by Flagg Taylor ’27 on October 2, 2025
Arts & Entertainment
Paul Thomas Anderson’s newest film, One Battle After Another, was touted by critics to be one of the defining films of this generation and given top-tier reviews across the media. The trailers released were vague, likely an intentional move by Anderson. Going into the theatre, I knew I would hold this film to an unfairly high standard due to the aura and mystery surrounding its release. Anderson’s film did not disappoint one bit. One Battle After Another is extremely relevant to our current political and cultural climate, exploring themes of revolution, fatherhood, and freedom through the story of a paranoid ex-revolutionary father and his daughter as they escape the evil figures from their past.
The film has a star-studded cast, and all of them mesh together in comedic but beautiful and impactful ways. In the first act of the movie, we are introduced to the revolutionary couple of Perfidia Beverly Hills (played by Teyana Taylor) and “Ghetto” Pat Calhoun (played by Leonardo DiCaprio). The couple and the rest of the revolutionary group, the French 75, commit various acts of revolution, like freeing immigrants from a detention center or bombing a politician’s office. During these daring battles, Beverly Hills makes an enemy with the film’s main antagonist, Colonel Steven J. Lockjaw (played by Sean Penn), who then develops a strange perversion for Beverly Hills. A series of unfortunate events leads to the disbandment of Beverly Hill’s and Calhoun’s cell of revolutionaries, and Beverly Hill’s arrest and subsequent disappearance. As the first act closes, we are transported 15 years into the future, to the present day.
In the second act of the film, the audience is introduced to DiCaprio’s new persona, Bob Ferguson, and his daughter, who has grown into a 16-year-old girl, Willa Ferguson (played by Chase Infiniti). Bob is an extremely paranoid, stoner father who constantly worries about the government coming back for him ever since he had to go on the run with his daughter after Beverley Hill’s arrest. However, Colonel Lockjaw decides to hunt down the father-daughter duo for reasons I will not spoil. The plot takes off from here, and the movie truly feels like one battle after another as Bob and Lockjaw both struggle chasing Willa across Texas. Anderson’s different shot variety and the fast pacing of the film give the tone of a long, suspenseful chase, one battle after another for the characters, each with their respective goals. The resolution sequence (a long car chase) at the end of the movie was truly special. I have not experienced such a tense environment in the movie theatre for a long time.
On top of Anderson’s genius filmmaking, Johnny Greenwood composed one of the best scores I’ve personally ever heard. His score was just as important to the tense and suspenseful feelings felt throughout the play as Anderson’s filmmaking. Greenwood also selected some great songs for the soundtrack, some of my personal favorites being “Dirty Work” by Steely Dan, “Ready or Not Here I Come (Can’t Hide from Love )” by The Jackson 5, and “Soldier Boy” by The Shirelles.
Finally, the star-studded cast of One Battle After Another delivered a multitude of award-worthy performances. Chase Infiniti made her film debut for Anderson’s work and delivered an inspiring and impactful performance representing Gen Z in a film, making a direct response to current times in the U.S.. DiCaprio was extremely funny and quirky while also having moments of deep passion, perfectly playing his role of a smoked-out, paranoia-stricken ex-revolutionary. Benicio del Toro plays Sensei Sergio, Willa’s karate sensei, who leads an underground railroad for Hispanic immigrants fearing government agents. Toro steps into this role beautifully, portraying a different type of revolutionary as a symbol of strength in the community. Teyana Taylor and Regina Hall play empowering and emotional roles as strong-willed and brave revolutionary women. Last but not least, Sean Penn plays a downright vile, detestable character in Colonel Lockjaw in a jaw-dropping performance. From the facial tics, his walk and posture, the hatred in his voice, Penn brings to life a “soldier boy” that will go down as one of the iconic villains of this generation.
It is hard to give a deep synopsis of the intricate themes and skillful filmmaking of One Battle After Another without spoiling too much of the film’s plot and ending. I highly recommend making the trip to the theatre and experiencing it for yourself. It was one of the fastest and most tense three hours in recent memory. I’ll have to rewatch it once or twice more before making any crazy statements towards the film’s all-time standing, but with extremely high expectations for this movie, Anderson and his cast and staff somehow managed to meet these high standards and then some. One Battle After Another was a captivating experience and delivered impactful and relevant messages in a funny, action-packed film that could not have been released at a better time than now.