If you’re like me, you’ll walk into One Battle After Another expecting to see a film with alcoholism as one of its central themes. But that’s only because I hadn’t seen any of the trailers and I’d misread the title as “One Bottle After Another”. And, while substance abuse, is, in fact, one of the subjects it touches on, what I got instead was a gripping masterpiece of cinema that kept me hooked from beginning to end.
When I think about consecutive battles, movies like 2023’s The Flash come to mind. That’s because sitting through each scene of it was a battle to not get up from my seat, leave the cinema, kick down the movie poster, and fly to a remote monastery where meditation might cleanse my mind of the horrific CGI I’d just seen. Luckily for me, One Battle After Another felt like the opposite of that experience.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s an almost 3-hour spectacle and you can still feel the time passing, but at no point did any act or scene feel wasted, unnecessary, or bland. The film is perfectly paced, and its structure is reinforced by a dexterous ebb and flow of action and tension that keeps you completely invested in the plot and its characters, so much so that by the third act, the average movie reviewer might stop taking notes altogether (which is definitely not what happened to me). Admittedly, however, the first act of the film, though integral to understanding its central characters and their motivations, does go heavy-handed on the sex and violence, and features what at times feel more like caricatures of leftists than actual human characters.
Despite what its trailers might suggest, One Battle After Another isn’t quite as political as, say, 2024’s Civil War. Nonetheless, it does its part to hold a mirror up to the US’ current administration, depicting the corruption rife within the powers that be, and their interconnectedness with the shadowy, insidious, forces at work behind the scenes. Amid the rising cruelty facing migrant communities in America, the movie counters xenophobic Trumpist narratives by humanising its immigrant characters (both documented or otherwise) through their struggles, hardship, and adept use of humour. And boy, does the comedy hit with Leo. To no one’s surprise, his fantastic performance in the film, coupled with great comedic writing, makes all the jokes land.
What’s even more impressive is that even through the comedic moments, the perfect amount of tension is still maintained, keeping audiences nervous and afraid for the protagonists while laughing at DiCaprio’s physical comedy and overall character. Equally noticeable is the riveting soundtrack, which features prolonged pieces integral to setting the unique and refreshingly dissonant atmosphere of the second and third acts. This stunning balancing act not only keeps audiences in suspended animation but also portrays serious topics with a light-hearted yet respectful manner. When juxtaposed with the life-and-death stakes of the immigrant characters, the despotic efforts of the corrupt military seem trivial in comparison, poking fun at the arbitrary and mindless nature of the real-life mass deportations currently taking place in the US.
For all the film’s merits, however, you could honestly just sit through it for its epic and world-class, nay, solar system-class acting. Leonardo DiCaprio is, of course, great as always, as much in the outbursts of emotion as in the more tender, emotional moments. Thus, it was probably no small order for the fresh-faced Chase Infiniti to stand beside him—but, by golly, does she deliver with the less screen time she’s given compared to the film’s male characters. Watch One Battle After Another if you’re craving an archetypal yet highly realistic and endearing strong female character.
What I felt was the highlight performance, though, was Sean Penn’s villain, Steve Lockjaw. Like Leo, Penn has no problems hitting the high notes when it comes to portraying emotion, but what truly blew me away was the subtle performance and idiosyncrasies he adds to his character, truly making him a wonderfully hateable figure. In fact, it wouldn’t be a stretch to say that director Paul Thomas Anderson has mastered the art of directing subtle performance and body language. This comes through clearest in the climax, which involves extended shots without dialogue, yet audiences can practically hear and feel the thoughts, emotions, and tension emanating from the characters on screen. A feat which was accomplished also in no small part thanks to the film’s sound design and epic (though also not-so-motion-sickness-friendly) cinematography.
The only mediocrity in this otherwise perfect masterpiece is a character who, though introduced early in the film, returns towards the ending and is pretty obviously there as a plot device, taking a course of action which seemed a little too convenient. But even this weakness is a trope often relied on by even the best of films, so you’d easily forgive and forget it by the time the next (amazing) scene begins in earnest.
To sum it up, One Battle After Another is a magnanimous masterclass of acting and directing that that absolutely deserves your time and attention. It really is like eating a dish by a Michelin star chef, where every single ingredient included serves only to add to the work of art, even if you don’t always know that it’s there. So, go ahead and give your visual and auditory tastebuds a treat with the unique flavour of this film. But, remember, it’s battle not bottle.
Review up by Muhd Muhaimin