"One Battle After Another" Film Review

One Battle After Another

Rating: 4/5

By: Nathaniel Simpson

    A recurring theme I noticed for films this year is that the trailers are simply not doing it for me. First it was the trailer for Ryan Coogler's Sinners, then it was Aronofsky's Caught Stealing, and now it's Paul Thomas Anderson's newest film, One Battle After Another. The trailers for this one did not sell me at all, and I thought this picture looked not very interesting at all. I was torn on how I felt because I consider PTA one of the best and most influential directors of our time, and I am face-to-face with the trailer for his new movie that simply doesn't look that good for me. Thankfully, PTA proved me wrong, like I knew he would, presenting perhaps one of the best pictures of the year that is held back by a glaringly bad first thirty minutes. 

    So, you're probably wondering what I mean from my last sentiment. This is a nearly three-hour film, letting PTA truly play this in this violent playground of political rebellion and psychotic war generals. Therefore, he decides to craft the prelude for this film's story into a thirty-minute segment, showing the French 75, a political rebellion that contains Leonardo DiCaprio's Rocketman/ Bob Ferguson and Teyana Taylor's Perfidia Beverly Hills. In this political movement, they have formed this whirlwind romance, which results in a child being born, named Charlene. However, when Perfidia taunts a war general named Steven J. Lockjaw (Sean Penn), it starts an infatuation inside of him for her, and he won't stop til he gets what he wants. 

    PTA wants to summarize this entire relationship and birth of a child into this short prelude to set the story for this film in motion, but it simply doesn't work for me at all. In fact, when watching this beginning segment, I was worried I wouldn't be able to sit throughout the entire two-hour-and-fifty-minute runtime. Not only was it simply all over the place, but incredibly sexually kinky in a way that makes the movie incredible uncomfortable to watch. However, I'm not sure if PTA truly intended for us to feel this sort of uncomfortable and I believe he wanted us to feel a different kind of way than I did. He also kept bouncing from different scenes to unrelated scenes, giving the viewer a sort of whiplash in how the prelude is set up.  At the same time, I simply think I am not a fan of Taylor's acting. Her performance felt very tacky and parody-esque, not making me like her character or what she was doing through this whole segment. 

    However, when that first thirty-minutes is finally over and we flash forward sixteen-years-later, the movie simply takes off running and keeps the viewer in its grasps until the credits start rolling. Everything PTA does here is simply amazing, and shows how he is able to tell such a compelling and entertaining story. Even though this movie deals with very heavy topics, it is simply a fun, sometimes hilarious, journey for a dad looking for his daughter. The story moves quickly, the dialogue flows very nicely, and the character development is simply perfect. This is a character-driven piece, and PTA knows how to craft such complex and interesting characters. 

    Like I mentioned, since this is a character-driven film, the performances here have to be spot-on. Thankfully, the characters are perfectly casted. DiCaprio is fantastic in this role, delivering this performance as a father down-on-his-luck and drug-addicted father who simply just wants to bring his daughter home. He is hilarious in this role, and this movie features the best DiCaprio freakout I have seen in any of his films in the form of a phone call at Sensei Sergio's (Benicio del Toro) house. At the same time, Penn steals every scene he is in, portraying such a creepy and depraved character that will stop at nothing to make himself feel special. Penn really embodies this role, and changes his entire mannerisms and attitude to play this character. 

    Del Toro, Chase Infiniti (who plays Willa Ferguson), and Regina Hall (Deandra) all do such a great job of playing these side characters in Bob's story of tracking down his daughter and stopping the obsessed war general. It is so refreshing to see del Toro play such a fun and goofy character, compared to characters he has played in his past. Infiniti and Hall spend a majority of the runtime together, and while they are such great actors on their own, they do a great job of sharing the screen together. 

    The cinematography and action sequences here are perfectly crafted and keep the viewer on the edge of their seats. PTA truly knows how to capture such scenes to give the audience everything involved in the story he is trying to tell, and the action sequences simply flow together so well. There is one moment I want to point out here, which is the form of a car chase through a desert in the climax of this movie. I don't want to spoil anything for it, but it is easily the best car chase scene I have seen in film history. 

    While I wish the start of this movie simply didn't exist, everything else that PTA crafts here for this movie is either perfection, or right near it. This movie works on every level, and showcases PTA telling such a complex story that we need in this day and age. Not only is this an important movie for this generation, but it is a movie that NEEDS to be seen by as many people as possible.