MIDNIGHT REVIEWS One Battle After Another Review

One Review After Another

Matthew D. Smith also has a podcast he co-hosts with Leslie Wai. You can find it here.

One Battle After Another (2hr 41mins)

Directed by: Paul Thomas Anderson

Featuring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Teyana Taylor, Chase Infiniti

Synopsis: Ex-revolutionary Bob (DiCaprio) is a washed-up has-been. But when his daughter Willa (Infiniti) is kidnapped, he and other revolutionary members try their best to rescue her.

Review: PTA has gone political! After commenting on the relentless pursuit of power and wealth (There Will Be Blood), the persuasiveness of charlatans that promise all the answers (The Master) and whatever Magnolia was, it’s been said that this is Anderson’s first foray into political commentary. It’s not, but it might be the film he makes that is most obviously political.

It is a movie, perhaps, that only Paul Thomas Anderson could’ve made. DiCaprio is Bob aka Ghetto Pat aka Rocketman, an explosives expert for the French 75. They are a revolutionary group who violently invade immigration detention facilities in order to promote their ideas of justice and freedom. Alongside him is Perfidia Beverly Hills (Taylor), who ends up giving birth to their daughter before effectively abandoning the two so she can continue the revolution (so she says). Years later, a man who thinks he is the real father turns back up, kidnapping Willa so he can figure out what to do when it comes to joining his racist buddies in their racist cult.

A mixed bag.

What works, on the personal and political levels, is that a viewer can sympathise with Bob to different degrees that they can decide. If they believe violent revolution is required, they can empathise with his and the French 75’s best efforts. If not, they can still at least sympathise with him as a parent whose best days are behind him (this film definitely taps into DiCaprio’s Rick Dalton performance he gave for Tarantino).

DiCaprio is, unbelievably given the nature of his character, the rock bobbing along the swirling waters in this. There’s a whole bunch of different revolutions happening all around Bob, some of which are only hinted at, and there’s just enough info for him, and us, to be swept along at enough of a clip that the near three hour runtime feels closer to ninety minutes. DiCaprio achieves the balancing act of playing this washed-up dad while also being the audience surrogate.

Like The Master before it, One Battle After Another is a bit of a showcase for principal performances. Chase Infiniti perfectly captures that feeling of being lost in a violent world she was born into and didn’t choose, but the character is never the stereotypical teenage girl that could’ve been written. Willa feels much more well-rounded than that and her three dimensions feel full despite only being hinted at.

Doesn’t seem to be able to, or want to, delve as deeply as Anderson’s previous work.

Similarly, Teyana Taylor’s performance displays strength, conviction, sexuality and a whole host of contradictions. She’s human. While Perfidia Beverly Hills only features for a limited time, her shadow looms over everything; her choices have set most of this story in motion, and the film never takes the easy route of judging or backing any of the French 75 beyond saying that racists are bad (something that, unbelievably, does need explaining to some people).

Speaking of limited time, Benicio del Toro is amazing with the small amount of space he’s afforded. Sean Penn too, the one performance that could be judged as cartoonish, does well to present a character that is laughable and terrifying all at once. His reappearance after an intense chase sequence is especially prophetic with recent news stories coming from the US (no specifics needed; just pick a story at random), while also being very funny. His twitches and gruffness go just about far enough without becoming too much.

But what of the film itself? It somehow manages to be about something entirely serious as one movement’s power over the entire world whilst being very, very fun. There are references to America’s relatively short history throughout. But it doesn’t seem to be able to, or want to, delve as deeply as Anderson’s previous work. There were comedic moments in There Will Be Blood (forever Anderson’s finest work?), The Master and the rest, so it’s not like Anderson is unable to balance these two elements. It’s more that in choosing to make what amounts to a screwball comedy-adventure, he’s neutered some of the power certain elements would otherwise have.

It’s neat that One Battle After Another manages to comment on the nature of violent revolution, but unfortunately this is a case of the star student handing in work that is rather terrific, but not as good as previous assignments. Maybe that’s it. In assigning a task to One Battle After Another (“Hey PTA, what do you think of America and the role of revolution in a country’s history?”), Anderson has turned in a Thomas Pynchon-flecked adventure where nothing is ever really resolved and no answer is ever really definitive. In looking for the answer to a question Anderson was, perhaps, never trying to answer, critics have ruined the film for themselves and commentators are wielding this instrument for their own purposes instead of what it was designed for. A mixed bag, but Anderson is still one of the best film makers working in Western cinema.

At time of writing, One Battle After Another is available to watch in cinemas. Watch it just for the final chase sequence, or the bit where DiCaprio jumps across buildings like a crap Spider-Man, or just because movies are better on the big screen, with big buckets of popcorn, alongside… big people? I’ve lost my train of thought, but my point is made, damn it!

Matthew D. Smith likes to overshare his views on movies and TV shows whenever and wherever he can. Indulge him, and follow him on Twitter or enjoy the podcast he co-hosts with Leslie Wai.