ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER

Every now and then, a film comes along with such fierce hype behind it that you'd have to be living under a rock to avoid it. Earlier this year, Sinners was a prime example where the world seemed to fall in love with Ryan Coogler's horror epic, including myself. Now, it's the turn of Paul Thomas Anderson with his tenth film One Battle After Another, and believe me when I say, the hype is very much deserved.

Bob Ferguson (Leonardo DiCaprio) is a washed-up revolutionary who lives in a state of stoned paranoia, surviving off-grid with his spirited and self-reliant daughter, Will (Chase Infiniti). When his evil nemesis, Col. Steven J. Lockjaw (Sean Penn), resurfaces and Willa goes missing, the former radical scrambles to find her as both father and daughter battle the consequences of their pasts.

Paul Thomas Anderson works wonders here to deliver a melting pot of themes and topical narrative strands, that simmer to one hell of a boiling point in the film's finale. It's a sweeping American epic loaded with enough firepower to sustain a lengthy runtime, and deliver a damning viewpoint on America's current state. Seriously, some moments in this film you could turn on the news and see the same thing. It can feel a little scattershot at times in its approach, but that works in its favour, emphasising the chaos of proceedings as they unfold. All of this just happens to take place in the midst of a father-daughter relationship that is tested when truths come to light and only heightens the emotional weight of the film's final moments.

Anderson's epic moves along at such a pace, never letting up to create one of the most engrossing cinematic experiences of the year. His writing is spot on from start to finish, with properly fleshed-out characters delivering such great dialogue, and satire used expertly for comedic effect. There are some caricatures of right-wing fanatics played for laughs, yet it never feels goofy or out of place, instead allowing the audience to breathe amidst the frantic nature of the film as a whole. Right from the very first scene through to the end, the tension is bubbling and comes to blows spectacularly in several places. Jonny Greenwood's score accompanying the film so well in this regard too, quietly beating away and rising in volume at the perfect time, as well as more obscure beats heightening the sense of paranoia felt from Bob's perspective.

One Battle After Another is very much an ensemble film however, at the forefront is a rather brilliant performance from Leonardo DiCaprio who, at this rate, might as well have an automatic awards nomination with every performance, he's just that good. It's the comedic nature of the performance that stands out here, his paranoia heightened by drugs and helping him stumble his way through proceedings in such entertaining fashion. Then there's Sean Penn as Col. Steven J. Lockjaw - which might just be the role he will be remembered for most. Lockjaw is a truly grotesque antagonist and Penn brings such vile mannerisms to the character, it's almost sickening to watch him, yet impossible to take your eyes off him at the same time.

The supporting cast is an amalgamation of such varying characters played so wonderfully by an array of talent. Whether it's a big part or a small part, they all make an impact on the film in some form. Teyana Taylor's fearless Perfidia Beverly Hills is a powerhouse to open the film with, her confidence and charisma vying for attention, and earning it, against major Hollywood icons. Benicio del Toro makes for a great comedic sparring partner for DiCaprio, the calm reacting to the chaos left in Bob's wake. It's Chase Infiniti though, in her feature film debut, who shines the brightest - the innocence she brings to Willa making her a character you can empathise with. She certainly has a big career ahead of her if she can deliver something like this in her cinematic debut.

Undoubtedly one of the films of the year and quite possibly the decade, One Battle After Another is cinema at its finest, eliciting all the emotions as it moves along at such a rate. This is a very different beast from Paul Thomas Anderson that might just finally see him pick up the Academy Award that has eluded him so far in his career.

Verdict: ★★★★★