‘One Battle After Another’ Review: The Revolution will be on the Silver Screen

The current landscape of the United States is chaotic. Every day is filled with increasing hostility as news, politics, violence, and societal struggles are amplified to deafening degrees. It feels like one battle after another, and that’s exactly the message Paul Thomas Anderson’s latest masterpiece brilliantly conveys. One Battle After Another is a sharp and poignant reflection of America that pulls directly from today’s events. There’s quite a bit of humor to dampen the impact, but make no mistake, the action thriller pulls zero punches in showing how explosive, scary, and at times ridiculous the world we live in has gotten. The revolution might not be televised, but it will be on the Silver Screen.

Leonardo DiCaprio is Pat Calhoun, a member of the revolutionary group known as the French 75, who in his younger days helped them free detained immigrants from a deportation center in California among other acts. After falling in love with fellow revolutionary Perfidia Beverly Hills, played by Teyana Taylor, she becomes pregnant and they have a daughter. Pat’s focus shifts to raising a family but Perfidia remains steadfast to her revolutionary activities, resulting in her getting arrested by the government with Pat and an infant Charlene forced to go into hiding. 16 years later and “Bob” and “Willa” are living a relatively quiet life, but Bob’s past puts his family in jeopardy when a former French 75 member is captured and gives up their names. Now in the run, Bob must remember the life he left behind and do what he can to protect his daughter who is none the wiser to everything that is going on, only that the government wants her and her father dead.

The timeliness of One Battle After Another cannot be ignored as this country’s freedoms are being threatened by those in power and people are looking for hope and goodness wherever they can find it. This is a film about hope. It’s a film about immigration. It’s a film about abuse of power. It’s a film about revolution. And make no mistake, Paul Thomas Anderson does not hesitate to show who is right and who is wrong in this situation. The French 75 are rebelling against an oppressive government with Col. Steven J. Lockjaw (Sean Penn) as its menacing figurehead. He was the one in charge of the detention center in California when the film starts and he’s wanted revenge against the rebels ever since. Like a terminator sent from Skynet, he is relentless in hunting them down and will use any means necessary, legal or otherwise, to do so. Penn is excellent as the creepy and obsessed Lockjaw; every one of his mannerisms from his hobbled walk to his licking of lips is effectively used to enhance his uncomfortable yet intimidating screen presence.

DiCaprio on the other hand is part revolutionary but all comic relief as well. Back when he was a member of the French 75 he was their explosive expert and called Rocketman, but in the years since then he’s done a bunch of drugs and has forgotten pretty much everything he was told to remember when given a new identity. So when Lockjaw comes looking for him and his daughter 16 years later, he scrambles to remember the plan in case this exact scenario were to come true. It’s hilarious to watch him dig deep in his brain for any memory of what to do or argue with the secretive current members of the revolution about the various passphrases he’s supposed to remember. Him going ballistic over how to respond to “What year is it?” is one of the all time greatest scenes from Paul Thomas Anderson’s extensive filmography. Helping Bob is Benicio del Toro’s Sergio St. Carlos, Willa’s sensei and one of the leading figures helping the undocumented community. Not only is he one of the genuine good guys of the film but his attitude about everything is so nonchalant that it’s awe-inspiring what he accomplishes. Anderson gives all of the people in the film so much character and depth you can’t help but wonder what their stories are.

What stands out most about One Battle After Another is how Anderson balances the humor with the terrifying reality of it all. I have no doubt that the government abuses its power to covertly silence those it believes to be a threat to their status quo. No aspect of the film captures it better than the Christmas Adventurers Club, an organization of elites who essentially rule the country through secretive meetings in hidden bunkers with outlandish mottos and sayings. There is a new opening for membership, and Lockjaw wants nothing more than to be a part of this exclusive club, which is why he must remove Bob and Willa first. Anderson takes the idea to an obscene level of absurdity that’s hilarious in the context of the film, but you can’t help but look back and see the stepping stones that were laid out to arrive at this precise moment. What is truth and what is a conspiracy theory? One Battle After Another blends it all together into a tense, hilarious, and all around bombastic thriller that couldn’t be any more on the nose.

Sometimes you have to laugh in order to keep yourself from crying. That’s what One Battle After Another feels like. As the title suggests, revolutions aren’t won overnight. And the film itself doesn’t really say anything we don’t already know. This is the current moment we’re in, however, and there may be an absurdity to it, but there is truth as well. Paul Thomas Anderson knocks it out of the park and then some with One Battle After Another. Seeing it on the Silver Screen couldn’t feel more relevant.