One Battle After Another
review by Bobby Blakey
Throughout his career director Paul Thomas Anderson has delivered some truly great films including The Master, Boogie Nights, Punch-Drunk Love, Inherent Vice and There Will Be Blood. His latest film, One Battle After Another features a great cast including Leonardo DiCaprio, Benicio del Toro, Sean Penn, Regina Hall, Teyana Taylor, Chase Infiniti, Wood Harris and Alana Haim.
One Battle After Another follows washed-up stoner dad, Bob, who exists in a state of paranoia, surviving off grid with his spirited, self-reliant daughter, Willa. When his evil nemesis resurfaces after 16 years and she goes missing, the former radical scrambles to find her, father and daughter both battling the consequences of his past.
When Anderson is behind the camera you know you are in for something great whether it all delivers or not. This film is a perfect example of that with a story that is relevant to current times, humorous and insane, but as brilliant as it is across the board may not work for everyone. The film structure is all over the place initially by design to keep you engaged as you learn about these characters, the chaos they create and future chaos to come.
A big reason for this working is the cast that are all excellent with DiCaprio leading the charge. I am a big fan of DiCaprio so love seeing him go all in with these kinds of characters. His manic paranoia adds a funny element to the otherwise heavy story that keeps you from ever getting bogged down in the meat of it all. At the same time there is a pain in his eyes as he just wants to be there for his kid and loves his lady despite her own issues of commitment and violent revolution.
The rest of the cast are great as well, but it’s Penn and del Toro that really shine. Sean Penn brings a stoic vibe to the military man but outshined by his own fetishes and obsessions that help and hinder his focus on the case at hand. Benicio del Toro has less to do as a whole but is the most memorable of them all as he bridges the gaps with most of the characters in a fun way.
There are some pacing issues here and there for me with some sequences not fully pushing the narrative forward, but nothing that hindered the bigger picture. It’s unsurprising that this film has gotten so much acclaim as it is well deserved and yet another knock out of the park for Anderson.
Join the revolution and grab your copy of One Battle After Another when it hits digital, 4K, Blu-ray and DVD available now from Warner Bros Discovery Home Entertainment.