Review by Terri Harrah — October 28, 2025
Paul Thomas Anderson’s new film One Battle After Another almost seems like it could have been a three-part series.
The film opens with an ambitious, Black Panther–type female lead, Perfidia Beverly, excellently executed by actress Teyana Taylor. who seems to be the spearhead of something reminiscent of The Weather Underground.
There are multiple names used for the group she’s leading, but essentially, she’s bombing buildings across California. Leonardo DiCaprio plays her bombing partner, and nothing upsets the apple cart of a true revolution quite like having a baby. This could have been a great story—exploring how a revolutionary navigates motherhood. It could have been funny, dark, or both. But that’s not the story we get. Instead, we follow Leonardo DiCaprio’s character as he slides into low to mediocre fatherhood as his partner escapes to Mexico after exchanging sexual favors with Sean Penn’s military character, securing her freedom.
Fast-forward many years later: the baby is now a teenager, and Sean Penn’s character gets wind that he may be the father. Paul Thomas Anderson attempts to weave together these extreme personalities—Penn as a racist drawn to Black women, trying desperately to be accepted into a white men’s club within the government. There really isn’t enough here to hold any deep interest, as this song has been sung so often over the last decade that I started to lose interest.
At this point, I began to feel that both Penn and DiCaprio may have been punked by Anderson—who also wrote the film—to embody exaggerated archetypes. Both actors unabashedly lean left. DiCaprio plays the soft, aimless white man we see so much of in current pop culture, while Penn portrays the controlling, militaristic racist. I’ve seen these characters a thousand times before.
I think it would’ve been far more interesting if the original female lead had remained central to the story. That said, the actress (Chase Infiniti) playing the daughter is fantastic—an absolute standout. She delivers a genuine, heartfelt performance that blends in a much-needed softness to the film.
DiCaprio’s performance, meanwhile, is deeply consistent and very funny. He’s not usually known for comedy, but he handles the humor here surprisingly well. Sean Penn also gives a layered performance—you can see why he was drawn to the role, It is as if he is working something out through the character, perhaps exorcising some demons of his own. Or maybe it feels less like he is playing this part and more like he is purging it, as his way of confronting what he believes has gone wrong with the archetype of the righteous military man in authority.
But I can’t help but notice the irony: in this world of left-leaning virtue signaling, here we are again with three white men—the writer/director and two stars—telling a story about a Black woman who disappears in the first quarter of the film. If we are adjusting to their world view. Maybe I missed some deeper creative irony there that more devoted fans picked up on, but as someone who’s not into political extremism, none of it felt fresh. It seemed to be repeating the same message we’ve heard endlessly.
Benicio Del Toro enters the film halfway through, and his performance is a welcome help to affable and fumbling DiCaprio. His chemistry with DiCaprio brings new energy. There’s a thrilling sequence where they’re racing through a small town, trying to avoid capture. Anderson directs the scene with quick pacing, seemingly long shots, sharp dialogue, and humor. The underlying thread throughout the movie involves immigration—essentially an underground network moving migrants to safety.
Another standout sequence is a car chase through the rolling hills of the California desert. The cinematography is gritty and exciting. You feel like you’re inside the car, tense and uncertain about what lies just over each hill. The timing, editing, and direction are excellent.
Overall, the acting across the board is top-tier. Every performer stays fully committed to their character.
Now, from what I understand—though I haven’t read any other reviews—this film is being called Paul Thomas Anderson’s worst. I don’t know if that’s fair. But if you ask me whether it’s worth watching, I’d say this: if you want your political biases confirmed, this movie will do that for you. If not, you’ll likely find it frustrating but entertaining.
By the end, I wasn’t sure what Anderson was trying to say. Was he implying that men aren’t strong anymore unless they’re in the military? That all military men are racist? That all mixed-race young women should join the revolution? That all Black women belong in the revolution? The film’s point of view felt confused—just like its characters.
As I said at the beginning, I couldn’t tell if Anderson was mocking the whole situation or simply saying that the battle will always go on because injustice always exists. Probably more of the latter, given the title. The story only really ties back to that idea when the young girl declares she’s heading to protest in Portland, Oregon—which, frankly, I found laughable.
If the movie were poking fun at protesters in Portland, that would’ve been clever, but I don’t think that’s what it was doing. One Battle After Another seems to take itself seriously, attempting to balance drama and satire—but it misses the mark at essential moments. One last thing I will add is that one of my favorite films is MAGNOLIA. So I came into this film hopeful, and what I think I came out with is, yeah, the battle goes on. There is just no end; the immigration issue running in the background of the story is never resolved, and those people are left aimless even after they were technically “saved” or freed by the revolutionaries.
