What is a revolution? Is it an outcry against oppression? An inevitable shift of power from one ruling class to the next? A spark of hope that lives in the hearts and minds of those who have no other option? And what happens when those people, those revolutionaries, let the spark fade, and are assimilated by the very forces they fight against?

In One Battle After Another, Paul Thomas Anderson explores these questions with his audience, showing us the enduring power of hope, while reminding us of the brutal sacrifices required to keep that spark alive.

The film begins with the all too familiar sight of an immigrant detention center, immediately provoking emotions that aren’t tethered to fiction or fantasy, but to the harsh realities of American politics. 

The camp is being forcefully liberated by the French 75, a self-titled revolutionary group that shoots, bombs, and generally terrorizes their way through establishment forces in the first act of the film. 

Perfidia Beverly Hills (yes, that’s her name) leads them in a standout performance by actress Teyana Taylor, whose fierce, proud, and unapologetic attitude sets the tone for the primarily Black revolutionary group. Her message is clear from the very first scene: “This is an announcement of a motherfucking revolution.”

What’s interesting about the French 75 is that doing this, blowing things up, directly attacking the establishment, is about more than just the message. It makes them feel good. It gives them a sense of control in a chaotic and oppressive world. Instead of clocking in every day, hating the terror building in the world and feeling powerless to stop it, they fight back. It’s cathartic, and a sentiment modern audiences can unfortunately relate to.

The 75’s hot-headed sensibilities are matched by Sean Penn’s Colonel Lockjaw, whose tight-lipped, straight-backed military demeanor stands in opposition to everything the ‘75 fights for. His excessively masculine facade is comedically paired with his short stature, depicting a type of man that tries to bury his flaws beneath layers of aggression and macho energy. He acts as an unyielding, even undying, antagonistic force, sometimes to the point of comedy, and other times in brutal expressions of misdirected insecurity. Never before have I seen the absurdity of hypermasculinity and its violent consequences so effectively packed into one character. 

Caught in the middle of Lockjaw and Perfidia is One Battle After Another‘s protagonist, Leonardo DiCaprio’s Ghetto Pat, aka Bob. Bob, though just as committed to the cause, seems goofy compared to the rest of the revolutionaries (his name matches his clumsy character). A bombardier for the ‘75, he and Perfidia share an explosively passionate relationship wrapped up in the momentum of the 75’s rampage. But after the dust settles and Perfidia is caught by the authorities, it is only Bob who is left with the aftermath of their love affair: their daughter. He goes into hiding, and their baby grows to the age of 16 without ever knowing her mother, living under a name she doesn’t know is false. 

It is here that the film begins in earnest. While the first act is a masterful display of kinetic backstory, the second is a non-stop thrill ride of chaos. Lockjaw sets his sights on Bob and his daughter, using immigrant crime as an excuse to send in the military and inflict his will upon their city. (Sound familiar yet?)

In this setting, Paul Thomas Anderson showcases another harsh reality that many Americans are facing: the terror of being hunted down in your own home. The military occupation of sanctuary city Baktan Cross is a sight many Americans in liberal cities are now familiar with: armed officers roaming the streets, violent abductions, and fierce protests. 

Despite the heavy subject matter of the film, it retains its humor, mocking the bizarre supremacists who order these crimes as we follow the bumbling Bob in a manic search for his daughter, depicted by Willa Ferguson, who fleshes out the character and makes her believable. His Big Lebowski-style antics, complete with the bathrobe and cigarette holder, carry us from setpiece to setpiece at a relentlessly riotous pace.

Leading Bob and other escaping immigrants from one safe house to another is the cool-headed “Sensei” Sergio St. Carlos, (the ever-talented Benicio del Toro). With him, we get brief moments of buddy cop banter between rooftop chases and high-speed pursuits. A particular highlight of their old married couple dynamic occurs after Sensei and Bob outmaneuver the military, the police, and Lockjaw himself, only for Bob to get caught drinking a beer in the front seat of Sensei’s T-bird. 

All of these elements work to break up the darker tone of the film, making the emotional moments hit harder as Paul Thomas Anderson balances the weight of oppression with the ever-enduring spirit of humanity. As Sensei says: “Ocean waves, ocean waves.”

The film is an adept blend of social and political commentary comes packaged in a three-hour rollercoaster that feels like 15 minutes. Epic in scale but personal in content, One Battle After Another weaves heavy themes together in an emblematic narrative about a family fractured by persecution, fighting to stay together. 

As modern times feel increasingly like a slow descent into the past, this film brings some light to the despotic darkness, showing us that the fight for progress, the fight against tyranny, and a true revolution, is simply one battle after another.

One Battle After Another

Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson

Warner Bros., Sept. 2025

162 min.

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