I have never seen a Paul Thomas Anderson movie before, so this is my first one. Don’t come for me.
That said, I can now understand why people love his films. One Battle After Another is bold, chaotic, and strangely magnetic a film that feels both messy and meaningful at the same time. It’s very manly in its tone and energy, even though the women are easily the most powerful, independent, and captivating characters on screen. I’m still not sure if I loved it, or if it’s one of those films I’ll end up appreciating more the longer I think about it.
Leonardo DiCaprio plays Bob, a scruffy, washed-up revolutionary who only gets scruffier as time goes on. Once part of a militant activist cell that attacked migrant prisons on the Mexican border, Bob’s role was small setting off fireworks while his sharper comrades, like the fearless Perfidia (Teyana Taylor) and the calculating Howard, took charge. Perfidia, both Bob’s lover and the group’s magnetic leader, manipulates her enemies with unnerving control, even firing an assault rifle while nine months pregnant one of the film’s most jaw-dropping moments.
Years later, Bob has fallen apart. He’s now a broken single dad raising his sharp, disciplined daughter Willa (Chase Infiniti) while drowning in booze, drugs, and nostalgia. He spends his days watching The Battle of Algiers, mumbling about the past, and avoiding reality. Meanwhile, Willa wrestles with questions about her mother and an even more uncomfortable question about who her real father might be. When Bob’s old comrades resurface, he’s too burned-out to remember the revolution’s code words… or maybe the revolution itself.
The film has flashes of dark, almost accidental comedy. One of my favourite recurring bits is Bob’s desperate attempt to charge his phone a perfect symbol of his uselessness and disconnection. Another is the scene where he tries to escape Sean Penn’s unhinged commander, Steven Lockjaw, only to fall out of a tree straight into custody. It’s tragic and hilarious in that specific PTA way, where humiliation becomes a kind of poetry.
The production design is wacky but compelling full of grit, smoke, and surreal colour. What really stood out to me, though, was the cinematography. The way Anderson shoots the car sequences against the glowing desert hills makes everything look simultaneously cinematic and dreamlike, like a half-remembered nightmare.
Regina Hall as Deandra and Chase Infiniti as Willa absolutely steal the film. They have real presence and charisma, grounding the chaos with emotional weight. DiCaprio gives one of his strangest performances yet part tragedy, part parody and it somehow works. An honourable mention also goes to the Taciturn hitman played by Eric Schweig.
Overall, One Battle After Another is messy, ambitious, and sometimes confusing, but I think that’s the point. It’s about losing control of your ideals, your family, your phone chargers and remembering passwords.