One Battle After Another is a story about the long shadow of revolution and the cost of trying to outrun your past. Inspired by Thomas Pynchon’s Vineland, the film follows Pat “Rocketman” Calhoun (Leonardo DiCaprio). Calhoun is a former far-left revolutionary now living off the grid with his teenage daughter Willa (Chase Infiniti). Years earlier, Pat and his comrades in the French 75 ran bombing campaigns and jailbreaks while being hunted by ruthless military officer Steven J. Lockjaw (Sean Penn). Sixteen years later, Lockjaw has risen through the security apparatus. He seeks to erase any trace of his past involvement with the French 75, which might be a blemish on his career. When Lockjaw reemerges, Calhoun enters back into a life of resistance as father, fugitive, and relic of a movement that never really ended.
What works in One Battle After Another are the fantastic performances, the engaging story, the cinematography, and the intense score. DiCaprio gives a lived-in, jittery turn as Calhoun. He’s a man caught between paranoia, regret, and parental devotion. Meanwhile Penn makes Lockjaw chillingly credible as a brutal functionary. He masks his shame with ideology. And Benicio del Toro brings soulful gravitas as Sergio, a community leader and quiet revolutionary. Paul Thomas Anderson’s (Punch Drunk Love) narrative is dense but propulsive. He weaves past and present into a story that feels both personal and politically charged. Visually, the film is stunning. Shot on VistaVision by Michael Bauman (Licorice Pizza), the desert highways, foggy safe houses, and chaotic raids all have a textured, tactile quality that makes this world feel fully inhabited. Jonny Greenwood’s (Phantom Thread) score coils around the images with snarling guitars and anxious strings, ratcheting the tension until it’s practically a character of its own.
RELATED: Brad Pitt And Leonardo DiCaprio Passed On Brokeback Mountain
Audiences who prefer their thrillers a bit less overwhelming may not enjoy One Battle After Another as much as others. The movie is super intense, violent, and frequently stressful. Anderson rarely lets up, keeping the story in a near-constant state of threat and forward motion. At 162 minutes, the film is also on the longer side. Some viewers may start to feel the wear of its relentless momentum as it barrels from one confrontation to the next. The material can be uncomfortable. Raids on immigrant communities, white-supremacist cabals, and scenes of state violence are all depicted with unflinching clarity. The sensation of waiting for disaster to strike again and again may be too much for those looking for a more conventional, cathartic genre outing.
One Battle After Another is a fiercely crafted, politically charged action thriller. It showcases Paul Thomas Anderson working on a massive canvas without losing his feel for intimate character work. Powered by excellent performances, muscular storytelling, striking imagery, and Greenwood’s nerve-shredding score, it’s an experience that grabs hold and doesn’t really let go, even after the credits roll. It may be a bit much for some, but for others it will land as one of the year’s most memorable rides. Highly recommended.
Recommended if you enjoyed: No Country for Old Men, Sicario, and Children of Men
One Battle After Another is now available for rent/purchase on most digital platforms.
FOR FANBOYS, BY FANBOYS
Have you checked out LRM Online’s official podcasts and videos on The Genreverse Podcast Network? Available on YouTube and all your favorite podcast apps, This multimedia empire includes The Daily CoG, Breaking Geek Radio: The Podcast, GeekScholars Movie News, Anime-Versal Review Podcast, and our Star Wars dedicated podcast The Cantina. Check it out by listening on all your favorite podcast apps, or watching on YouTube!
Subscribe on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | SoundCloud | Stitcher | Google Play
