REVIEW: There Are No Winners in ‘One Battle After Another’
Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another is a movie which plays on the extreme sides of the political spectrum, but in a time where these extremes for more real than ever, do we really need to watch a movie about it? For me, that’s answer is no. During the opening moments of the movie, the audience is introduced to the militant activist group French 75. Led by the cocky Perfidia Beverly Hills (Teyana Taylor), the group, including Perfidia’s boyfriend, Bob (Leonardo DiCaprio), have infiltrated a detention center set on releasing the migrants. It is here where Perfidia comes face to face with the villain of our story, Colonel Steven J. Lockjaw (Sean Penn). After the success from their visit to the detention center, Perfidia and the French 75’s actions get riskier and riskier until it all comes crumbling down.
Fast forward 16 years and Bob is now living off the grid with his daughter, Willa (Chase Infiniti). Perfidia is long gone and his life as a French 75 member is in the past. That is until the Colonel tracks him and Willa down. Now, Bob must step back into the world he left behind if he has any hope of saving him and his daughter’s lives.
Loosely based on Thomas Pynchon novel’s Vineland, Anderson does not shy away from the typical tropes you expect to find in one of his movies. Dysfunctional families, flawed characters, and the idea of forgiveness are all tropes heavily featured throughout this movie. He utilizes his camera to bring heightened emotion to every action scene, while using Jonny Greenwood’s score to elevate those emotions even further. The storytelling, though, leaves much to be desired. Many times, I questioned what exactly was happening and why it was happening. The characters’ choices felt too extreme at points and did not exactly follow the trajectory that was laid out by Anderson. At just under 3 hours long, there were a number of scenes I felt could have been left out of the movie all together, including the last 15 minutes, and nothing about the movie would have changed.
DiCaprio does well as the stoner, Bob, but it is not the best performance we have ever seen from him. Taylor’s performance will leave audiences talking, but whether it is positive or negative will depend on the audience member. Infiniti is the clear standout of this movie. Her performance feels as if it came from someone who has been in the business for years rather than her first time on the big screen. Penn is delectably evil as Colonel Steven J. Lockjaw. His performance will leave you hoping for nothing but bad things to happen to his character.
Regina Hall is thoroughly underused as French 75 activist, Deandra, while Benicio del Toro makes use of every minute as Sergio St. Carlos, Bob’s accomplice. Del Toro is absolutely fantastic and was the best part of the movie for me. However, both he and Hall’s characters, as well as several other characters, could have never existed in the movie, and the outcomes would still have been the same.
One Battle After Another is not for everyone. If you are a fan of Anderson’s, you will love the movie. If you go to the movies to escape the real world, this one is not for you.
Grade: C-