Disclaimer: mild spoilers
What must it have been like to see “Jaws” in 1975, “Terminator 2” in 1991 or any other classic blockbuster right when it was released? Did those lucky souls know that those movies would still be talked about years, decades into the future? The enduring legacy of any work of art is extremely difficult to predict, but “One Battle After Another” might be the closest thing to a unanimous, surefire classic we’ve had in years.
“One Battle After Another” was directed by Paul Thomas Anderson (PTA for short). If you aren’t a cinephile or someone who came of age when he started making movies in the late 90s, your only frame of reference for PTA is probably TikTok edits of Daniel Day-Lewis screaming “I’ve abandoned my boy!” in “There Will Be Blood” (or maybe I’m completely underestimating the general knowledge of art and film that often seems to be a prerequisite for being a student at Macalester). In the pantheon of great American filmmakers, PTA never really became a household name, at least not on the level of some of his contemporaries like Quentin Tarantino and Wes Anderson. However, after “One Battle After Another” — which is already generating critical buzz and will almost certainly be nominated for numerous Oscars — maybe he will finally (and deservedly) be pushed into the mainstream.
Loosely adapted from Thomas Pynchon’s “Vineland,” a dense but very entertaining novel, “One Battle After Another” immediately throws you into the action as revolutionaries stationed near the US-Mexico border raid immigration centers to free detained migrants. During one of these raids, they meet Colonel Steven J. Lockjaw (Sean Penn), a ruthless immigration officer who exhibits all the classic symptoms of short-man syndrome (and who is also sporting the literal worst haircut ever to grace the silver screen). He develops a sexual fascination with a rebel named Perfidia (Teyana Taylor) and is eventually able to coerce her into bed — a moment that sets the rest of the story into motion. However, Perfidia ends up having a daughter with another revolutionary named Bob Ferguson (Leonardo DiCaprio), who is tasked with raising her while Perfidia leaves to continue the pursuit of rebellion. Flash forward sixteen years, and Lockjaw is on the hunt for Bob and his daughter Willa (newcomer Chase Infiniti), as the white supremacist underground supergroup he is trying to join, the Christmas Adventurers, thinks that Willa is his child.
If the plotline (which barely scratches the surface of the whole story, truth be told) seems like a lot, that’s because it is. I won’t sugarcoat it — this movie is not simple. The first forty minutes (before the flash forward) is part love triangle, part war movie and part family drama, whereas the rest is part dark comedy, part buddy road movie, part action movie and overall a very striking reflection of our current political state as it descends into fascism. On top of all of that, there are so many characters to keep track of (it is technically a Pynchon story, after all). Still, it is because of these reasons that “One Battle After Another” is so fun. Somehow, PTA is able to weave together a coherent story of intertwining vignettes that allow all of the unique characters to shine in their own ways.
There’s Bob Ferguson, the vape-addicted middle-aged stoner who is simply trying to look out for his daughter and failing every step along the way, Willa Ferguson, a classically rebellious teen who can’t stand her dad’s paranoia and Sensei Sergio (Benecio del Toro), Willa’s laid-back karate instructor who runs a “Latino Harriet Tubman situation” out of his apartment. Beyond the central characters, there are the hilarious and complex remnants of Bob’s old revolutionary group, such as Perfidia, and the very ice-y agents (pun intended) of the highly militarized immigration police force run by the twitchy and pathetic Lockjaw. Again, while that may seem like a lot, the nearly three-hour runtime allows for plenty of space to take it all in. As famed critic Roger Ebert once said, “No good movie is too long and no bad movie is short enough.” I could’ve watched hours and hours more of this story and these characters.
Much has been said and much will be said about the political nature of “One Battle After Another.” For a film shot before the election, the major plot points surrounding immigration and border patrol feel incredibly relevant and predictive. PTA has never been a particularly controversial filmmaker, and politics are often in the background of his films rather than front and center. In this movie, PTA takes our current political moment and sharpens it until it’s unavoidable, making his white-nationalist characters look both frightening and ridiculous. Certain aspects of the plot may seem absurd on paper, especially everything involving the Christmas Adventurers white supremacist group, but they truly hold a mirror to many of the stories and headlines we see every day.
It is rare that a $150 million American studio production has this much to say about the current events and people that plague our country and is also a goddamn good time at the movies. To laugh at racists, thrill at car chases through rolling desert hills, cry tears of sentimentality and joy and come away with a glimmer of optimism about the future that young people will build, go see “One Battle After Another.” Future classics this bold don’t come around often. When they do, you don’t want to miss out on the opportunity to tell your grandkids that you were there when movie history loudly shifted course, showing that blockbusters can be as daring, political, and unforgettable as any work of art.
