One Battle After Another – 2025
Written and Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson
Based on Vineland by Thomas Pynchon
Starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Sean Penn, Benicio del Toro, Regina Hall, Teyana Taylor, Chase Infiniti
Licorice Pizza – 2024
Written and Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson
Starring Alana Haim, Cooper Hoffman, Sean Penn, Tom Waits, Bradley Cooper, Benny Safdie, Christine Ebersole
Inherent Vice – 2014
Written and Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson|
Based on Inherent Vice by Thomas Pynchon
Starring Joaquin Phoenix, Josh Brolin, Owen Wilson, Katherine Waterston, Reese Witherspoon, Benicio Del Toro, Martin Short
I used to think the reason I had such a hard time with PT Anderson films was a problem. I believed it was with me as the viewer. There were movies I had no issues with, like Boogie Nights and Magnolia. Then there was stuff like There Will Be Blood and The Master. I found these to be unbearable. This was despite the obvious acting talent. The biggest challenge for Anderson’s film lay with the tension and length of the films. Subtle changes over shorter scenes are easier to detect. The same changes over insufferably long scenes are more of a torture device.
Inherent Vice is a film. It came as part of a package of digital films I bought earlier in the year. I had no intention of watching it. That changed when I learned this and PT Anderson’s most recent film is based on the works of Thomas Pynchon.
For what it’s worth, Vice can be skipped. The story follows a drug-addled PI. He is sent on a wild goose chase involving a rich guy, his ex-girlfriend, and a crooked cop. The supporting cast is horrible, outside of Waterston who is magnetic in her few scenes.
There are two versions of Phoenix characters, one is enigmatic and interesting, like he was in Gladiator and Joker. The other is self-involved and meandering like he was in The Master and Eddington. If he’s given too much rope, he just might hang himself. In this film, he has some pretty severe neck abrasions.
The film feels like a series of disconnected conversations. It tries to tell the viewer what is going on rather than showing us. This is likely because there is too much to cover for a visual medium. If you’re explaining this much, then it’s not worth leaving the real world.
There is also the challenge that none of the characters are sympathetic or worth exploring. They’re all people one would avoid in their daily lives. Why would anyone pay money to spend time watching these fuck ups do anything?
The release of One Battle After Another this weekend offered me an opportunity to reassess his work. PT Anderson’s latest film is notable. It is part of the new wave of Vista Vision films. This is no small selling point. Regardless of what one thinks of the rest of the film, it is visually stunning at almost every point. The richness of color pervades every scene. It is so vivid that one can almost smell every room they are seeing. This effect can be for better or worse.
The story of his latest film revolves around the basis of a Pynchon story of literal rebellion. Two rebels Pat and Perfidia (DiCaprio and Taylor) are brought together, then apart, largely by Perfidia’s choices. Along the way, Col. Lockjaw (Penn) is entranced by Perfidia, an attraction she uses to her advantage until she has to escape. Pat is left behind with a child, Charlene.
Taylor’s character is incredibly frustrating to experience. This could be due to Taylor’s limited acting ability. Alternatively, it might be a purposeful representation of a repulsive character. Regardless of the reason, the film becomes more engaging 16 years later. Pat is now Bob, and Charlene is Willa.
Several events separate father and daughter. They spend the rest of the film trying to find each other. This is the best performance I have seen DiCaprio in since Django Unchained. His ability to play a character so comically inept yet still admirable is nothing short of amazing.
As Charlene / Willa (Infiniti) excels in her first feature. She navigates the changing landscape of her past, present and future with courage and confusion that is palpable.
The supporting cast of del Toro, Penn and Hall are full-fledged characters. They help paint a whole picture. They are not caricatures meant to fill space.
The soundtrack, especially for the last two hours, add to the mood of each scene. There is nothing here striking or attention grabbing, just fitting.
So far I would say this is the second best film of the year after Weapons.
After we saw this, my friend Steve recommended we see Licorice Pizza next. I had been uncertain about seeing this for a while. Coming of age films taking place in the ’70s are fun. However, it looked like there might be too much hugging and learning. Given how good One Battle After Another is, I figured I would finally bite the bullet.
Licorice Pizza was even better. The story mixes Anderson’s friend Gary Goetzman’s early life with an incident of Anderson seeing a kid hitting on a photographer at a middle school. As a result, we get Cooper Hoffman playing Gary Valentine. Alana Haim takes on the role of Alana Kane.
The romance is definitely challenged by an age difference. Hoffman plays a 15 year old part time actor and Haim is the 25 year old object of his affection. She is still living with her sisters and parents and never found a direction in life. He jumps from one money making venture to another with no real direction or challenge in life.
The story events are loosely based on Goetzman’s experiences in the 1970’s. They include his work with Lucille Ball and delivering a waterbed to Jon Peter’s house.
These events are interspersed with a touch and go relationship with Haim’s Kane. We think there should be nothing at all between the two, but the chemistry is definitely there. Neither of them have a clue what they really need from life. However, we know that they do care about one another. This scene is exemplified by the back to back calls made to one another where no one says a thing.
The supporting cast is stellar. There are many memorable opportunities and ties to events in the ’70’s. They are seared in the collective conscience of those who did not experience them. I was lucky enough to read about Jon Peters (played with a coke fueled flair by Cooper) in a book by Barry Sonnenfeld earlier in the week.
There are other similar characters in the film. Versions of William Holden (Penn) and Lucille Ball (Ebersole) offer a rich tapestry of tangential Hollywood life in the 1970’s.
The latter two films play relatively briskly for such lengthy run times. The soundtracks for each help. The political slant for One Battle After Another thankfully fades in the last 2/3 of the film. There is probably one running scene too many for Licorice Pizza. Overall, though, both are worth the experience. One should watch each of them again instead of wasting time with Inherent Vice.
One Battle After Another (**** out of *****)
Licorice Pizza (****1/2 out of *****)
Inherent Vice (** out of *****)
Ebert Did It Better: Gasbag Reviews 
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