Review: One Battle After Another

Daniel Allen reviews renowned director Paul Thomas Anderson's newest action comedy, starring Leo DiCaprio, Benicio del Toro and Sean Penn.

'One Battle After Another’ scratches two different spots in my cinephile brain: the absurdist political satire section and the edge-of-your-seat action/thriller section.

Loosely inspired by Thomas Pynchon's novel Vineland (1990), this 3-hour journey takes the audience on a memorable fugitive thriller/comedy epic with gorgeous cinematic shots and compelling character arcs. The movie was shot entirely in 35mm film and looks like nothing you will see in theatres this year; there's a realistic edge to One Battle After Another that gives it some oomph, despite a relatively small budget of $140 million US.

But this is no surprise, as Paul Thomas Anderson is known for making the most of smaller budgets in Hollywood, really taking advantage of the extra cash on hand with One Battle After Another with action sequences than his previous work. Leonardo DiCaprio shines in the leading role as a has-been free-spirited revolutionary, managing the father-daughter dynamics of the 21st century from the outlook of a politically driven fugitive. DiCaprio also shows more of his comedic side that worked so well in 2019's 'Once upon a time in Hollywood', directed by Quentin Tarantino--a close friend of Paul Thomas Anderson.

Sean Penn doesn't shy away from showing his acting experience. (Image: IMDb)

Sean Penn knocks the sympathetic antagonist role out of the park, playing a very Thomas-Anderson-style character with dark motivations balanced with humour and a farcical personality. Sean Penn's ''Colonel Steven J. Lockjaw'' is both terrifying and hilarious, a balance achieved with the backing of a career spanning since the early 80s.

The film is filled with long single shots that Thomas Anderson has used since his breakout production of Boogie Nights (1997); however, he more subtly uses them in One Battle After Another to emphasise the stress and realism of the scenes. Many scenes manage to do more with less whilst moving at a breakneck pace, keeping the thrill alive over the 3-hour runtime. The score of the film is nothing short of outstanding, with work from Radiohead's Johnny Greenwood; the chilling main theme is a standout, really displaying the emotional opening prologue. The paranoid piano and strings building throughout the film dramatically raised the tension in my viewing, then brought me write back with needle drops of classic hits that stylise and contextualise the time jump during the film.

Director Paul Thomas Anderson and star Leonardo DiCaprio

I would highly recommend this film to anyone who doesn’t mind a longer feature-length film; the experience is very rich with excellent comedic Thomas-Anderson-style comedy. One Battle After Another is a well-told and satisfying story that proves his longevity as a director and one of the best filmmakers over the past 30 years.

8.5/10