This may be the big one folks. In a year that has sneakily delivered some terrific cinema, we now get the latest from the great Paul Thomas Anderson. Despite having a resume of classics like Boogie Nights, Punch Drunk Love, There Will Be Blood, and The Master, PTA has never won an Oscar, but this may be the year that changes. His latest effort is among the year's very best, a topical and exciting epic that has ignited the film community in a shared excitement I don't think we've seen since Oppenheimer.
One Battle After Another follows the magnificent Leonardo Dicaprio as Pat, a former member of a revolutionary group called the French-75. After he and fellow member Perfidia (Teyana Taylor) fall for one another and have a child, Pat fails to convince her to settle down so they can be a family, and her continued activities take her down a path that leaves her in witness protection and Pat hiding out with their daughter Charlene. Sixteen years later Steven Lockjaw (Sean Penn), the deviant commanding officer of an immigration detention facility Pat and Perfidia had once infiltrated, is finally catching up with Pat and Charlene (now living under the aliases Bob and Willa), sending them both on the run. What follows is a thrilling game of cat and mouse with tense chases, an underground white supremacist group, revolutionaries fighting anti-immigration, and chaos in the sanctuary city of Baktan Cross.
I'll apologize now if that synopsis was a bit rambling, but there is so much going on here that it's hard to boil it all down into a simple summary. PTA is throwing a lot at the audience but with his talents as a filmmaker it all somehow works. The end result is a film that offers a sharp criticism of America's anti-immigration efforts and the ways in which elitist groups are still able to hold concerning power behind the scenes. While wearing its political agenda on its sleeve though, this is also just a thrilling story of a father trying to save his daughter. That familial tie makes it a story that I believe stays powerful even if you don't entirely align with the radical nature of Pat and Perfidia's political exploits. I think PTA's ability to balance these different elements is what makes it such an impressive feat for him as a director. There are some scenes sprinkled in of Lockjaw being recruited into an underground white supremacist organization, and to an extent those feel like they break up the pacing a bit, but in the grand scheme of the narrative I think those scenes are pretty necessary, and the rest of the film is paced pretty much to perfection despite the long runtime.
If Paul Thomas Anderson isn't enough of a draw for you, surely the cast here will be. Dicaprio is the kind of actor you basically have to be excited about, not just for his talents as a performer but for how particular he is now with which projects he takes on. Here he gets to play to his comedic sensibilities a little bit, with Bob being a drunk, stoned, and paranoid ex-revolutionary thrust into action after a decade and a half out of the game. It's largely thanks to the comedic element of Dicaprio's performance that this still feels like a PTA film, as the humour feels very uniquely his while not distracting from the importance of the story. Dicaprio also has plenty of moments where he has to get more serious and he handles them to perfection (to nobody's surprise). He is far from the only key player though, as this cast delivers one of the best ensembles we've seen this year.
I'll start with my favourite of the bunch, Benicio del Toro. del Toro plays Willa's sensei, doubled as the leader of the immigration movement in Baktan Cross. His performance is one where I just found myself obsessed with his mannerisms. He is somehow hilarious while also carrying the scenes he's in, with his vocal delivery and physical performance constantly endearing me to his character. The character also has a no questions asked kind of attitude that I thought really worked within the story and del Toro knocked it out of the park. In terms of supporting actors, Sean Penn is the other clear highlight. Lockjaw is one of the best villains of the year, getting under your skin not just for his questionable views but also just in his disgusting persona. He's a truly terrible person and Penn embodies him perfectly. You also can't talk about this cast without discussing Chase Infiniti as Willa. This is her first film role and she's clearly going to be a star, taking this on with a fierceness and intensity that allows her to stand toe to toe with some of our great actors and still hold her own. Teyana Taylor is also really great, she's one actor I just wished we saw more of as she's mostly just there for the opening act that sets the table for everything. We also get to see Alana Haim back in a PTA film, which is always going to be fun to see even in more limited screen time.
The music, both original and sourced, is awesome here. The soundtrack is consistently great but also has to be the most prestigious we'll ever see to feature 'Mo Bamba' and 'Shut Up and Dance'. I'm also kind of obsessed with Jonny Greenwood's score, one that largely uses simple piano notes in key moments but manages to create a beating pulse that amps up the energy and intensity especially in the final act. I also found myself slowly wowed by the cinematography. It has a bit of a frenetic style that at first I wasn't overly wowed by, but there are some stunning shots and then chase sequences shot in ways I've never seen before. I also have to shout the editing out, the film is nearly three hours long and never drags, hooking you in from start to finish as it delivers consistent intensity. I can't quite get this to a 5/5 yet, but I could easily see that being the case once I get the chance to rewatch. For now it's a very strong 4.5 and no doubt one of, if not THE best film of 2025.
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