We have finally reached Anderson’s latest film, One Battle After Another. Writing about this film is a bit tricky. Like most of Anderson’s films, this one deserves a re-watch. I should do my due diligence and re-watch it, but due to my schedule and desire to move on from my blog posts to focus on my screenwriting, I won’t wait any longer. As a result, I’m writing this post two days after seeing the film. Enough time to sit with it for a bit and gather my thoughts. Because this film may still be in theaters when this blog is posted – or still new at the very least – a spoiler alert is in effect.
Only two adaptations of Thomas Pynchon films exist – Inherent Vice and One Battle After Another. Both adaptations are written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. While Inherent Vice is a faithful adaptation, One Battle is a loose adaptation of Pynchon’s 1990 novel, Vineland. Similar to how There Will Be Blood loosely adapts the first couple of hundred pages of Oil! One Battle takes inspiration, but is not a faithful adaptation of Vineland. Anderson takes the general idea of revolutionaries coming out of hiding when one of their daughters is kidnapped and makes it his own. Rather brilliantly, Anderson moved the story from the 1980s era of Reaganomics to the modern turmoil of the 2020s. The film’s official logline is as follows: The film follows an ex-revolutionary of The French 75 (Leonardo DiCaprio) who must rescue his daughter (Chase Infiniti) from a corrupt military official (Sean Penn).
Anderson had wanted to adapt Vineland for some time, but worried that his love of the novel would get in the way of his ability to rework it fairly. Instead, he set aside the idea of a faithful adaptation and wrote a series of short stories. One Battle emerged as a combination of those stories and elements of Vineland, particularly the father-daughter element. In June 2023, with the script complete, the film landed at Warner Bros. This marks Anderson’s first film for the studio since Inherent Vice. The film was rumored to star Joaquin Phoenix, Regina Hall, and Viggo Mortensen, although Hall would be the only one of those three to appear in the movie. In January 2024, it was revealed that Leonardo DiCaprio and Sean Penn were signed to star alongside Hall. In February, Teyana Taylor and Chase Infiniti joined the cast.
Filming began in early 2024 and lasted until that Summer. The film was shot on 35mm by Director of Photography Michael Bauman (receiving sole credit this time), using VistaVision cameras. This marks the second film of the 21st century to use VistaVision cameras, after 2024’s The Brutalist. The film was greenlit with a budget of $115 million, but by August 2024, it was reported that the budget had ballooned to $140 million. Although Anderson’s highest-grossing film, There Will Be Blood, only grossed $76 million, Warner Bros. said that DiCaprio’s track record at the box office justified the budget. By August 2025, some reports estimated that the final budget was closer to $175 million, but Warner Bros. said it cost closer to $130 million. Regardless, it is the most expensive film of Anderson’s career.
Anderson agreed to test the film for the first time since Boogie Nights, cutting out ten minutes based on audience feedback. Additionally, this film was dedicated to longtime Anderson collaborator Adam Somner, who died of cancer while the film was in post-production. The film was set to open in early August, but was pushed back to late September to start a long award season run. The film received overwhelmingly positive reviews upon release, and currently sits at 96% on Rotten Tomatoes. Its opening weekend grossed $48.5 million worldwide, making it the largest opening for an Anderson film.
Well, all that is great, isn’t it, Nick? Now that the Wikipedia summary is out of the way, how about you tell us something original? I’m not quite sure where to start. I will say that watching this film in the theater was a joy. I know this is technically a loose adaptation of a novel, but it felt great to watch a (mainly) original film in an era full of sequels and reboots. I appreciated that I had no idea where this story was going. While I could have waited for streaming, I’m sure the film would have looked fine on my TV, but seeing the vast locations on the big screen added to the spectacle. It was also fun to participate in a communal experience watching this film. There’s a surprising amount of dark humor in this film, and to hear a packed movie theater laugh along with you is an experience I don’t often get. I would describe the movie as The Big Lebowski meets Taken meets No Country For Old Men. Hopefully, that gives the reader an idea of the film’s vibe. Additionally, at 162 minutes, it may have been Anderson’s second-longest film (after Magnolia), but it felt like half that time.
Let’s talk about the cast. I want to discuss the supporting cast before we get to the three standout performances. Teyana Taylor as Perfidia Beverly Hills is serviceable; she’s good in her little screen time, but the character or the performance didn’t engage me. Regina Hall, as the ally Deandra, was a performance I admired. She made the character likable and trustworthy. My only complaint is that she doesn’t have much screen time either. Benicio del Toro as Sensei Sergio would be my favorite of the smaller supporting parts. He runs a karate dojo, where Willa is his pupil. When he learns the truth about Willa’s father, Bob, he does everything he can to help him. He helps Bob evacuate through a tunnel used by undocumented immigrants that he has set up through his home. He goes as far as helping to break Bob out of prison when he is caught, providing him with a rifle, and driving him to the covenant where Willa is hiding. My favorite shot of the sensei is when he has his hands behind his back and is dancing as he walks backwards to the police. Because I mentioned it in There Will Be Blood, I was taken aback to see Jim Downey again. Alongside Tony Goldwyn and D.W. Moffett, Downey is a member of The Christmas Adventurer’s Club, a white supremacist group.
