautifully captured by cinematographer Michael Bauman, shows St. Carlos’ skateboarding helpers leaping across rooftops against the backdrop of a building illuminated like the American flag. Considering his powerful performances in both this film and “The Phoenician Scheme,” it’s clear that Benicio del Toro is a force of nature, and it’s a joy to watch him take charge.

Despite its aggressive title, “One Battle After Another” isn’t about individual fights. The violence is widespread and feels like it comes from powerful institutions, affecting people in a cold, detached way. Characters appear briefly and then disappear, swept up in the ongoing conflict. Some are well-known, while others remain nameless, but the cycle of events continues without pause.

You’d expect a typical movie to show us what happens to everyone at the end, but Anderson deliberately avoids that. It’s a surprisingly powerful choice. He doesn’t want to tie everything up neatly because that would suggest a definitive ending, and he doesn’t believe in those. Instead, he emphasizes that progress relies on collaboration – as the title suggests, others will step up to replace those who fall, just as they always have.

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2025-09-24 23:32