‘ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER’ Review: A Relentless, Revolutionary Masterpiece That’s Nothing Short of Miraculous

Courtney Howard // Film Critic

ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER

Rated PG, 2 hours and 41 minutes

Directed by: Paul Thomas Anderson

Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Sean Penn, Chase Infiniti, Teyana Taylor, Benicio Del Toro, Regina Hall, John Hoogenakker, Tony Goldwyn

Filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson pulls at least two magic tricks during ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER. The first is that the auteur blends wildly extreme tones – absurdist satire, poignant drama and propulsive action-suspense – into one cogent, coherent tale about revolutionaries, fascist regimes, underground railroads, secret masonic organizations and parenthood. The other trick is that he manages to take the nearly three hour run time and make it feel like a swift 90 minute sprint to the finish line. As sincere and sentimental as it is silly, it’s a flawless, riveting, arresting work of genius and a sublime masterpiece.

When we first meet Leonardo DiCaprio’s character, he’s Pat, the explosives expert joining the resistance movement known as the French 75. He and his cohorts are on a mission to extricate immigrant detainees from the camps at the US-Mexico border guarded by monstrous American militant Steven Lockjaw (Sean Penn) and his troops. Their endeavor is a success, as are future quests bombing government offices, power grids and banks. But an ill-fated triangle forms. Just as Pat launches his romantic relationship with the group’s most outspoken warrior, Perfidia Beverly Hills (Teyana Taylor), Lockjaw takes an interest in her too, landing her in hot water when, unbeknownst to Pat, he catches her during an operation.

Knowing Lockjaw’s weakness, street-smart Perfidia covertly trades sex for her freedom, buying her time on the outside, carrying on the rebels’ goals and having a baby girl with Pat. However, her plan is cut short when post-partum depression strikes and a mission goes awry. She’s forced to rat on her teammates and go into hiding, sending everyone else scrambling to survive, including Pat and their kid. 16 years later, now living in a remote Northern California area as Bob and Willa Ferguson (Chase Infiniti), the father and daughter’s peace is once again interrupted when Lockjaw, who’s risen in rank, seeks to clean up the loose threads of his past in order to secure a powerful position. And to our entertainment and enjoyment, hijinks and havoc ensue.

Anderson has crafted an ambitious film that retains all the weird, quirky characteristics of Thomas Pynchon’s work (the author’s “Vineland” gets an inspired-by credit), yet is still incredibly accessible to the masses as a straightforward dramedy-thriller. He marries influences, molding Bob’s stoner struggles – as a burnout-in-a-bathrobe caught in a much larger conspiracy – from the same clay as The Dude’s in THE BIG LEBOWSKI. He makes the meeting room scenes with the Christmas Adventurers Club (an outlandish underground cabal Lockjaw is desperate to join) reminiscent of the war room sequences in DR. STRANGELOVE. Car pursuits through the city’s concrete street grid and, later, through undulating hilly desert highways, would make William Friedkin proud as they steal pages from THE FRENCH CONNECTION and TO LIVE AND DIE IN L.A., keeping character at the forefront of the action. There’s even a terrific Pesci-esque GOODFELLAS and CASINO reference deployed too. And all the while, the filmmaker funnels these homages into an arthouse version of TAKEN. It’s ingenious. His innovative spin never feels reductive, nor does it distract from the viewing experience.

As with most of the films in his oeuvre, Anderson and his acting troupe find the humanity within each character. While Bob is the main protagonist, the story is bookended with what Perfidia has put into the world – first following her from behind when she surveys the camp as Jonny Greenwood’s score intensifies, through to the end of the journey and the legacy she leaves behind in her estranged daughter. Deandra (Regina Hall) is the quiet force, calculating the next steps, hanging onto their revolutionary dreams. John Hoogenakker, whose hired muscle Tim Smith is introduced sporting a Silicon Valley tech-bro Patagonia vest (representing an insidious corporate threat), and Tony Goldwyn, playing Christmas Adventurers Club recruiter Virgil Throckmorton, both play the outlandishness of their scenarios with a straight face, making the comedic overtones work to great effect.

The father-daughter arc is genuinely moving, made palpable through the performances of DiCaprio, who nails the humor and heart while building parental complexities into his multilayered softie, and Infiniti, who is a revelation, turning in commanding, star-making work. She delivers nuanced vulnerability, going toe-to-toe with Penn and DiCaprio and absolutely holding her own. Willa grappling with her mom’s identity (rat vs. hero) is yet another arc given careful craft, coming to a beautifully brilliant emotional climax.

Profundity springs from a grounded authenticity in Anderson’s tale, whether it’s Perfidia’s post-partum depression, Sensei Sergio St. Carlos’ (Benicio Del Toro, who delivers three of the film’s most quotable lines) wide-ranging network of freedom fighters, or Bob’s insecurities protecting and raising a Black daughter, especially when he vulnerably laments he never learned to do her hair (which feels like PTA inserted an autobiographical fatherhood fear). In this war of good against evil, it’s the compassionate versus the compassion-less (who are depicted as buffoons, both funny and fearsome). Government-planted insurgents escalating peaceful protests into riots feels as timely and timeless as the goofy higher-ups orchestrating harmful shenanigans that trickle down to the masses.

Anderson’s signature style on full display. Once again, he works with a large ensemble with no weak links. Tension and laughter often mix in a heady blend like when Bob is getting frustrated with an operator on the phone as a raid is going down and when Willa (a teen!) eviscerates Lockjaw (an adult man!) with a snarky comment about his tight-fitting tee. Frequent collaborator Greenwood perfectly sets the soundscape with compositions that augment the atmospheric pull. His contributions hit like no other. The percussive overtones and imposing, sweeping symphonics echo the characters’ drive, cleverly causing dissonance while reflecting their fractured psychoses. On the soundtrack, Steely Dan’s “Dirty Work” and Gil Scott-Heron’s “The Revolution Will Not Be Televised” leave indelible impressions.

The beloved filmmaker plays with the notion of capturing a political America that is not only happening right now (one controlled by the fascist elite), but also one it could become with radicals working to overthrow tyranny in the name of freedom. With an unstoppable freight train of a third act, ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER delivers a miracle: an entertaining, fully engrossing spectacular built with candor, craft and a sensational spirit.

Grade: A+

ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER opens in theaters on September 26.