The first performance I want to discuss more in-depth is Chase Infiniti as Willa. Every year, it seems like a hot young actor or actress appears in a film and they are called a “revelation.” I wouldn’t call Infiniti a revelation, but she was pretty good. She embodies all of Willa’s character traits. Willa has the classic teen angst that comes with growing up. Unlike most teens, she not only has the responsibility of watching over her father, but the burden of knowing she has been paying for her parents’ mistakes all of her life. At different points, Willa displays her father’s resourcefulness and her mom’s tenacity. Infiniti more than holds her own against screen legends Sean Penn and Leonardo DiCaprio. I believe Infiniti will soon be a star in her own right. If you ask me, this is only the beginning of what will hopefully be a long, lucrative career. I do have to mention one thing I find remarkable about Infiniti. I found this out not long ago, but we went to the same college. I graduated from Columbia College Chicago with a degree in filmmaking in 2021. Infiniti graduated as a musical theater major in 2022. It’s pretty cool to think we were most likely simultaneously on campus. It also makes me evaluate what I am doing with my own life. Though it’s far from a guarantee, I could see Infiniti getting a nomination for Best Supporting Actress.
The next performance worth discussing is DiCaprio. Bob Ferguson is a mixed bag. He’s a loving father, a dedicated revolutionary, and a complete stoner. It should be worth noting that he’s never all three of those things simultaneously. When the film first starts, he is a dedicated revolutionary who knows his explosives. He falls for Perfidia while working together on the front lines. She even seduces him as he shows her how to detonate an explosive charge with just her cell phone. When baby Willa is born, he becomes a dedicated father, struggling to balance his revolutionary side. He falls madly in love with Willa and takes to being a father, unlike Perfidia, who wants to keep going. She becomes jealous of all the attention Bob shows Willa, and although Bob wants them to settle down and embrace their new family, settling down goes against everything in Perfidia’s nature. Perfidia’s go-go-go nature leads to her arrest and eventual fleeing to Mexico.
With Perfidia out of the question and the authorities after The French 75, Bob and Willa escape to the outskirts of Baktan Cross. There, Bob raises Willa as a single father. He has become a complete stoner in the sixteen years since they arrived at Baktan Cross. Despite not thinking his past would ever catch up with him, he is paranoid about Willa. He doesn’t let her have a cell phone and is concerned when friends arrive to take her to the school dance in a loud, red car. He’s distrusting of just about everyone except his daughter. When his cover is blown and his daughter is kidnapped, he has to return to his revolutionary ways. The only problem is that he struggles to remember the codes and protocols from all those years ago. He tells the person on the end of the French 75 phone line (I guess they still have those) that he fried that part of his brain. Despite being stoned and out of his depth, he becomes determined to save his daughter. I used this as an example above, but it’s like Anderson took The Dude out of The Big Lebowski and planted him within an action comedy. As of now, it’s too early to tell if DiCaprio will earn an Oscar nomination. I think he’s certainly worthy. He’s got a lot of heart, and it’s easily his funniest role since Jordan Belfort in The Wolf of Wall Street (a role he was nominated for). However, I’m not getting my hopes up quite yet. It is still early in the award season. I thought he was a guarantee for a nomination for Killers of the Flower Moon two years ago, but that didn’t happen. I would say that I’m cautiously optimistic.
The performance I want to single out is Sean Penn as Col. Steven A. Lockjaw. As Lockjaw, a white supremacist with a chip on his shoulder, he is an absolutely despicable human being. Penn takes this horrible character and turns it into a juicy role. The brilliant thing is that you understand why Lockjaw does what he does. You know why he makes it his mission to kidnap Willa. You don’t have to agree; you shouldn’t agree, but you understand it. I think understanding is the key for an actor to win the audience over, even if they are horrible human beings. His performance, how he alternates between giddiness and cruelty, reminds me a lot of Christoph Waltz’s performance in Inglourious Basterds. As someone on Reddit rather cleverly wrote, he’s like if Vince McMahon played Hans Landa (Waltz’s character). It’s hard for me to disagree with that image.
If there’s one performance with the strongest chance of being nominated, I think it’s definitely Penn. I’m not sure if he’ll win. Like I said, it’s only September (as of this writing). It’s too soon to tell who the other contenders are. Aside from that, there’s the fact that he already has two Oscars under his belt (Mystic River and Milk), so some voters might not go for him a third time. Jack Nicholson has two Oscars for lead and one for supporting, so it’s not entirely unheard of. Then, there’s the fact that Penn can be divisive. Never one to hold his tongue, he recently commented about Charlie Kirk that will undoubtedly ruffle some feathers among the voting community. Another potential barrier would be the issues he has with the Academy. From what I understand, a couple of years back, during the Russian invasion of Ukraine, he was friendly with the Ukrainian President Zelensky. He wanted the Academy to give Zelensky the platform to speak about the power of cinema. Afraid of controversy, the Academy refused to allow Zelensky to speak, infuriating Penn. Because of that, I could see Penn boycotting the ceremony if nominated.
Again, it’s too early to make any major declarations, but I believe this film will likely be a strong Oscar contender. As mentioned, I see a nomination for Penn, most likely one for Infiniti, and hopefully one for DiCaprio. I also see Anderson getting nominations for Directing, Adapted Screenplay, and Best Picture. Additional nominations for Editing, Score, and Cinematography are not available either. I think time will tell where the film falls amongst Anderson’s filmography, but I have a hunch that it will be considered one of his finest. Even if I must wait another 4-5 years, I’m excited to see what Anderson does next.
Well, that concludes my series on Paul Thomas Anderson. I am so grateful that I had the opportunity to see as many of his films on the big screen as I could, and I’m thankful that I found the creative energy to write about my experience. Series like this are the backbone of this blog. Just because I feel like a ranking is in order, I will leave you with a rating of Anderson’s ten films from my favorite to least favorite. Until then, thank you for reading. I genuinely appreciate it.
My rankings:
- Boogie Nights
- There Will Be Blood
- One Battle After Another
- Punch-Drunk Love
- Magnolia
- Licorice Pizza
- The Master
- Phantom Thread
- Hard Eight
- Inherent Vice