A Stoned Leonardo DiCaprio Leads the Revolution

There are few filmmakers who make us sit up and pay attention like Paul Thomas Anderson, largely because his filmography is such a varied one, with each movie representing a unique inspiration point. With One Battle After Another, he draws together a remarkable ensemble cast led by Leonardo DiCaprio for a movie that is oddly enough best described as an action comedy on an epic scale.

If you squint real hard, you can pick out the ways in which One Battle After Another was inspired by Thomas Pynchon’s novel Vineland, the second Pynchon book that Anderson has adapted for a movie (the first being Inherent Vice). In this case, though, Vineland is much more of a loose jumping-off point, as Anderson brings its story of 1960s revolutionaries to the present day.

The movie begins with the introduction of Perfidia Beverly Hills (Teyana Taylor), a key figure of semi-contemporary revolutionary group The French ’75, and her loyal puppy of a partner, explosives expert Bob (DiCaprio). Perfidia has absolutely no fear as she leads an attack on an immigration detention center, a quality that makes her a sexual obsession for the center’s violently racist commander Steven Lockjaw (Sean Penn). (This classic Community bit is pretty much the subtext of their first scene together.) Unfortunately, when one of the French ’75’s violent political actions — which bears a strong resemblance to a bank robbery — goes sideways, the group splits up, with those who can going into hiding and those who get caught paying the price.

While Perfidia escapes to parts unknown, Bob stays in America with his and Perfidia’s baby daughter, who we next meet 16 years later as teenage Willa (Chase Infiniti), strong and smart and more than a little frustrated by the stoner mess of a human her father’s become. Still, Willa and Bob are enjoying relative peace in their quiet central California town until a chain of events leads to their identities being exposed to Lockjaw, who’s spent the years advancing further in the military, even attracting the attention of secret society The Christmas Adventurers.

This sets up an epic cat-and-mouse game on multiple levels, as Lockjaw uses all of his resources to try to track down Bob and Willa, which includes deploying armed troops on the ground in a small town, interrogating high school kids, and manipulating a non-violent protest into becoming a full-fledged riot. On Bob and Willa’s side are the remaining vestiges of the French ’75 movement, as well as friends like Willa’s martial arts sensei/local businessman Sergio St. Carlos (Benicio del Toro). So it’s almost a fair fight.

The end result is something relatively singular, the kind of movie that as mentioned might be best described as an action comedy, but feels much bigger than those words allow. Perhaps it’s because the comedy is all played relatively straight. Perhaps it’s because the action is well-crafted enough to elevate it. Or maybe it’s just that having a big ol’ movie star like Leonardo DiCaprio at the center of things has a way of shifting one’s perspective.

One Battle After Another Review Leonardo DiCaprio

One Battle After Another (Warner Bros.)

One of the big reasons why DiCaprio is one of his generation’s definitive actors is the way he trusts in great auteurs, putting himself in their hands without any concern for ego or vanity. It’s an approach that’s led to incredible performances in so many movies including The Wolf of Wall Street, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Killers of the Flower Moon, not to mention his Oscar win for his work in Alejandro G. Iñárritu’s The Revenant.

Here, Bob is the furthest thing from a hero, spending most of the movie blitzed out of his mind while wearing a bathrobe — yet you still can’t keep your eyes off him, putting all your faith in him finding Willa before it’s too late. It’s the sort of movie star magic that’s only possible after spending a few decades on the big screen, a hopefully non-dying art.

While DiCaprio may be the biggest name in the cast, the movie plays like a true ensemble with fantastic performers at all levels. This includes the always-wonderful Regina Hall, Wood Harris, and Alana Haim making a striking impression as French ’75 members, as well as Benicio del Toro, invoking his seemingly endless depths of effortless cool. Teyana Taylor rips apart the screen in her scenes, in a way that leaves no question as to why Lockjaw might be obsessed with her, while Chase Infiniti is a true revelation as her daughter, capturing that same level of fierce determination while also remaining very relatable. And Sean Penn crafts a modern-day villain who’s equally ridiculous and terrifying. The kind of guy where you want to laugh at him, except you know the consequences for that laugh won’t be worth it.

One Battle After Another Review Chase Infiniti Regina Hall

One Battle After Another (Warner Bros.)

Michael Bauman brings some incredible movement to the cinematography, with some incredibly kinetic camerawork involved in its biggest action scenes. The movie particularly glories in the rolling hills of central California, which become hypnotic thanks to the speed with which the camera rushes over them. Really, all the below-the-line work is top-notch, with production designer Florencia Martin doing a beautiful job of including so many lived details to the wild range of spaces this movie requires.

As mentioned, One Battle After Another is set essentially today, meaning that unlike the characters in Pynchon’s original text, the revolutionaries at the heart of the story weren’t inspired to rebel against the system by the Vietnam War. Instead, they were inspired by the world as it was 16 years ago, and the world as it is now.

In fact, there’s something relatively shocking about the way One Battle After Another comments on This Moment In Time; it almost seems like production on the movie wrapped yesterday, as opposed to mid-2024. Yet while its focus on issues of political power, immigration, and the rise of white supremacy are all too relevant, Anderson never loses sight of his characters, and the different ways in which they commit to taking action. It’s a wonderfully apt title, capturing the idea that with some wars, there’s no such thing as victory. What matters is that you keep fighting.

One Battle After Another arrives in theaters on Sept. 26th. Check out the trailer below.