Characters are perhaps the most important part of any story. Even in a fast-paced action flick, flat characters can hurt immersion and make the exciting moments feel meaningless. Luckily, “One Battle After Another,” a film of pursuit and rescue, has none of those shortcomings. The writing and acting elevate the characters to be more than people on a screen — they seem like reflections of real people and stick with you for days, particularly the main protagonist and antagonist.
Loosely based on Thomas Pynchon’s novel “Vineland,” “One Battle After Another” is the latest film from acclaimed director Paul Thomas Anderson and features Oscar-winning actor Leonardo DiCaprio. Released on Sept. 26, the movie grossed $22.4 million during its opening weekend. It has garnered widespread acclaim from critics, holding a 96% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and being praised as one of the year’s best films.
The majority of the film takes place in 2025 in and around the fictional town of Baktan Cross, California, where Pat Calhoun, played by DiCaprio, lies low under the alias “Bob Ferguson” with his teenage daughter, Willa (Chase Infiniti). Calhoun has been in hiding since his far-left-wing revolutionary group, the French-75, disbanded 15 years earlier. Because of that, he lost contact with his wife, Perfidia Beverly Hills (Teyana Taylor), who was also a revolutionary. The decisive point of the film happens when Col. Steven J. Lockjaw (Sean Penn) sets out to kill the father and daughter and bury suspicions that he had a sexual relationship with Perfidia, a black woman, 15 years earlier. Lockjaw’s fear is motivated by his desire to join a white supremacist group called the Christmas Adventurers’ Club, which looks down on interracial relationships, and his suspicion that Willa may be his daughter.
Lockjaw is more than just a colonel chasing down revolutionaries — his motivations and history with Bob and Willa give him depth. Penn’s performance strengthens this complexity, which, as often happens with DiCaprio’s co-stars, can be easily overlooked. He manages to bring a cold, foreboding edge to his character while also being almost ridiculous, visually aided by his shaven head topped with a toupee-looking tuft of hair. Penn particularly shines during Lockjaw’s first meeting with the Christmas Adventurers’ Club, when he is trying desperately to impress them. Every line is delivered with the utmost formality expected of a colonel, but the audience’s knowledge of his past with Perfidia makes the scene almost absurd.
Despite the serious subject matter, this film also relies heavily on humor. Opposite Penn’s ironic seriousness is DiCaprio, who plays a drug-addicted, bumbling fool. Nearly every scene he is in offers some sort of comic relief, often in the form of the plaid robe he wears for the majority of the movie’s runtime. Unlike Lockjaw, whose seriousness is undercut by comedic elements, Calhoun’s humor-filled storyline ends in an emotional reconnection with his daughter, Willa. This point is emphasized when he hugs her with both arms instead of one and leaves his drink on the table, a small but powerful way to show how he is now truly connecting with her and leaving behind one of his major vices.
Although the runtime is nearly three hours, there are very few slow points. Yet when there are, the plot is carefully structured to stay both endlessly entertaining and well-paced. Interestingly, Penn and DiCaprio’s characters share just one 30-second interaction at the beginning of the film and are otherwise rarely in the same scene, connected only through Willa and Perfidia. It is a testament to their acting abilities that they manage to steal the spotlight in nearly every scene they’re in, even without directly interacting with each other as rivals.
While the fast pace and well-coordinated cinematography may draw audiences and critics, the element of the movie that resonates most is the complex characters and their masterful portrayals. The cast brings the story to life, a truly great example of the importance of developing characters into people audiences care about.
