One Battle After Another Movie Review: Paul Thomas Anderson delivers a fierce, intimate drama with Leonardo DiCaprio

One Battle After Another Movie Review

‘One Battle After Another,’ directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, was released in theatres on 26th September and stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Sean Penn, Benicio Del Toro, Regina Hall, and Teyana Taylor.

Anderson’s bold vision

Paul Thomas Anderson’s ‘One Battle After Another’ is a sweeping, ambitious work that mixes the personal with the political. It is a film about resistance, regret, and the never-ending search for meaning in a world shaped by conflict.

Anderson takes inspiration from Thomas Pynchon’s novel ‘Vineland’ but changes it into something his own. Rather than making a conventional war drama, he creates a story that feels at once intimate and epic.

It’s about one man, Bob Ferguson (Leonardo DiCaprio), but also about the larger cycles of violence and authority that ripple through generations.

From revolution to reckoning

‘One Battle After Another’ tells the story of Bob Ferguson (Leonardo DiCaprio), a former revolutionary from the radical group French 75, who once fought alongside his fiery partner Perfidia (Teyana Taylor).

Their clashes with the brutal Colonel Steven J. Lockjaw (Sean Penn) defined their youth, but everything fell apart when Perfidia was captured and betrayed the movement to protect herself and her unborn child. Left behind, Bob was forced to raise their daughter Willa (Chase Infiniti) on his own, carrying the weight of old battles and broken trust.

Sixteen years later, just as Bob and Willa are trying to live quietly, Lockjaw resurfaces, obsessed with their past. When Willa vanishes, Bob has no choice but to dive back into the underground world he abandoned, aided by his old comrade Deandra (Regina Hall) and the eccentric sensei Sergio St. Carlos (Benicio Del Toro). What follows is an emotional rescue mission that blends action, satire, and a moving portrait of a fractured family.

Cycles of power and memory

Anderson films with patience and purpose. Scenes often linger a little longer than expected, drawing attention to the tension beneath the surface.

Instead of constant action, the movie builds slowly, showing how violence and ideology seep into everyday life. This isn’t a film about explosions and spectacle. It’s about how memory works, how past battles echo into the present, and how families carry the burden of choices made years before.

Surreal touches and satirical humour interrupt the grimness, keeping the film from sinking into pure heaviness. Some viewers may find the pacing slow, but the careful build is part of Anderson’s design. The movie wants us to sit with its silences, to notice the details, and to feel how difficult it is to escape cycles of conflict.

DiCaprio anchors, Chase Infiniti shines

Leonardo DiCaprio delivers a thoughtful performance, quieter than many of his past roles. He captures Bob’s inner struggle, torn between the pull of his ideals and the demands of fatherhood.

Teyana Taylor adds firepower and depth as Perfidia, a woman who embodies both loyalty and fire. Sean Penn is chilling as Colonel Lockjaw, a man whose power lies as much in his charisma as in his cruelty. The breakout, though, is Chase Infiniti as Willa.

Her debut performance feels natural, grounded, and heartbreaking at times. Together, the ensemble gives life to Anderson’s vision. They don’t play symbols—they play people, flawed and struggling, which makes the political message land with greater weight.

A demanding but rewarding experience

‘One Battle After Another’ can be challenging to watch, but it leaves a lasting impression. Anderson asks his audience to think and to feel, not just to watch.

At times the film tests patience, but it rewards those who stay with it. By the end, what stays is not just the political commentary but the human ache at its core. It’s about fathers and daughters, about promises broken and kept, and about the question of whether fighting ever truly ends. DiCaprio, at the center, carries this burden with a performance that is strong in its restraint.

Anderson once again proves he can turn complex ideas into powerful cinema. This is a brilliant and must-watch film.

Rating: 4/5