One Battle After Another Is Paul Thomas Anderson’s First True Thriller. Here’s Why I Think He Should Make More Of Them

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SPOILER WARNING FOR ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER

Aside from Stanley Kubrick, Paul Thomas Anderson is my favorite director. And, up until I saw One Battle After Another (which we gave a five-star review), I thought I had his number.

But, no. I most certainly did not have Mr. Anderson’s number. Because even though I’ve loved every PTA film (especially Licorice Pizza, which I had to warm up to, but now adore), I really didn’t know what I thought of One Battle After Another while I was watching it. That’s because this movie is an action thriller, and PTA does not do action thrillers.

However, now that I’ve actually had time to sit with the film, I think PTA should make even more thrillers, and for a number of reasons. Here are just a few.

Paul Thomas Anderson Actually Does A Really Good Job Of Creating Tense Moments

Now, I’ve always known that PTA can drum up the tension when he wants to, as he’s exhibited this talent in films like Boogie Nights, Magnolia, and There Will Be Blood. Hell, he even did it in his very first film, Hard Eight, which some might view as a thriller, but I would categorize it more as a crime drama. So, tension for PTA is nothing new.

However, when I’ve always thought about PTA’s past flicks, tension was never the first word that came to mind. Wry-humored? Sure. Nostalgic? In many ways. Serious? You betcha! But suspenseful? No, that’s not a word that I would associate with PTA. Hitchcock? Of course, as that was his bread and butter. But PTA was not that kind of director.

That is, of course, not until One Battle After Another, since this movie is suspenseful (and tense!) as all hell. The story mostly concerns a drugged-out, middle-aged man named Bob Ferguson (Or “Ghetto” Pat Calhoun) (DiCaprio) who spent a lot of his youth making explosives and aiding a left-wing revolutionary group called French 75.

He fell in love with one of its members, named Perfidia Beverly Hills (Teyona Taylor), and eventually had a child with her (or so he thinks). As a dad myself, I can relate to losing all of the fire in your belly once you have children, since that’s exactly what happened to Ferguson: He had a kid, and settled down.

Which is where the tension comes in, since a corrupt military man named Col. Lockjaw (Sean Penn) has suspicions that Ferguson’s child, Willa (Played by an amazing Chase Infiniti) might actually…well, I’ll just leave it there, but what I will say is that Lockjaw disrupts Ferguson’s whole existence. And, Ferguson, whose mind isn’t what it used to be from years of drug abuse, needs to protect his daughter at all costs, and those moments are really riveting!

PTA Can Also Create Compelling Heroes And Villains

Honestly, if there’s any movie in PTA’s catalog that might be my least favorite, it’s Inherent Vice, which I think says more about my feelings toward Thomas Pynchon’s writing than it does about PTA’s directing (Even so, I definitely think you should watch it if you want to get into the director’s work). The characters just didn’t work for me, and I had a hard time determining who I should root for or detest.

However, PTA doesn’t have that problem with One Battle After Another, as it’s entirely clear who the good guy is (Ferguson), and who the bad guys are (Lockjaw, and the Christmas Adventurers, who I’ll get into later). This is actually interesting since One Battle After Another is also based on a Pynchon novel (this one, Vineland), but one I will assume is a more loose adaptation than Inherent Vice was. Anyway, when it comes to the other “good guys,” it’s a bit harder to determine if they’re actually good, which is compelling.

Benicio del Toro is certainly on the “good” team. He plays Willa’s sensei, Sergio St. Carlos. HE’s also a neighborhood leader who looks out for the people in his community. So, yes. A class act.

Willa is also on the good side, as she wants no involvement in the drama that comes her way. The rest of the “good characters” is where things get interesting, as I don’t necessarily think the members of the French 75 are “good.”

They’re destructive, and when it all comes down to it, they’re no better than the disillusioned men in Fight Club (which you should definitely rewatch). It’s in this way that PTA can create compelling heroes and villains in tense situations, which is great. He should do it more often.

He Has A Knack For Using Humor To Make Even Ugly Material Digestible

Here’s the thing about One Battle After Another: Even though it deals with some serious subject matters, like sanctuary cities, military overreach, and white supremacy, it’s still really funny. This is one of the reasons why I often come to PTA’s films, as his sense of humor usually finds a way into his projects.

And, this is perhaps the one aspect of Vineland that I think might have seeped into this loose adaptation, since the stoner comedy in Inherent Vice finds its way into this story as well. However, the humor in this film is really important, because without it, some of OBAA would be a bit hard to stomach.

Case in point, the Christmas Adventurers Club, which consists of white supremacists who secretly run the country. They are looking to recruit Sean Penn’s character with the assumption that his blood is “pure” and that he hasn’t had any relations with any non-white women.

Now, this is icky on multiple levels, and I know white nationalists exist (and possibly in high positions), but PTA gets a ton of humor out of them by making their beliefs seem comical and wrong.

This is important, especially in a thriller, since 1. These characters do pose an incredible threat to our protagonists, and 2. It’s important that PTA makes it clear that there is nothing to admire or like about white supremacy, thus making them villains that you’re happy to see get taken down. But, I don’t know if any of this would work if the movie didn’t have PTA’s particular brand of humor.

Lastly, He’s Also Excellent At Putting Current Events In His Action Scenes

I’m going to be frank with you. I don’t particularly care to follow current events. In fact, I’d much rather pay attention to all of the upcoming horror movies coming out rather than, like, you know, news about tariffs, immigration, or government shutdowns. That said, “real” news is important, and if I’m going to have to absorb it, I’d prefer to do it in the form of a movie rather than on some dedicated TV network.

And, OBAA tackles many real-world issues, such as sanctuary cities. The movie takes an obvious side, but it presents it in a way that feels relevant to the plot (and feels thrilling at the same time).

Or, what about white nationalism? PTA works this into his action scenes in fascinating, exciting ways. All of these surprised me since I didn’t know PTA had it in him to make a semi-political action thriller, but now that I know he does, I want more of it!

So, if you’re reading this, PTA, please make another action thriller! You’re really good at it!