The Revolution is Chaotic and Revelatory in 'One Battle After Another'

"But One Battle After Another could also be fairly described as a sweet movie about a father coming to terms with his teenage daughter having a phone - which is one example of how Anderson's destabilizing approach to big themes can turn poignant and revelatory. "Sweeping" would normally be a way to characterize a nearly three-hour-long, multigeneration saga like this, but Anderson works in a more rough-hewn, compassionate register that burrows strangely but acutely into the American psyche."

"Willa, though, is said to have her mother's courage. (Infiniti, a newcomer, has an inner strength that comes across clear as day.) When Lockjaw comes looking for Willa, a new cycle of state-sponsored violence is set off. That brings in a delightful Benicio Del Toro as a combination sensei and Harriet Tubman-like figure to immigrants who shepherds Bob when the authorities are closing in."

Paul Thomas Anderson's One Battle After Another is a messy, madcap journey through modern America that blends political violence with intimate family drama. The film spans generations across a nearly three-hour runtime and favors a rough-hewn, compassionate tone that probes the American psyche. The plot follows Perfidia and Bob amid an immigration detention center and planned explosions, and introduces Willa and newcomer Infiniti, whose courage echoes family roots. Lockjaw's pursuit triggers state-sponsored violence and brings Benicio Del Toro's Sergio St. Carlos, a sensei and Harriet Tubman-like guide, while police convoys and military tactics render contemporary America a battlefield. The film draws on Thomas Pynchon's Vineland and revisits culture clashes familiar in Anderson's earlier work.

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