One Battle After Another - Review: Viva la Revolución!

 

By his second film, writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson had made a name for himself. Not only did he manage to land the likes of Gwyneth Paltrow, Samuel L. Jackson, and John C. Reilly for his first movie “Hard Eight,” but he decided to follow up a smaller scale gambling drama with a sprawling 1970s porn epic titled “Boogie Nights.” Since then, he’s made a name for himself with films that manage to capture his idiosyncrasies while also delivering a very specific portrait of human emotion and drama. Films like “Punch Drunk Love,” “Phantom Thread,” “Licorice Pizza,” “The Master,” and “There Will Be Blood” have captivated audiences across the board, with a few even being regarded as some of the greatest films of the 21st century.

Following up any stretch of films like that would be a seemingly monumental task, but with his biggest budget yet, Leonardo DiCaprio (“Once Upon a Time... In Hollywood,” “Titanic”), in the starring role, his first film set in the modern day, and his most politically poignant film yet, PTA has jumped headfirst into a tale of “One Battle After Another.”

Bob Ferguson, played by DiCaprio, is a member of a revolutionary far-left group known as the French 75. The group focuses on freeing immigration detention camps and bombing abandoned banks and politician’s offices, among other actions, most commonly facing off against Colonel. Steve Lockjaw, played by Sean Penn (“Mystic River,” “Milk”). After their DeFacto leader and Bob’s lover Perfidia Beverly Hills, played by Teyana Taylor (“The Book of Clarence,” “Straw”), becomes pregnant, she vanishes, leaving the organization scrambling and Bob with their daughter. Now sixteen years later, Bob is washed up and paranoid, smoking and drinking while trying to parent his daughter Willa, played by Chase Infiniti in her film debut (“Presumed Innocent (2024)”).  He’s forced to snap into action though after Lockjaw reappears in his life looking for Bob and Willa, forcing the two to go on the run.

The film gets far more complex than that, and Anderson’s script, loosely adapted from Thomas Pynchon’s novel “Vineland,” keeps everything taught and wonderfully absurdist. Make no mistake, there is plenty of harrowing material here that will likely drive many away from the film. But Anderson handles it all deftly. After an extended prologue sequence, things kick off and never let up, mixing action genre sensibilities with an almost satirically serious view of modern America. It’s a delightfully funny and unexpected tale, but it never shortchanges any emotion or character. For example, Perfidia might disappear from the film after the prologue, but her presence is intertwined with the entire rest of the film. She hangs over the events like a ghost, and Taylor’s brief but exceptionally impactful performance meshes with Anderson’s script to create that lingering effect.

DiCaprio’s performance, meanwhile, feels like an aged mixture of a wannabe action hero and Jeff Bridges’s performance in “The Big Lebowski.” He’s consistently stumbling and getting turned around, but his unshakeable determination and love for his daughter make for an intensely compelling lead role. At no point is anything ever certain for him and even as he repeatedly falls on his face, literally and metaphorically, you never doubt that he has the ability or drive to save the day. It also helps that the person he’s trying to save is exceptionally compelling herself. In a film full of incredible performances, Chase Infiniti might very well be the film’s greatest aspect. She’s completely magnetic, zeroing in on the complexity of this role, an already fiercely independent child being thrown headfirst into a world of actual danger, and becomes impossible to look away from. Numerous moments speak magnitudes without her even talking thanks to the physicality of her performance. One scene towards the end of the film showcases her silent physicality book ended with moments of loud ferociousness to borderline perfect results.

Penn meanwhile is an absolute menace. The most despicable kind of villain, one so sure of his own goodness, is played to terrifying effectiveness here. He never saps Lockjaw of any of his own absurdity though, delivering a performance for the kind of man so assured in his own self-confidence that it spills back around to being completely silly in numerous aspects. Like this film itself though, these moments of silliness never cheat you out of the pure evil he’s able to encapsulate throughout the film. While undoubtedly in smaller roles, Regina Hall (“Scary Movie,” “Support the Girls”) and Benecio Del Toro (“Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas,” “Sicario”) fill out this world with characters that make major impacts within even their first few moments of screen time. Hall has a haunted look to her character Deandra and manages to be a perfect microcosm of the “old way” of revolting. Del Toro is arguably more Zen than DiCaprio’s Bob, providing yet another interpretation of revolution in the modern day. He’s an instant scene-stealer, and his role would be a standout in any other film not already filled with standout performances.

It would be one thing if PTA and this film wanted to tell a story like this, as there have been plenty of big budget politically charged films in recent memory. But what sets this tale apart is not only the hope at the core of it, but the attitudes it has towards the older and younger generation of revolutionaries. He doesn’t hold the older folks up as infallible nor is the younger generation shown as incompetent or hot headed. It creates a more complex tale that refuses to paint either side of the resistance as the “correct” way of doing things and allows the performances to benefit from the additional dimensionality.

