Movie Review – One Battle After Another

This film is the perfect example of the trailer not doing the film justice. I watched the tailer multiple times at the theater when it was in front of other films the last few months, and had no real urge to see the movie. Paul Thomas Anderson as a director can be hit or miss for me. I only like half his movies and of that half, I only loved one of them up until this point. (There Will Be Blood for those who will ask). It wasn’t until word of mouth got around about how great the movie is that made me excited for it.

The film begins as Bob (Dicaprio) and Perfidia (Teyana Taylor) fall in love while part of a revolutionary group who fights to free migrants from detention centers and puts bombs in banks. Little does Bob know that Perfidia ends up being the subject of army soldier Steven Lockjaw’s (Sean Penn) hateful advances. He is the worst humanity, and our country, has to offer. A racist, misogynist, bigot. Hateful doesn’t even cover it. After he supposedly gets Perfidia pregnant, he tries to lock her away unless she gives up all of people within her organization. She does, and then runs.

Fast forward sixteen years to Bob raising their daughter, Willa, all by himself. He’s a paranoid drug addict now, so far removed from his revolutionary days that he spends more time with his television than he does people. When Lockjaw finally finds the town he lives in, the army descends upon them under the guise of collecting illegal immigrants and Bob must find Willa who went out with her teenage friends before Lockjaw does.

Paul Thomas Anderson’s film lives up to the title. It never stops moving from one thing to the next. What is so great about this is that it manages to do this without ever feeling rushed. It takes it’s time while being fast paced. No second is wasted on moments that do not move the story along. Its all plot filled with memorable characters that pop off the screen with clear motivations. It might be the best paced film I have ever seen. Not once was I bored or wondered how much time is left which is surprising since it clocks in at almost two and a half hours.

Every single person in this shows up to set with their A game. Dicaprio is at his very best, playing his imperfect, impatient, paranoid character with such grace and empathy that even when a situation gets the best of him – like when he can’t remember the password to get information from the revolutionary group over the phone – he still manages to make sure the audience knows its all to find his missing daughter. Teyana Taylor is glorious. Every scene she occupies is impossible to look away from. Sean Penn is so disturbingly good as the antagonist that he disappeared into the role. Even in the end when he physically looks likes his hateful personality, Penn is on point. The best I have ever seen him. Benicio del Toro is hilariously funny and calm as he fills the part of friend to Bob. He saves Bob so many times in this film that it shows just how flawed Bob is in taking care of himself. And Chase Infiniti as Willa fills the role of her mother’s daughter so well it’s obvious the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.

Know what I loved the most? The cinematography. No shot is wasted. Every single one is a thing of beauty. Near the end, there is a car chase scene that is so beautifully shot that it feels more like the viewer is seeing over the ebbs and flows of the ocean waves than a winding, hilly road in the desert. It reminded me of some of Hitchcock’s camera work while also feeling like an original sequence. If this film doesn’t win cinematography at the next Oscars, then I think we demand a recount.

Some movies allow silence to speak for them. This isn’t one of those films. The score never stops but it never overpowers the movie. It stood out to me because I notice that about movies, but it fits in so well with the tone Anderson wants to convey that it just feels like an essential part of the film.

This film has a lot to say about our current society. While the film is truly about a father trying to save his daughter, it also speaks about who the real monsters are. Don’t get me wrong here. This movie is not preachy. It’s not subtle either. And I love it for that.

I know I say this a lot because I love seeing movies in the theater, but see this one on the biggest screen possible. If you live near an IMAX screen, that would do perfectly. If you live near an AMC Theater, a Dolby screening would be perfect too for the sound design is just as good as the cinematography.

I think my only criticism is that Willa takes karate classes in the film and is obvious a fighter through and through. I would have loved to see this karate in action in the film since her eventual fights with Lockjaw don’t utilize that skill. But this is a small criticism and you shouldn’t use it as the reason to not see this masterpiece of perfectly mixed action and drama.

5 out of 5 stars. See this movie.