The Wild Political Story That Inspired One Battle After Another

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Thomas Pynchon’s novels, like his famous works *Gravity’s Rainbow* and *V.*, are known for being difficult, but also incredibly insightful. They’re captivating, funny, frustrating, and often shocking, fiercely criticizing the forces of fascism and capitalism throughout history, and packed with references to art, music, and culture. This complexity is precisely what attracts a dedicated fanbase, including director Paul Thomas Anderson. His newest film, *One Battle After Another*, is loosely based on Pynchon’s 1990 novel *Vineland*. It’s Anderson’s second time bringing Pynchon’s ideas to the screen, following the 2014 film *Inherent Vice*, a nostalgic look at California’s counterculture movement, which remains the only official cinematic adaptation of Pynchon’s work.

Almost two decades before his novel *Inherent Vice* came out in 2009, Thomas Pynchon explored the loss of the idealism of the 1960s with *Vineland*. This ambitious, postmodern novel mixes complex plots with sharp political satire, and unexpectedly shifts to moments of genuine emotion – a trademark of Pynchon’s writing. *Vineland* reflects on a time when widespread social and political change had extinguished the hopeful spirit of an entire generation in America.

When Thomas Pynchon’s *Vineland* came out, many critics saw it as a more approachable version of his work – a significant point considering how difficult novels like *Gravity’s Rainbow* and *V.* were to read. *Vineland* starts with the complicated relationship between a father and daughter in California, then expands into a sprawling, non-chronological story about a fictional revolutionary group from the 1960s. The novel follows the group’s members, their eventual downfall due to government intervention, and the years of hardship that lead to a final gathering of old friends and foes. *Vineland* suggests that while the political ideals of the 1960s were undermined by outside forces, the rise of television and consumer culture during the Reagan years also played a major role in the difficulties faced by those trying to create lasting political change.

In 2014, Paul Thomas Anderson admitted he found adapting Thomas Pynchon’s *Vineland* too daunting, feeling it was beyond his capabilities. He hasn’t changed his mind since. His film, *One Battle After Another*, isn’t a direct adaptation of *Vineland*, but rather a new, streamlined story inspired by the original novel’s central conflict. As Anderson explained to Leonardo DiCaprio in an *Esquire* interview, he took the elements of *Vineland* that resonated with him and built a completely separate narrative, admitting he essentially ‘stole’ those parts and ran with them.

How did Vineland inspire One Battle After Another?

While it’s debatable if any Thomas Pynchon story would work well as a large-scale cinematic experience, Paul Thomas Anderson’s most expensive film to date successfully adapts the central ideas of Vineland into a direct, yet unique and thrilling adventure. The film centers on a struggling father trying to rescue his daughter, a journey he hopes will prove his worth as a parent in the present and distance him from the failures of his past.

The film introduces Bob Ferguson, once known as “Ghetto Pat,” a former bomb expert for the Los Angeles revolutionary group, the French 75. Now living a secluded life among the redwoods with his teenage daughter, Willa, Bob is a shadow of his former self, lost in paranoia and clinging to the memory of a revolution that never materialized. Willa grew up without knowing her mother, Perfidia, the original leader of the French 75, whose group was destroyed by Col. Steven J. Lockjaw. Lockjaw became obsessed with Perfidia, and after an affair, he betrayed and dismantled her organization, forcing many members, including Bob and Willa, into hiding and killing others. Perfidia was offered protection in exchange for information, but she escaped to Mexico and disappeared. Sixteen years later, Lockjaw resurfaces, targeting Bob and Willa, who have been living under assumed identities in the sanctuary city of Baktan Cross. He sends his immigration taskforce to find them, shattering their quiet existence.

The complicated relationship between these four characters is similar to the core of Thomas Pynchon’s *Vineland*. While the details and characters are different, *Vineland* features Zoyd Wheeler, a musician who fakes mental illness to receive government benefits, and his daughter Prairie. They are forced to flee their home by federal agent Brock Vond, who previously had a long and manipulative affair with Prairie’s mother, Ferensi Gates. Vond used Ferensi as a spy, ultimately orchestrating the downfall of a newly formed, independent community known as the People’s Republic of Rock and Roll through a carefully planned assassination.