Completely separate from the film’s creative elements, the technical merits on display are absolutely exceptional. Jonny Greenwood’s (“There Will Be Blood,” “The Power of the Dog”) musical score is fantastic, plain and simple. It flows and chills each scene, moving from an already chaotic pace and vibe to something borderline cacophonous by the end of things. Likewise, Michael Bauman’s (“Licorice Pizza”) cinematography plays with numerous viewpoints and angles, flying across waves of long sun-soaked asphalt roads and nights lit with fireworks and the hazy smoke of tear gas. It’s a gorgeous film and ridiculously easy to become fully enveloped in as things exploded outward for Bob, Willa, and the rest.

Making a film with this kind of material, in this kind of climate, may just be an unwinnable task. “One Battle After Another” manages to be an exceptionally tight film in its focus without ever becoming oppressive. Anderson keeps things hopeful as well as just absurd enough to remind you that, even in times like this, things will eventually be toppled. The future generations will keep working just as much as the previous have to keep moving forward. By wrapping that narrative and idea in a film so completely thrilling and entertaining as this, he’s made what just might be the film of the moment, one that so perfectly encapsulates what we’re living through right now in feeling and action. It might also be the best movie of the year. 5/5

The Long Walk - Review: One Foot in Front of the Other

 

While most know him as a master of suspense and horrors, Steven King is also a writer easily known for tales that wrench guts with emotions as much as they do with... actual guts. While plenty know him for “Carrie,” “Cujo,” “It,”” or “Pet Semetary,” plenty also know him as the mind behind “The Shawshank Redemption,” “The Green Mile,” or “Stand by Me.” While not the first work of his published, the first work King ever wrote way back in 1966 was “The Long Walk,” a grueling work combining both his coming-of-age emotional pathos and his gruesome violent horror skills. And up until now, it was one of the few works of his to not have a film adaptation.

Set in a future after the second American Civil War, the film follows a group of boys, including Ray Garraty, played by Cooper Hoffman (“Licorice Pizza,” “Saturday Night”), Peter McVries, played by David Jonsson (“Rye Lane,” “Alien: Romulus”), Billy Stebbins, played by Garrett Wareing (“Ransom County,” “Manifest”), Arthur Baker, played by Tut Nyuot (“Dark Money,” “Steve”), Gary Barkovitch, played by Charlie Plummer (“All the Money in the World,” “Looking for Alaska”), and Hank Olson, played by Ben Wang (“American Born Chinese,” “Karate Kid: Legends”), as they participate in the yearly Long Walk, led by The Major, played by Mark Hamill (“Star Wars: A New Hope,” “Batman: The Animated Series”). The competition sees one boy from each state volunteer to walk until only one remains, with the winner receiving monetary riches and one wish of anything they desire. However, each must maintain a speed of 3 miles per hour at all times, receiving only three warnings for stopping or slowing. After the third warning, they are shot dead with no exception.

Regardless of your opinions on the material, Hoffman and Jonsson’s chemistry and performances are absolutely incredible. Hoffman’s everyman stylings mix wonderfully with his innate charm and selflessness to create a protagonist that feels unpredictable. Even as he’s telling us what he will or won’t do, his character’s evolution makes his journey a fascinating one to watch. Jonsson meanwhile has a calmer, wiser approach to his character, which makes him endlessly enjoyable to watch. When they bounce off each other, volleying lines and thoughts like ping-pong balls, it's a completely captivating experience. This chemistry extends to the rest of their castmates as well, as each boy manages to perfectly encapsulate their own archetypes while branching just enough outside of them to keep things interesting. It’s easy to fall in love with each of the walkers, and even those that feel too despicable to care for, they’re nevertheless completely engrossing.

Given director Francis Lawrence’s (“I Am Legend,” “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire”) experience with other violent dystopian films centering around teens, it’s easy to imagine this material being a repeat of his previous works. However, his direction not only stands in stark difference to those previous works, but the script by JT Mollner (“Outlaws and Angels,” “Strange Darling”) works especially hard to ground this material in a believable feeling of reality. Despite their circumstances, these kids feel believably like they could’ve been plucked right out of any modern high school. They joke, they rib, they cry, they fight, and each passing mile draws you further into their plight. It’s a poisoned chalice of a film, as the very concept means only one kid will make it to the end, with Lawrence and Mollner using that slow dread to ample effect.

Lawrence’s experience with a pseudo-post apocalypse not only works with the script, but the visuals of the film as well. This is a low-budget affair, especially by modern Hollywood standards, and Lawrence and cinematographer Jo Willems (“The Hunger Games: Catching Fire,” “His House”) both use the journey as a showcase for mid-western American landscapes. There are all manner of small towns put on display, for better or worse, and numerous sequences in the pouring nighttime rain, illuminated with mobile spotlights, are just breathtaking. It’s an almost impossible task to shoot a film like this, with nothing but walking, and make it something interesting to look at. Willems camerawork is a quiet and gorgeous portrait of some otherwise down-trodden American scenery, and the fantastic musical score by first time composer, and co-founder of the band The Lumineers, Jeremiah Fraites is the cherry on top.

