Epic ‘One Battle After Another’ Ends with Raw Hems

Paul Thomas Anderson is an American auteur known for films that center on complex characters. Twenty years ago, PTA came up with an idea to make a car chase movie, and One Battle After Another was just the modern epic to make that dream a reality. It begins as a gritty political thriller but trades that fight for an action-comedy that shifts its interest from the revolution to focus more on family.

It’s been 16 years since Pat (Leonardo DiCaprio; Killers of the Flower Moon) was on the front lines of the revolution with the group “The French 75.” He’s been surviving off the grid as Bob with his self-reliant daughter Willa (Chase Infiniti; Presumed Innocent). But while Bob’s been lying low, his nemesis, Col. Steven J. Lockjaw (Sean Penn; Milk), hasn’t forgotten him, and circumstances have him intent on tying up loose ends. When Lockjaw acts on intel on their whereabouts, Willa goes missing, forcing Bob to reawaken the radical within to find his daughter, all while battling the consequences of his past.  

There’s a lot to tackle in a film of this magnitude, but instead of parceling out each and every intricate detail, we’ll touch on a few key takeaways from the film. If you have not seen One Battle After Another, beware that mild spoilers lie beyond this point. 

The battles won

One Battle After Another is fun. Fun seems too simple to describe such a sweeping tale, but that small word encapsulates so much of the film. It’s the type of movie you don’t mind rewatching, as many audience members have already returned to the theater for their second and third watch. The long runtime can seem daunting, though you’re so invested in the story, you hardly feel it.

Writer and director Paul Thomas Anderson understands the concept of verisimilitude. His films, regardless of time and place, feel real, tangible. One Battle After Another is set in modern day, though it throws back to other eras of film like Blaxploitation. 

Lunatics, haters and punk trash 

The film features several standout performances, surprisingly none of which come from Leonardo DiCaprio. He delivers a great performance as Pat/Bob, but he is a little outshone by his supporting cast. The MVP of the film has to be Sean Penn’s portrayal of the vile and detestable Col. Steven J. Lockjaw. He is gut-wrenching. From his awkward gait to his nervous tics, he is completely encased in the skin of a man who acts out of profound overcompensation for his own shortcomings.

On the flip side, we have Benicio del Toro as Sensei Sergio St. Carlos, Willa’s karate instructor and leader of his own movement referred to as a Latin underground railroad. Sensei serves as a guardian angel for Bob, giving him the assist he needs to get in gear and find Willa. His performance adds warmth and comedic relief that allows the audience to catch their breath before diving back into the unpleasantries of Col. Lockjaw.

We can’t possibly move on without praising the debut performance of Chase Infiniti as Willa. It’s not easy to act opposite a heavyweight like DiCaprio, but Infiniti does so with ease. If we hadn’t checked her IMDb, we wouldn’t have known this was her first role in a feature film. Willa is the daughter of revolutionaries, but she hasn’t had to fight yet. Infiniti’s performance intensifies as the film progresses. She projects a tough exterior, but inside she’s afraid. From that fear, she is fortified, and a flame is ignited that unearths the fighter within. Infiniti does a great job of showing this transition.

Perfidia Beverly Hills

Played by the magnetic Teyana Taylor (A Thousand And One), Perfidia Beverly Hills is the face of the French 75. This doesn’t necessarily make her the leader, though she’s certainly the most brazen, as demonstrated when she’s the only one to break into the immigration detention center unmasked. With around 30 minutes of screentime, Taylor sheds layers of audacity to reveal a character that leaves a sour taste. Regardless of how you feel about her —be it anger or pity— Perfidia stays on your mind. 

There have been several hot takes on her character online. Some suggest Perfidia was suffering from postpartum depression when she abandoned her family. But the film makes it clear that even before giving birth, a disconnect existed. In a campfire scene, Pat tells Deandra (Regina Hall; Honk for Jesus. Save Your Soul) that Perfidia behaves as if she isn’t even pregnant. Ultimately, Perfidia is arrogant and reckless. To be clear, Perfidia is not a hero. She was down for the revolution when it cost her nothing. The moment the battle demanded a price she wasn’t willing to pay —her freedom— she abandoned the cause to save herself. At the end of the film, Willa reads a letter from her mother that some might argue gives Perfidia redemption. But regret doesn’t equal salvation. Perfidia once had community, something to fight for and a family to come home to. Now, forever on the run, she’s alone, forced to be her own company with no one left to fight but herself. 

Loose ends 

You won’t find many lackluster moments in One Battle After Another, if any at all. Yet after the dust settles and the action dies down, you realize the story has a few raw hems. The press conference for the film platformed the Black women as if they were the glue that holds the story together. But in a near-three-hour runtime, all their characters don’t receive the context they deserve.

Some moviegoers are heralding the film as apolitical. However, when the revolution is focused on helping immigrants and the dialogue is peppered with racism—including the fetishism of Black women—a clear statement is being made. Otherwise, why include it? Given this emphasis on race and the presence of antagonists like the Christmas Adventurers Club, one must wonder why Perfidia and, even more so, Deandra aren’t fully fleshed-out characters.

Though we get more time with Perfidia, Deandra is merely present. The film concludes with no clues into who she is, why she fights or who she’s fighting for. A compelling depth within her character remains forever veiled. Recall the campfire scene: the look in Deandra’s eyes when Pat says Perfidia doesn’t act pregnant suggests she saw what was on the horizon. It’s as if she understood Perfidia completely and was already grieving the situation before it happened.

Later, at the Sisters of the Brave Beaver, the nun Rochelle tells her, “You got more fight in you than the rest of us, Deandra.” In that moment, you get the sense that this fight is all Deandra has left. Without it, who is she? And what has this struggle cost her? We’re left to wonder in a story that could have easily stretched to give her the context we’re missing.

And speaking of the nuns, there could have been another 10 to 15 minutes at least on Sisters of the Brave Beaver, the Black convent who are kin to the revolution, who spend their days training their nuns for a fight that we never get to see. 

The plot instead focuses on Bob’s journey as a father desperate to find his daughter. Yet, while this is happening, the film reminds us that other issues are at play. This mirrors the real world, where systemic struggles persist regardless of any one person’s crisis. One Battle After Another presents a curious contradiction: it seems unconcerned with the revolution, despite the revolution happening all around it. Outside of Bob’s bubble, life goes on. People are still fighting.

Bob, however, stopped fighting years ago after being left by Perfidia. He checked out much to his own detriment. Now that it’s time to spring into action, he’s so far gone that he can’t remember the code to get the info he needs to find his daughter. 

What’s interesting is that for a parent, specifically a white man raising a Black daughter, you don’t get to check out. There’s a line in the film where Bob tells Sensei he doesn’t know how to comb Willa’s hair. It’s a simple line, almost thrown away immediately after it’s said, and yet so profoundly important. It signifies how he, as a father, begins to recognize that he hadn’t done all that he could for his daughter. Yes, he’s kept her safe and alive, but the regret of not being present enough to learn how to take care of her hair highlights his paternal inadequacies in a way that fills him with deep regret. 

The film being racially charged made this a larger oversight. As a white man, he had the privilege to disengage from the fight and was so checked out that he forgot that his Black daughter would be forced to battle for a lifetime. 

One Battle After Another is a reminder that nothing ever stops. As soon as one struggle is over, another comes to take its place. But, the more profound battle is the one we choose to ignore after our personal fight is over. Revolution doesn’t pause for singular redemption. There’s always something worth fighting for.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars