Directed by: Paul Thomas Anderson
Distributed by: Warner Bros. Pictures
94/100
Written by Taylor Baker
Paul Thomas Anderson, a filmmaker known for his sprawling vistas, dazzling horizon lines, genre-defining films, and career-defining performances, roars back to the screen with an adaptation of Thomas Pynchon’s novel ’Vineland.’ While the novel was set at the height of the Reagan administration and the war on drugs, the spirit of Anderson’s adaptation in “One Battle After Another” is decidedly similar—a reinterpretation for a new generation, showing that while time turns things don’t change too much. As the film unfolds, its secret societies, larger-than-life characters, and cartoonish grandiosity give way to a fable steeped in realism and framed in irony.
Anderson walks a fine line between tragedy and comedy with his two male leads, Bob (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Steven J. Lockjaw (Sean Penn), who each expertly chew the scenery and deliver physical comedy adeptly. Bob’s daughter Charlene, who later adopts the name Willa (Chase Infiniti), becomes the central thrust of the film as we watch her contend with the consequences of her parents’ actions. Anderson shares the cinematography duty with Michael Bauman, an accomplished gaffer with whom he has worked alongside over his past two features. Their images are exquisite, whether capturing a chase through downtown LA or a shoot-out in the hills, and a decade-defining car chase sequence at the end of the film.
“One Battle After Another” maintains a wry tone while ever heightening the practical, life-altering, or life-ending stakes that its central figures encounter throughout its runtime. There is a tonal inconsistency in the film, which doesn’t hinder or hasten, but it is distinctly present. For instance, there is the brief break into full-on action comedy when Bob is on the run from Lockjaw. After his daughter’s sensei, Sergio (Benicio del Toro), gifts him his gun. In a hallway, Sergio entrusts Bob to the care of a handful of skateboarders to be ushered across the rooftops of the city while there’s a riot on the streets to escape. There is humor in watching a 50-year-old DiCaprio lumber after the spry young skateboarders along the rooftops, and his subsequent 40-foot fall into a tree before slamming into the ground, where he is summarily tasered and arrested.
“One Battle After Another” meanders in the sinew of its side characters the wrong amount. Our brief time with Avanti (Eric Schweig), a bounty hunter hired by Lockjaw, or the brief stints with a group of ne’er-do-wells who are part of the Christmas Adventurers Club, reveal the distortion present elsewhere. The very people who bring the world of “One Battle After Another” to life and may cause you to laugh equally overentangle it, pulling focus from its central thrust. Don’t get me wrong, this is an excellent movie. But it has an unevenness to it. In multiple scenes, a machine gun is shot by someone without any ear protection. Characters then engage in dialogue as if their ears were unaffected by dozens of rounds being shot mere feet away from their head. Then, near the end of the film, during a shootout, the sound design and performance indicate that a character who can shoot dozens of rounds from a high-caliber machine gun is now practically shell-shocked from just a handful of shots.
The craft team behind “One Battle After Another” has done incredible work, with Jonny Greenwood’s score bringing effortless dynamism and care to each moment, and Colleen Atwood, the costume designer, who creates a character wardrobe that is in conversation across the various characters and their surroundings. “One Battle After Another” is among the most complete works that one will see in a cinema this year. Exceedingly competent and directed with impressive control, it’s up to each member of the audience to decide whether its imperfections are beauty marks or blemishes.
“One Battle After Another” Trailer
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