How many masterpieces is one director allowed to have?
Paul Thomas Anderson, with the arrival of “One Battle After Another,” now officially has at least four and this one just might be his best of them all.
The story of a father, played by Leonardo DiCaprio, desperately trying to find his kidnapped daughter definitely gives off late-career Liam Neeson vibes. The movie, which co-stars Benicio del Toro, Sean Penn and Regina Hall, can certainly be taken on those simplistic terms.
But Thomas, who often writes his films, has never been uncomplicated when it comes to narrative and crafting the visuals around it. The former is particularly strong in “One Battle,” as Thomas holds a very huge mirror up to society as it is and there’s little doubt of his message.
DiCaprio is a part of a California revolutionary group intent upon disrupting the capture and detention of undocumented immigrants. He’s a munitions expert, a fact that makes him all that more appealing to Perfidia (Teyana Taylor), who is intensely dedicated to the cause. They build a relationship on his naivete and her sexual eccentricities, the latter which puts in motion events that will have a significant effect on Bob’s life later.
During one mission Perfidia sexually humiliates Col. Steven Lockjaw (Sean Penn), commander at a detention center. Eventually he tracks her down, they begin a sexual relationship and she becomes indebted to him. At one point, she’s sleeping with Bob and Lockjaw and she eventually gets pregnant.
Leonardo DiCaprio as Bob Ferguson and Benicio del Toro as Sensei St. Carlos in “One Battle After Another,” a new film from director Paul Thomas Anderson.
Not surprisingly, Perfidia and her revolutionary group botches a mission and some of them are killed while others are captured, including her. She calls in a favor from Lockjaw, who has dreams of a happy ever after with her while she’s in witness protection. She has other ideas and flees, leaving him embarrassed and leaving Bob with their infant daughter.
Fifteen years later and Lockjaw is embittered and that resentment has turned into something evil as he seeks membership into an exclusive group of white men focused on prosperity and racial purity. As part of joining the group, that little interracial dalliance is a no-no and liability and while he suspects it, he has to be sure Willa (Chase Infiniti), Bob’s now teen daughter isn’t actually his.
Lockjaw uses the power he has to track her and Bob down setting into play a series of events that prove frantic, action packed and, yes, sometimes hilarious.
What Anderson manages to convey in all of this proves masterful as he makes observations regarding the U.S. immigration system, racism and, yes, his perception that white male fragility exists.
Of course that comes in the person of Lockjaw, who despite his acknowledgement that he once loved Perfidia and is attracted to women of color, will go to any means necessary for acceptance in the alleged Christian-based club he craves to join. It offers him personal validation as opposed to self-truth.
Through that narrative thread comes Thomas’ sly statements about society and racism and how this country is essentially running in place – some might argue regressing – instead of progressing.
He conducts a master class in entertaining while delivering a message that will surely be unacceptable to a segment of the population. Given the gusto that he injects into the film he surely doesn’t care. Neither do his acting collaborators.
Leonardo DiCaprio as Bob Ferguson in “One Battle After Another,” a new film from director Paul Thomas Anderson.
DiCaprio was great in recent efforts such as “Killers of the Flower Moon” and “Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood,” but he’s back to the frantic nature he showed in the role in “The Wolf of Wall Street,” which should have won him his first Oscar.
Penn offers a portrayal of controlled malevolence as Lockjaw allows bitterness and misplaced priorities to compromise what he once was and could still be.
There isn’t a bad performance from any member of the supporting cast. Taylor proves to be ferocious and powerful as Perfidia and Infiniti, as Willa, embodies her mother’s ferocity. As for del Toro? He provides his usual, subtle outstanding work
How many masterpieces is one director allowed? We’ll see once Thomas’ career is done, but you can add “One Battle After Another” to a stellar list that includes “Boogie Nights,” “There Will Be Blood” and “Magnolia.”
George M. Thomas covers a myriad of things including sports and pop culture, but mostly sports, he thinks, for the Beacon Journal.
Review
Movie: “One Battle After Another”
Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Sean Penn, Benicio del Toro, Teyana Taylor
Directed by: Paul Thomas Anderson
Running time: 2 hours 42 minutes
Rated: R for pervasive language, violence, sexual content, and drug use.
Grade: A-
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Paul Thomas Anderson brings his best in ‘One Battle After Another’
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