Ironically, the basic concept of the film does lead into one of the film’s lesser aspects. Obviously, given the nature of the subject material, one should expect some gruesome visuals and uncomfortable violence. But there’s a stark shift halfway through the film. After the mid-point, the violence becomes more thoughtful and harrowing. Prior to that, there’s almost a sense of over-indulgence, as if the first elimination is meant to be a “woah look at how cool and gruesome this is” moment, which stands in stark difference to the film’s central themes. Likewise, the film pulls no punches in the grosser moments one might expect from a tale like this but that might be considered “unfilmable.” Given that these kids simply can’t stop, it shows the trials of that journey warts and all. Your mileage will definitely vary with those aspects.

“The Long Walk” might not be many’s first choice for a Stephen King adaptation. Hell, King himself even said he thought it would never be made given the subject matter. But with a writer and director committed to telling this tale in a deeply heartfelt and genuine way, with a game cast led by two powerhouse performances, they’ve turned it into something special. It’s certainly still a violent, unsettling, and grim tale. But they find that beauty and humanity in the core of it, putting it on display to great effect. 4.5/5 

Twinless - Review: Just the Two of Us

 

There’s something about grief that brings people together. Doubly so if it's someone particularly close. Losing a sibling is a difficult thing no matter the circumstances, but the idea of losing a twin is borderline unthinkable. That concept isn’t exactly what most would think to mine for dark comedy/light thriller material, but writer/director James Sweeney (“Straight Up”) has decided to do just that for his second feature film. It’s certainly an interesting concept, and it’ll absolutely go in a direction few will be expecting.

Dylan O’Brien (“The Maze Runner,” “Love and Monsters”) played Roman, a young man mourning the loss of his twin brother Rocky, also played by O’Brien. After he and his mother Lisa, played by Laura Graham (“Gilmore Girls,” “Parenthood (2010)”), clean out Rocky’s apartment, Roman decides to stay there and attend support group meetings for other “twinless” twins. This leads to him meeting Dennis, played by Sweeney, at one of those meetings and the pair hit it off. They go to hockey games and grocery shopping together, however something about Dennis is not what it seems.

Despite being a fairly low-stakes and low-tech independent film, Sweeney manages to wring a lot of dramatic tension from Dennis and his secrets. There’s a distinctive shift early on in the film that results in what came before being viewed in a completely different light. It’s a tricky tonal balance, mining comedy from this kind of tragedy, but it works, and Sweeney’s script is exceptionally sharp. He manages to set up each character remarkably well, showcasing their sadness without pity and giving them each little moments to shine before enveloping them within the others.

O’Brien is absolutely fantastic here, and while this is clearly a double bill opposite Sweeney, he completely steals the show. His few scenes as Rocky as perfect, working the character with broad swings to make a deep and specific impact. Because of that work, we get a great impression of who he was even without spending the whole film with him. His work as Roman is just as impactful. As we hear him describe his brother, the differences between the two become even more apparent as he and Sweeney mine the material for some excellent emotional growth. Roman is clearly not the sharpest bulb in the drawer, and O’Brien rides the line between being an oaf and stupid. At no point does he overplay things to the point of silliness, making him feel like a truly grounded character. It’s a stark and heart wrenching portrayal of sibling love, even outside of the twin concept, and it’s easily some of the finest work O’Brien has ever turned in.

Sweeney is just as excellent, and the tonal shifts the film makes allow for what could be a simple role to something far more interesting. His isn’t as nuanced of a performance as O’Brien’s, but it's nevertheless engrossing to watch. When the two of them as on screen, things are just absolutely fantastic. Graham is also excellent as a grieving mother figure, but she’s only on screen for mere minutes, lessening her impact. Aisling Franciosi (“The Nightingale,” “Black Narcissus”) appears as Dennis’s co-worker Marcie in what could have been a minor role that blossoms thanks to her performance and Sweeney’s script. They take the character and run with her into a twisty evolution that’s completely different from where she begins. She becomes one of the film’s central linchpins and is excellent the whole time.

Sweeney’s script would turn even the most boilerplate, plain film into something twisty and entertaining, but the tight camerawork and musical score help to push it above that. There’s a fantastic sense of depth with cinematographer Greg Cotten (“The Thinning: New World Order,” “Straight Up”) and he plays constantly with high angles and distant voyeuristic shots. A segment at a party in the middle of the film cements itself almost immediately with a fantastic usage of split screen that punctuates a turn in the film as a whole and in the individual scene. Meanwhile Jung Jae-il's (“Parasite,” “Squid Game”) musical score is far more inventive than one might expect for a movie like this, standing out in each scene and propping up the events as they unfold with an off-kilter electronic beat.

“Twinless” is a film that would likely skirt right underneath the radar of most audience members but absolutely shouldn’t. This sharply funny, dark comedy manages to kick itself into the zeitgeist thanks to its wonderful technical merits and performances, with O’Brien standing out as a highlight of the film and his entire career. It makes full use of an oddball premise and shows that Sweeney’s first film wasn’t a fluke. He’s a writer/director/actor talent that should be here to stay. 4.5/5