Ferensi was a member of a filmmaking group called 24fps that collected a lot of evidence of government wrongdoing. Prairie learns about her mother through these films. She meets DL, a ninja and Ferensi’s former best friend, who mentors Prairie and introduces her to another member of 24fps. Together, they try to figure out what happened that led to Ferensi needing long-term, hidden protection arranged by someone named Vond.

The core relationships between the four main characters are straightforward: a well-meaning but clumsy single father trying to safeguard his daughter, a revolutionary woman whose desire for power threatens her ideals, a ruthless and unstable government agent motivated by deep-seated personal issues, and a teenage girl fighting against the life story being forced upon her as danger closes in. Unlike his previous work, *Vineland*, which relied heavily on flashbacks and side plots, this story moves forward with a fast, unbroken pace. The first section quickly establishes the history of a group called the French 75 and their collapse, then jumps sixteen years ahead to when a character named Lockjaw revives his obsession with control. From that point on, the story becomes a relentless chase – and a lot of it focuses on a character named Chase.

What does One Battle After Another change from Vineland?

Anderson maintains several key character details, such as Perfidia/Frenesi’s struggle with postpartum depression, which leads to her separation from her husband and daughter. We also learn that her mother, Jennie (also known as Sasha), considers Bob (or Zoyd) unsuitable for her daughter. Additionally, a brief mention of Bob’s past musical colleagues hints at how Zoyd earns a living in *Vineland*.

Bob isn’t simply a copy of the character Zoyd. Pynchon’s Zoyd wasn’t involved in any revolution; he only encountered Frenesi after she’d already turned against her fellow revolutionaries-a more deliberate act than Perfidia’s in *One Battle After Another*. In fact, Zoyd doesn’t appear for a significant portion of the novel, only showing up at the beginning and end.

Beyond that, the supporting characters in Anderson’s adaptation differ significantly from their book versions. For example, Deandra (Regina Hall), who replaces DL Chastain from *Vineland*, is a member of French 75 who emerges from hiding to help Willa, but she lacks the skills and background of a Hollywood hitwoman as portrayed in the novel. The character of Sergio (Benicio Del Toro), Willa’s karate instructor, was created specifically for the film. He protects undocumented immigrants in Baktan Cross from aggressive immigration enforcement led by a group headed by Lockjaw.

Penn portrays Lockjaw as a frightening, awkward character who shares traits with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Though he seems like a single, exposed nerve, Brock Vond from *Vineland* is more unpredictable, charismatic, and genuinely threatening. The marijuana farm run by the “Sisters of the Brave Beaver,” where Deandra brings Willa, is only loosely based on the female ninja mission, “Sisterhood of Kunoichi,” in *Vineland*-however, both groups are led by a woman named “Sister Rochelle,” a name used by both Thomas Pynchon and Anderson.

The film *One Battle After Another* primarily features Black female characters, a deliberate change from the source novel by Pynchon. Director Anderson altered the characters’ races – including Frenesi, Prairie, and DL – and this isn’t just a nod to the history of Black activism in America. It also adds a personal layer, as the film’s main character is a worried father raising a biracial daughter. While race is a theme in Pynchon’s *Vineland*, *One Battle After Another* is notable for its boldly and satirically portrayed, deeply unpleasant racist villains, suggesting that white supremacy still drives American power.

Beyond differences in how they’re built and the characters’ histories, the most significant contrast between the written and filmed versions lies in their settings. *Vineland* is rich with details specific to its time period – sometimes exaggerated or playfully imagined – and draws on the historical suppression of political radicals during the Nixon era, which ultimately led to the more limited scope of Reagan’s “War on Drugs.” However, the more urgent and contemporary setting of *One Battle After Another* – featuring detention camps similar to ICE facilities, armed civilian groups, and the promotion of white supremacy by powerful figures – was designed to amplify the themes of *Vineland*, not contradict them.

I’ve been following things for two decades now, and it’s honestly kind of frustrating. It feels like all the same issues just keep resurfacing, no matter what’s happening in politics. It’s like nothing really changes – same problems, different year, you know?

Rather than a strict adaptation, the film *One Battle After Another* focuses on the most visually striking and emotionally resonant parts of Pynchon’s *Vineland*, moving quickly through the story as promised by the director. A key theme connecting the book and film is empathy – a concern for anyone who has lost control over their life or power, even when their efforts to improve things aren’t perfect.

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2025-09-26 15:07