'One Battle After Another' Review: A Thrilling And Hilarious Gem
At long last, director Paul Thomas Anderson and Leonardo DiCaprio collaborate for One Battle After Another, an offbeat, thrilling, and often hilarious adventure that earns its keep in the talented director’s already stunning filmography.
One Battle After Another centers on a ex-revolutionary named Bob (Leonardo DiCaprio) who is living a private and simple life with his daughter after her mother decided to abandon the family. However, one day their simple life becomes considerably more complicated when Bob’s daughter Willa (Chase Infiniti) is taken and he must reestablish old connections in order to track her down and keep her safe while avoiding capture himself. DiCaprio is joined by a stellar cast that includes Sean Penn, Benicio Del Toro, Regina Hall, and Teyana Taylor.
Anderson is working with a dream team of talent here and thankfully he doesn’t remotely underutilize them. DiCaprio, as always, is deeply compelling here as Bob, a man who is a shell of his former self, addicted to drugs and alcohol with no true purpose keeping him going. However, DiCaprio imbues him with such a unique likability and magnetism that the audience can’t keep their eyes off him throughout his increasingly wild adventure. His performance is as hilarious as it is emotionally engaging, crafting his own version of Jeff Bridges’ The Dude from The Big Lebowski while adding his own signature flair. As a result, this is one of the actor’s finest performances and absolutely one of his funniest, physically and emotionally committing himself to the role throughout.
The supporting cast here is also very strong, Infiniti establishing herself as an actress to watch going forward, delivering an emotionally compelling and heartbreaking performance as Willa, the daughter of a revolutionary that simply wants to live a normal life and not be burdened by or anchored down by her father’s turbulent past. Del Toro is also delightful here as a local sensei that aids Bob during his quest to get Willa back, delivering yet another hilarious and infectiously charming performance that continues to showcase his versatility and effortless charisma. However, Penn nearly walks away with the film as the vile and horrifying Colonel Steven J. Lockjaw. Penn has given a myriad of fine performances throughout his illustrious career, but this may just be his best yet. He is haunting as Lockjaw, every mannerism and artistic choice working wonders for the character as he gives it his all, cementing this antagonist as one of the most venomous, despicable and memorable in recent memory. It wouldn’t be surprising in the slightest if Penn gets nominated for his fantastic work here come Academy Award season.
Anderson’s direction and the overall cinematography are also standouts here, the film looking and feeling grand in scope, easily the most visually ambitious of his career. His camerawork, like with the majority of his work, feels wonderfully voyeuristic, using tasteful amounts of shaky cam to allow the audience to feel as if they’re on this adventure with Bob, especially during the film’s most tense and suspenseful sequences. Not only that, but Anderson helms some truly impressive action set pieces in the film, especially a car chase in the third act that is easily one of the most exhilarating sequences he has put to film. One could easily make the argument that Anderson could craft a terrific action film if he decided to embrace the genre even more so than he does here. Aiding his strong and assured direction is the absolutely gorgeous cinematography from Michael Bauman, who previously worked with Anderson on Licorice Pizza. Filmed in VistaVision, this is a film that looks beautifully cinematic and lush, aching to be seen on the biggest screen possible.
The script is also one of the film’s strongest assets. Anderson’s scripts are always bold and ambitious to say the least, but this may just be his most accessible to date, which is not meant to be reductive in the slightest. He’s able to wring humor and entertainment value out of sequences one would never expect while also penning immensely entertaining exchanges between characters that not only are able to flesh them out successfully, but keep the pacing lively and breezy. For a film that is nearly three hours long, the pacing is tremendously good, aided by Jonny Greenwood’s propulsive score and only losing a bit of steam a handful of times, but rebounding incredibly well. This is a film that feels as if its constantly vibrating, always pulsating with energy, suspense, and colorful character. Sprinkle on top some biting social and political commentary that isn’t heavy-handed and the audience has a film that feels mostly finely tuned and handsomely crafted.
However, the film isn’t perfect and suffers from a couple of issues that hold it back from true greatness. As hilarious and thrilling as the film is, it also feels as if its trying to navigate three different genres. It doesn’t know whether it wants to embrace being a dark comedy, political thriller, or an action film, becoming tonally inconsistent as a result. It excels as being these genres individually but having a melting pot of the three causes the film to clash with itself in a way that becomes frustrating. In addition, the first act of the film stumbles out of the gate, struggling to find its overall tone and firm footing. It wasn’t until the second act where it was able plant its feet and sharpen its focus in order to bring the goods Anderson had in store.
One Battle After Another continues to prove why Anderson is one of the most beloved and talented filmmakers working today. He continues to be a genre chameleon, delivering yet another fascinating and endlessly entertaining character-driven film that yearns to be seen time and time again. It may not be the best entry in his catalogue, but it is still a film that showcases a singular filmmaker and the new colors he has now added to his phenomenal palette.