One Battle After Another (2025)

Film Details

Run Time: 2hr 50m

Director: Paul Thomas Anderson

Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Sean Penn, Chase Infiniti, Benicio Del Toro, Teyana Taylor, Regina Hall.

Synopsis:

Bob is a washed up revolutionary who lives in a state of stoned paranoia, but soon enough his paranoia materialises when his past comes to haunt Bob and his daughter.

My Review

One Battle After Another is yet another Paul Thomas Anderson hit, perfectly blending technical class and pure entertainment. It’s fair to say the 2hr 50 minute run time goes by in a flash and at no point did the film drag, illustrating impeccable pacing. Leonardo DiCaprio has perfected dramatic comedy, with a performance reminiscent to that his Wolf of Wallstreet turnout. Meanwhile, the supporting cast is stacked with talent! Sean Penn, Teyana Taylor, Benicio Del Toro and Chase Infiniti, all absolutely brilliant, showing just how powerful supporting characters can be, which is impressive considering the number of strong characters in this film, never competing for the limelight, but written in a way that allows them all to shine. So that is a big credit to Paul Thomas Anderson and his writing capabilities, whether it was the protagonist, the antagonist, or the side characters, each were incredibly captivating in their own right!

The musical score was another highlight, it helped build tension but uniquely incorporated the comical nature of the film too. Whereas the cinematography speaks for itself, Anderson’s films often feature impressive cinematic feats and there are plenty to appreciate here. Finally, if all of that wasn’t enough, the film also has pretty heavy political commentary that I’m sure will divide opinions based on your political stance, but the beauty of film is that it allows you to reflect on fictional moments with some real life context to enhance those themes on screen. Unfortunately despite enjoying the film thoroughly, and it becoming my favourite PTA film yet (although I haven’t seen the entire filmography yet), it failed to evoke any real emotion from me, sure I laughed and it was an interesting group of characters, but I didn’t really feel too invested in any of them in particular and that does cap the rating for me. Perhaps it was difficult to manage expectations given the sheer amount of perfect scores I’ve seen given to the film, but there is no denying its quality and it’s sure to be one of the leading contenders for award season.

My Rating: 8.5 out of 10

Thanks for reading.

Film Review Club