One Battle After Another – Movie Reviews by Ry!

One Battle After Another – A Fool’s Choice of Duty: A Satirical Tale

To look at life, you look at a spectrum of all the choices that you made.  From the easy to the hardest, each choice defines a moment that becomes the reflection of you.  It is a catalyst of captured layers, but one where a story can blossom into something more.  In this review, I look at the latest satirical drama to hit the big screen.  This is a tale molded by our choices, but in an ironically comical but endearing way.  Even with a slow burn, One Battle After Another is a harden look at meaningful paths in life, but also what it means to fight for something more. 

From moments of glory to the unknowns of life, an ex-revolutionary and his daughter will have to deal with a forgotten past if they hope to live a life of freedom.  To tell a story is to bring about a place where purpose and journey become a point of creative thought.  From emotional provocation to a lambasting of visuals, the indifference is shuttered with that idea of an escape.  With this latest Paul Thomas Anderson (Writer/Director) flick, we embark into a setting where that emotional fervor and visualized patterns become one in the same.  In the beginning, we are thrust into a political unrest situation that builds towards the birth of a revolutionary group known as the French 75.  Through this slow burn of a first act, we follow Pat Calhoun (Leonardo DiCaprio), who becomes involved with this group and also starts a romantic relationship with their leader, Perfidia Beverly Hills (Teyana Taylor).  There actions lead to a counter offensive, led by Col. Steven Lockjaw (Sean Penn), who is designated (by the gov’t) to stop the action of the French 75 at all costs.  After certain dominos fall, we move into the present (16 years later) where Calhoun is living under a new alias and raising his daughter, Willa (Chase Infiniti) alone.  As we move into the second act, satirical elements kick in when Lockjaw finally finds where Calhoun has been living for all those years.  This sets into motion a cat-and-mouse game that becomes elevated by folly dialogue, physical aloofness and strong relative themes.  Through this ironic play of illicit emotional moments, it adds value to the normality of situations that pray upon personal positions of morality.  This characterized journey is driven beyond a typical singularity, but one where our life choices dictate the possibilities of an outcome.  This directive style breaks the norms of storytelling, driving situations that weave around Calhoun, Willa and Lockjaw’s personal visage.  It is here where cause and effect become a matter of reality, where traditional motifs are broken for the sake of an endearing journey into a unique avenue of originality. 

As things slowly unravel, new dynamics come into play that connect civil unrest to individual strife.  This dynamic is driven by the enormity of the superb acting.  From our main leads to the rest of the cast (you can find the list on the film’s IMdb page – link), the path becomes a dimension where each individual builds a connection that makes you feel uncertainty in the emotional discourse of choice.  This allows each conversation to feel authentic, even in the satirical background at play.  As things slowly unravel, we head into a third act that threads a fine needle between the characterized revelations and satirical mantra at play.  With everything on the line, we head into a fulfilling climax and an epilogue that drives the nail in the morality of it all.  One Battle After Another is a satirical refuge of great filmmaking.  If you are a fan of the director, thematic or character driven tales, this is one for you.  For anyone who loves film, I think this is worth the full price of admission.

Full Score – 4 out of 5 (Full Price)