Paul Thomas Anderson’s “One Battle After Another” is a lot of things. The loose adaptation of Thomas Pynchon’s Vineland may center on a paranoid ex-revolutionary rescuing his daughter from an enemy from their past, but there are so many more layers to it. It’s a story about fatherhood. A story about identity. A story about the ghosts of the counterculture and how they reverberate through generations. Anderson takes Pynchon’s knotty, paranoid prose and translates it into a visually striking, shockingly funny, and unexpectedly tender epic.
Though there are political themes to it, with the film’s opening clearly defining the ideologies of the characters and where they stand through their actions like liberating detainees in a detention facility near the Mexican border, robbing banks, and bombing campaign offices, it never loses sight of the human story that is at its core. Beneath the chaos and spectacle, Anderson focuses on the emotional stakes, particularly the bonds of family, the weight of past choices, and the search for redemption in a world that often seems irredeemable.
“One Battle After Another” opens with the kind of relentless momentum usually reserved for a film’s climax, barely letting up as it dives into the chaotic world of French 75, a revolutionary group operating along the Mexico-U.S. border. Early on, the group takes officers hostage and frees the immigrants awaiting processing, setting the tone for a story that blends political outrage with high-stakes spectacle. At the center is Perfidia Beverly Hills (Teyana Taylor), a fierce and commanding presence whose audacious actions—humiliating the prejudiced Colonel Steven J. Lockjaw (Sean Penn) during a raid—spark a twisted psychosexual obsession that drives much of the conflict.
Along with Bob (Leonardo DiCaprio), Perfidia leads the French 75 in a series of dangerous and attention-grabbing operations that are meant to challenge authority, expose injustice, and push the limits of their revolutionary ideals. However, things change when Perfidia and Bob have a daughter named Willia. 16 years later, Bob is a single father taking care of Willia (Chase Infiniti). He’s become increasingly paranoid through the years and has relied on drugs and routines to manage his anxiety.
But things take a drastic turn for the worse when Lockjaw returns, his obsession with Perfidia and vendetta against Bob and Willa driving a new wave of chaos. With the promise of joining a supremacist organization on the condition that he capture Bob, Lockjaw’s actions increasingly become more erratic and dangerous. It culminates into a frenetic cat-and-mouse dynamic that blends moments of absurdity, dark humor, and genuine peril.
Teyana Taylor’s Perfidia Beverly Hills dominates the first act with such charisma and ferocity that it leaves behind an indelible impression, setting the tone for the film’s mix of audacity and emotional complexity.
Penn’s Lockjaw is a perverted madman with a twisted obsession that drives much of the film’s conflict. And it’s not just in the dialogue that Anderson has written for him. It’s in the physicality as well. The scowls, the tone of voice, the exaggerated gestures, and the unsettling shifts in his tone of voice convey a character teetering between menace and absurdity.
Chase Infiniti’s Willa is the heart and soul of “One Battle After Another.” Her first scene with Bob perfectly encapsulates the film’s blend of humor and emotional grounding. Naturally, living such a lifestyle of being on the run and in hiding creates for a strange dynamic between herself and her father.
Bob tries to navigate fatherhood as he smokes a joint in one hand, while trying to figure out the super-secret password for a resistance call on the payphone with the other. There’s something about her performance that is so grounded and effortlessly natural, it makes the chaos around her feel even more alive. Infiniti’s Willa balances sharp wit with genuine vulnerability, giving weight to scenes that could easily tip into absurdity. Her reactions to Bob equal parts exasperation, humor, and care, all of which reminds the audience that the heart of this film is this relationship between a father and daughter.
And there are other performances to consider as well. Regina Hall’s Deandra and Benicio Del Toro’s Serigio are all remnants of the French 75 set out to help Bob and Willa in their own unique ways. Though their screen time is limited, it helps elevate the emotional stakes, particularly in scenes where Bob reflects on his relationship with Willa, and Willia learns more about her mother through Deandra.
One of the two car chase scenes that unfolds on desert roads perfectly showcases VistaVision’s scope and Bauman’s precision. The dust, sun, and speeding vehicles feel tangible, each frame so detailed that you can almost feel the heat radiating off the asphalt, and there’s a vertiginous sensation as the cars dip, climb, and spiral side to side. At the same time, the camera never loses track of the characters’ emotional stakes like Bob’s rising panic, Willa’s determination to escape, and Lockjaw’s unhinged obsession with anyone connected to the French 75. All of that helps keep the chaos grounded in human tension.
Jonny Greenwood’s score further amplifies the sequence, with jagged motifs building anxiety and sudden orchestral swells accentuating both danger and absurdity. It’s a masterclass in balancing spectacle with emotion, a sequence that makes you both hold your breath and feel deeply for the characters navigating the madness.
Beyond the action and spectacle, “One Battle After Another” resonates deeply with the theme of generational trauma. There’s a particularly poignant moment around when Willa receives a letter from her mother, Perfidia, reflecting on the choices she made, her disconnection from her family, and her hopes and regrets. Naturally going any further would spoil the whole thing, but the scene beautifully captures how the decisions of one generation ripple into the next.
“One Battle After Another” also resonates politically. The characters’ revolutionary identities and language, such as “comrade,” “Christmas adventurer,” and “French 75,” ground the film in a world divided by competing ideologies, echoing the polarization we see today. The obsession with allegiance and radical action shows how belief systems can both inspire courage and warp judgment, highlighting the allure and danger of ideological obsession.
Surveillance and intrusion are just as central. Characters are constantly tracked, phones are scrutinized, and sensitive information becomes a tool of control and coercion. These scenes hit close to home in an era of digital monitoring and privacy concerns, underscoring how technology amplifies tension and paranoia in both personal and political spheres. Anderson uses these elements not just to heighten suspense but to remind the audience that even in a wildly absurd, chaotic world, the stakes feel very real and very modern.
Now the film is lengthy, running at nearly three hours long, and for those unfamiliar with the film’s source material as well as Anderson’s previous work, it may feel daunting at first. However, the runtime allows the story to breathe, giving the characters, relationships, and ideological conflicts room to develop fully. When the action finally kicks in, it feels explosive and meticulously choreographed, each set piece a combination of high-stakes tension, visual precision, and character-driven stakes. You get a sense of Bob’s determination to find her daughter, Willa’s determination to escape, and Lockjaw’s need to capture the French 75 and erase those from the organization he’s been relentlessly hunting.
Ultimately, “One Battle After Another” succeeds because it marries spectacle with soul. It’s an audacious political thriller, a tender exploration of familial bonds, and a meditation on the consequences of ideology and inherited trauma. It demands patience, but the payoff is a film that is as emotionally resonant as it is visually thrilling.
9.5/10
One Battle After Another is in theaters September 26, 2025
