Paul Thomas Anderson's One Battle After Another arrives as an unlikely Oscar contender, a sprawling, chaotic epic that blends cartoonish satire with deadly serious political commentary. Freely adapted from Thomas Pynchon's 1990 novel Vineland, the film has been described as both hating and loving America, capturing the country's fractured state in a way that feels perfectly tuned to the present.
The plot follows Bob, a burnt-out former firebrand played by Leonardo DiCaprio, who is jolted from his couch when his daughter Willa (Chase Infiniti) is captured. The story careens from migrant detention camps to sanctuary cities, uncovering a Christian Nationalist cell within the US government on a mission to make America great again. It is a narrative that feels as volatile as the era it depicts.
Sean Penn's Colonel Lockjaw is a bumptious villain, cartoonish yet menacing, reminiscent of real-life border patrol commanders. The film's classification as a comedy by the Golden Globes is only part of the story; it is equally serious, exploring themes of political division and the blurring of battle lines. Its sympathies lie with the underdogs, yet it acknowledges that the struggle is exhausting and the fight is far from clear-cut.
The movie's timeliness is key. It is hard-wired to the here and now, anticipating the tenor of Donald Trump's second term. With Warner Bros poised to be swallowed by Trump-friendly Paramount Skydance, the film's insistence on speaking truth to power feels particularly urgent. It is a rollicking, old-school epic that Hollywood rarely makes anymore, and it may be the last great American whale.
While not the writer's favourite Anderson picture, One Battle After Another is the right film for this moment. It insists that every small victory is worth a hundred defeats, and that the effort is always worthwhile. In a year when the stakes are high and fear silences many, this rambunctious, profane, and ultimately hopeful film deserves the top prize.
