‘One Battle After Another’ review: The kids are alright

Paul Thomas Anderson sees revolutionaries in American youth and fools in everyone else with One Battle After Another.

America is at war with itself. The country once welcomed people from around the world with the phrase, “Give me your tired, your poor,/Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.” Now it’s using brute force and shocking cruelty to force people out of the country. And then brags about it. Even worse, the grown-ups can’t win the war. The hippies who set the standards for fighting power are too old and tired to take significant action. The conservatives have been warped and weaponized to the point of no return. Whatever solution there may be to America’s radical mistreatment of immigrants, the adults can’t find it. But maybe the next generation can. Maybe there’s hope in the youth of America to see the world rotting around them and take a stand together. Perhaps the kids who like TikTok and Chappell Roan are smarter and braver than we give them credit for.

At least that’s what Paul Thomas Anderson thinks. The enigmatic writer/director could also be seen as something of a hippie, or at least the post-Carter years equivalent of that; an artsy kid. He grew up in the San Fernando Valley, attended private schools, and began experimenting with film cameras before the age of ten. With that upbringing and given his filmography, you’d think Anderson wouldn’t have much to say about the current state of the country. Only three of his nine films have been set in modern times, giving the impression that he’d rather look upon the past fondly than confront the present. Now Anderson is ready to face the decaying state of the Union, looking back at his fellow countrymen, the hip adults with nostalgic dreams in their eyes, and saying, “Guys, this isn’t our fight, it’s theirs,” as he gestures to his children.

One Battle After Another, Anderson’s tenth feature, begins by following Bob (Leonardo DiCaprio), who is visibly nervous. Probably because he’s dragging a cart filled with fireworks and smoke grenades meant for lobbing at an immigration detention camp near the U.S.-Mexico border. Bob is a member of the French 75 revolutionary group, taking extreme measures to shake up the establishment. Someone who likes those measures is Perfidia (Teyana Taylor), a gun-toting rebel who gets off on blowing things up as much as she likes…well, getting off.

That gets the attention of Col. Steven Lockjaw (Sean Penn), who makes it his mission to eliminate the French 75. The group splits up, with Perfidia going off the grid despite having a baby girl with Bob. Now, 16 years later, that girl is the teenage Willa (Chase Infinity) and is more of a parent than her stoner father was to her. Col. Lockjaw is still on the case and Willa is in danger, so Bob has to get back into the swing of things with the help of fellow revolutionaries (Regina Hall, Benicio Del Toro).

All gas, no breaks.

The most impressive thing about One Battle After Another is its runtime. Not so much its 161-minute length, but how well it’s used. Anderson is no stranger to long movies, but they would often be slow-burning dramas given an energy boost by a needle drop or a monologue primed for an Oscar nomination. Here, Anderson puts the pedal to the metal for almost all of the near three-hour runtime with some of the best pacing you’ll see in a movie this year (or Anderson’s other films).

Much like Zach Cregger’s Weapons, One Battle After Another has its plot, character development, and tension weaving together flawlessly while the movie stays in near-constant motion. Even more impressive is how it never loses focus or goes off the rails as it barrels towards its tense finale that harkens back to Steven Spielberg’s Duel, of all things.

This well-oiled machine has plenty of moving parts to it. One of them is sound design, with every gunshot, explosion, and car chase mixed to shake the seats (especially through IMAX speakers). There’s also Jonny Greenwood‘s score, which utilizes jazzy piano riffs and stuttering snare drums to maintain a consistently high level of tension. It’s the most 1970s music Greenwood has ever done, sounding as fitting for something like Marathon Man or Three Days of the Condor as it does for Greenwood’s side gig in The Smile. But again, the key ingredient is how Anderson makes the film move. Using uninterrupted takes of Bob moving through riotous streets and finding more intrusive close-ups of his actors in quieter moments keeps you continuously focused on the way Anderson moves all of his pieces around the board.

Fight the power.

Earlier this year, Ari Aster’s equally timely Eddington focused on how flawed both sides of the American aisle can be. One Battle After Another takes a definitive stand against the American establishment (specifically the conservative elite and law enforcement) and sees the revolutionaries as cool rebels. While Anderson’s depiction of militant cops (grizzled tough guys desperate to prove their masculinity) and aged conservatives (smirking racists in cozy sweaters) doesn’t seem too far off, his rebels might be too cool for their own good.

Take Perfidia: she possesses the poise and determination of a brave freedom fighter, but Anderson’s dialogue for her consists of nothing but curse words and sexual come-ons. There isn’t much background provided for her story, and she leaves the movie after its riveting first 35 minutes. Even worse is how Anderson shoots her, with so many leering shots of her body that you’d think Kanye West was the director of photography.

And then there’s Bob, who is one Eagles joke away from being The Dude from The Big Lebowski. It’s one thing to make your hero affable and maybe a little out of his element, but it’s a real gamble to make him seem like a buffoon. Anderson does give Bob something of an arc, starting as an exasperated rebel turned paranoid stoner trying to do the right thing for his daughter. Still, the way he writes Bob to stumble into practically every situation and save the day out of sheer luck doesn’t make the most compelling conclusion. It would’ve helped to have a scene showing what radicalized Bob to join the French 75, whether it was an emotionally shattering event or just a spur-of-the-moment decision in his aimless life. As it stands, Bob feels like Anderson just wanting to write-in Doc Sportello from Inherent Vice.

It’s their turn now.

However flawed his grown-ups may be, Anderson gives plenty of heart and dignity to who he sees as the real saviors. Willa is the most mature character in the movie and holds her ground against the worst intimidation, while still being incredibly vulnerable to her situation. It’s a well-layered character that Infinity absolutely nails in her film debut. The way she dominates scenes with veterans like DiCaprio and Penn keeps One Battle After Another well-grounded with a lot of heart. The same goes for Del Toro, who, even in a smaller role, still adds plenty of heartfelt levity to the movie.

Speaking of those two veterans, the pair is in fine form. It’s nice to see DiCaprio in a looser, more comedic performance out of this usual dramatist. Sure, he still has the same shouty delivery and veiny forehead he brought to his work with Scorsese, but it’s nice that he can frame it as something more comedic. Penn does the same, using his stony grimace as the perfect punchable face throughout the movie. Anderson uses Lockjaw as a means to illustrate the terrifying and insecure nature of American machismo today, and Penn balances both with ease.

The bottom line.

While not the smoothest ride in the world, One Battle After Another marks Paul Thomas Anderson’s upping of his game for the first time in a decade. Not only is he still an expert at detailed characters, well-paced storytelling, and emphasizing sound as much as vision, but now he’s showing a willingness to step out of his nostalgic comfort zone and tackle the world at breakneck speed. Will Anderson keep pushing the boundaries or hurry back to his security blanket of old costumes and classy soundtracks? Who knows, but at least he’s willing to admit that his time is running out, and maybe his generation is the problem.

One Battle After Another is now playing in theaters everywhere. Watch the trailer here.

Images courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures. Read more articles by Jon Winkler here.