One Battle After Another ★★★★

Paul Thomas Anderson (Magnolia, Boogie Nights, Phantom Thread) is no stranger to awards season, but his 2025 film One Battle After Another has launched him into a new stratosphere of nominations. The film has been nominated for thirteen at the Oscars, fourteen at the BAFTAs, and nine at the Golden Globes, of which it won in four categories.

One Battle After Another follows the story of Bob Ferguson (Leonardo DiCaprio), a revolutionary-turned-paranoid father, who finds himself constantly chastised by his daughter Willa (Chase Infiniti) for his bad habits. However, when Steven J. Lockjaw (Sean Penn) comes looking for the final members of Bob’s insurgent group, the French 75, his daughter starts to understand just how real her father’s concerns are. The film moves through hidden tunnels, desert roads and even to a high school prom, whilst keeping its audience on the edge of its seat.

Anderson, also known as PTA, had been working on this loose adaptation of Thomas Pynchon’s Vineland for around twenty years. Pynchon’s postmodernist novel follows the story of a father and daughter, during Ronald Reagan’s re-election, in California. Though One Battle After Another is not set in the eighties, it certainly embraces the pop culture of an American past. The film features nostalgic needle drops of the sixties and seventies, such as Steely Dan’s Dirty Work and the Jackson Five’s Ready or Not Here I Come (Can’t Hide from Love).

One Battle After Another manages to pair high-tension scenes with brilliant comedic relief. The contrast between DiCaprio’s agitated Bob and Sergio St Carlos (Benicio del Toro), Willa’s calm sensei, provides much of the comedy of the second act. Throughout the film Sean Penn’s turn as Colonel Lockjaw is uncomfortable to the point of hilarity, with his awkward walk and seriousness in any given situation. Despite this, Anderson doesn’t shy away from stress and pressure, bringing us into the moment with engaging cinematography courtesy of Micheal Bauman.

The film’s score, composed by Jonny Greenwood, is yet another success. Greenwood mixes strings, guitar, piano and synth, offering intriguing, sobering instrumentation, as well as comical, almost cartoonish sounds to underscore some of Bob’s more slapstick moments.

One Battle After Another shines through the rich performances from all of its cast, including Regina Hall and Teyana Taylor, who has won the Golden Globe for her role as Perfidia Beverly Hills, but its emotional heart lies in the relationship between Willa and Bob. Infiniti and DiCaprio provide remarkable performances that underscore the entire film, making a story of revolutionaries relatable to any parent in the audience.

Impossible to ignore and fantastically crafted, One Battle After Another is imbued with a spirit that cements it as a future classic and makes it hard not to recommend.