A group of ex-revolutionaries get together again after sixteen years when the daughter of a member is arrested.
With a soundtrack that doesn’t stop playing, sequences that constantly combine Hollywood’s understanding of revolution with sex, and a forceful political agenda… the first act raises eyebrows, to say the least. It makes one wonder where the story will take you and what will happen along the way. The moment the second act kicks in, the film changes pace immediately (the music, though, doesn’t stop).
Years pass after Act I; the pace slows, each story becomes separate, but everything comes together again gradually. Look, there is so much one can say about this film. After all, it is Paul Thomas Anderson, one of the greatest writers/directors of his generation, so I’m going to give you the very brief synopsis of what to expect after the peculiar Act I. The slow pace of the beginning of Act II acts as a very, very prolonged build-up, as said, bringing those multiple stories together. There is so much going on screen, and every shot you see carries its own pace and rhythm, meticulously stitched together with the previous and the next through elaborate editing. Every actor and actress puts their heart and soul into their characters, and everything flows like a ticking bomb ready to explode in America’s hands.
Given the Trump administration and ICE, it becomes obvious why One Battle After Another was made in tines like these. Followed by two other films that portrayed a decaying and ripped apart America – Leave the World Behind (2023) and Civil War (2024) – One Battle After Another becomes the third film in three years that paints a horrible picture of the country. This time, with a fascist-ruling regime, full of certified nutjobs, to a comical level, and an underground revolutionary network that can be barely and reluctantly taken seriously.
To what level Anderson intended these people and events to be taken seriously is unknown, and surely, the final cut does not inspire seriousness. Look at Bob (Leonardo DiCaprio). In the first act, he’s psychologically and emotionally castrated. In the second act, he’s but a shadow of what he used to be (castrated), and in the third act, he resolves nothing. Almost anything that happens could have happened without him either way.
So, what was intentional, you think? How were these situations and people meant to be perceived? The car chase will go down as one of the greatest car chases of all time – undoubtedly. Furthermore, some sequences could not have been shot more effectively. Yet, as a whole, the peculiarity of the characters and certain events is not for everyone. And despite elements of the story and character development that I was not particularly fond of, the filmmaking is spectacular.
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Solidarity for all the innocent lives that suffer the atrocities of war!
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