Hollywood Star Shines at BFI Southbank Event
Leonardo DiCaprio cut a classically handsome figure on Wednesday, attending an 'in-conversation' event at London's BFI Southbank to promote his latest cinematic offering, the action-thriller One Battle After Another. The 51-year-old actor, renowned for his role in The Wolf of Wall Street, was the picture of sophistication in a tailored brown plaid suit.
He layered his blazer over a matching brown shirt and trousers, completing the premiere-ready ensemble with a pair of polished black leather dress shoes. The event, which saw the A-list star take to the stage alongside his director and co-star Paul Thomas Anderson and moderator Edith Bowman, served as a platform to discuss the highly anticipated film.
Inside the Making of a Cinematic Masterpiece
During the conversation, DiCaprio offered a fascinating glimpse into his long-gestating collaboration with the acclaimed director. He recalled a casual meeting years ago that hinted at a future project. 'I remember [first] having a conversation with him years ago,' Leonardo shared. 'He kind of casually came up to visit me and my friend [actor] Lukas [Haas], at my place... I could tell he was tuning his fork.'
He went on to describe a subsequent, peculiar meeting at a restaurant in Tarzana, a area of Los Angeles where Anderson resides. 'I remember this strange restaurant that felt almost out of The Shining,' DiCaprio recounted. 'Like, there were no customers, but a fully working staff... It seemed like it was kind of from the ’70s.' These initial discussions eventually evolved into workshops and, finally, a script for what would become One Battle After Another.
The film, loosely based on Thomas Pynchon's 1990 novel Vineland, has been met with a rapturous critical reception, earning five-star reviews across the board and being declared 'the defining film of a generation'.
A Star-Studded Cast and Unanimous Acclaim
In One Battle After Another, DiCaprio plays Bob Ferguson, a dishevelled and distraught revolutionary living in a state of stoned paranoia off-grid with his daughter, Willa. The plot follows Bob as he reconnects with allies to track down his daughter, guided by his sensei, played by Benicio Del Toro.
The high-stakes thriller and black comedy boasts an impressive supporting cast, including Sean Penn as Bob's evil nemesis, Col. Steven J. Lockjaw, and Regina Hall as the revolutionary Deandra.
The praise for the film has been effusive. Legendary director Steven Spielberg gushed, 'What an insane movie, oh my God... There is more action in the first hour of this than every other film you've ever directed put together.' He added that its bizarre and relevant themes have only grown more potent since production began.
The Daily Mail's Brian Viner awarded the film a five-star rating, noting that 'DiCaprio's is not even the most eye-catching performance' and highlighting Sean Penn's scene-stealing turn. He concluded that Anderson, who directed There Will Be Blood, has made a 'comparably fine' picture and predicted Oscar recognition.
Echoing the sentiment, The Telegraph's Robbie Collin praised the film as 'electrifyingly improbable' and a 'sprawling Dr Strangelove-style satire'. He commended Anderson's confidence in the audience and described the climactic desert road pursuit as featuring 'shots to make your stomach levitate', leaving viewers 'shaky and elated'.
