It seems that lately, many of our best directors are making their big “America” movies – movies about this so-called great experiment and where we find ourselves as a country today. Two years ago, we got Martin Scorsese’s “Killers of the Flower Moon.” Just this year, we got Ari Aster’s “Eddington,” and Spike Lee’s “Highest 2 Lowest.” If you squint, you could even count Zach Cregger’s “Weapons” among these films. And now, we’ve got “One Battle After Another.”
Paul Thomas Anderson’s latest film follows Bob (Leonardo DiCaprio), a washed-up former member of a militant revolutionary group called the French 75, who has been in hiding with his daughter Willa (Chase Infiniti) for 16 years following the disappearance of his wife and Willa’s mother, Perfidia Beverly Hills (Teyana Taylor). Bob is forced back into the game when an old enemy named Col. Steven J. Lockjaw (Sean Penn) comes a-knocking, putting Willa’s life in danger.
“One Battle After Another” is explosive and incisive – both blunt object and rapier, clear-eyed in its view of this country and all its insidious entrails. But, for as much as “One Battle After Another” feels timely, it’s also a movie deeply concerned with America’s cyclical nature: there are always young people looking to change the world, and there’s always an old guard to be reckoned with.
Read Sammie’s full review on Rough Draft
