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| Images courtesy of Warner Bros. |
Thomas Pynchon is a difficult writer to adapt to other media. His work is postmodern and surreal, filled to the brim with high-concept ideas and gonzo humor. The characters in his stories fuck, and he isn't afraid to show the hedonistic side of humanity. Pynchon also has a healthy disdain for authority, the government, and corporations, skewering all of these concepts and dismantling them through ridicule.
Paul Thomas Anderson previously tried to capture Thomas Pynchon's essence with his 2014 adaptation of Inherent Vice, but many critics and audiences found it too abstract and meandering. In his latest film, One Battle After Another, based on Pynchon's 1990 novel Vineland, Anderson wisely incorporates elements from the book while simultaneously crafting a kick ass action flick. In some ways, it serves as a spiritual sequel to the book, which partly took place in the Reagan era, which in turn birthed the Christo-fascist Trumpian hellscape we now live in.
Pat Calhoun (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Perfidia Beverly Hills (Teyana Taylor) are lovers as well as members of the French 75, a revolutionary group that employs violence and intimidation to combat a tyrannical government. Although the film takes place in an undefined time period, the remnants of the novel remain, as the tone of the revolutionary segments has a late '60s sensibility, but it is also easy to place it in the present day, due to its handling of hot-button issues such as immigration and police brutality. Revolutions are rarely peaceful, and this film exists uneasily as a reflection of the current political climate in the US.
A lesser film would grasp at the low-hanging fruit when depicting the leftist ideology of the French 75, but it is nuanced and subversive, instead portraying them as flawed individuals with their hearts in the right place. Pat and Perfidia represent two sides of the same coin, with the former taking an analytical route with manifestos and the latter secretly sustaining herself on the dopamine hits from the chaos. Ultimately, the cause falls by the wayside over time as life gets in the way, and the film explores how people can change and evolve, for better or worse, as they age.
Conversely, the jingoistic fascist side is represented by Col. Steven J. Lockjaw (played by a super-jacked Sean Penn), a soldier who is infatuated with Perfidia. Although he is a racist, Col. Lockjaw covets Perfidia like an object he can conquer and own, even going so far as to try to domesticate her and imprison her in a life that she doesn't want. Black women are often sexualized in this way by white culture and media, portrayed as voracious and promiscuous but also shamed for having sexual agency.
Diving even further into racial politics, Willa (Chase Infiniti), Pat's mixed-race daughter, is introduced, and she becomes the linchpin of the entire narrative. Her existence in a racial liminal space is heartbreaking and realistic, as she grapples with her place in a society that only wants to think in black-and-white terms. Infiniti's performance is fierce and poignant, as she literally fights for her life and her right to live on her own terms, rather than being used as a pawn for everyone else.
In the midst of all this heavy material lies a black comedy that exposes the ridiculousness of it all from the outside and the absurdity of evil. Watching over all of this is a Christmas-themed (!) secret society full of old white men who are secretly controlling everything and constantly on the lookout for new members to add to their group. In contrast to the revolutionaries who are messy, emotional, and passionate, with a deep love for their fellow humans, these people appear reserved and kind on the outside, but behind closed doors, harbor detestable opinions and contempt for those who differ from them.
One Battle After Another is almost three hours long, but it flies by thanks to excellent pacing and editing. It truly lives up to the title, continually building to an incredible crescendo and managing to surprise at every twist and turn. It's such a ride, deftly weaving between complex character arcs, yet having a character who calls herself Junglepussy (who is playing herself?!) and the tonal whiplash completely works and keeps the viewer on their toes. This film encapsulates all of Pynchon and Anderson's best qualities, blending them together to create a unique blend of cartoonishly exaggerated paranoia and sweeping American epic that should not be missed.
--Michelle Kisner