One Battle After Another Hits the Mark—A Movie Review
In One Battle After Another, Leonardo DiCaprio stars as a washed-up revolutionary with a poor relationship with his daughter (Chase Infiniti). Eventually, a figure from his and his wife’s past, played by Sean Penn, tries to kidnap his daughter, and DiCaprio has to try to rescue her.
DiCaprio, Infiniti, and Benicio Del Toro (a karate instructor who helps hide illegal immigrants) give standout performances. Penn, however, can be hard to take seriously, almost seeming like a parody of a racist army commander.
While the first part of the film introduces us to many of the other members of the French 75, very few of them will appear later in the film. It is primarily about DiCaprio and Infiniti, as well as their struggles. The film is at its best during the climax, though the actual ending does leave a bit to be desired.
The film’s story is not easily predictable, taking hard turns each time you think you know what’ll happen next. This can be an issue, since some of its turns make less sense than others, though none of them will ruin your viewing experience.
The movie is rather political, and I could easily see conservatives feeling as though the film is attacking them for certain opinions. However, since the performances were good and I cared about DiCaprio and Infiniti’s relationship, I didn’t care.
The score is brilliant, and the cinematography manages to be relaxing one moment and stress-inducing in the next. The film was filmed with VistaVision, an old type of filmmaking that went out in the 1960s but has recently made a comeback. While it may not look as good as IMAX, it gives the film a distinct look.
Against a budget of over 130 million, Anderson’s largest ever budget, the film was expected to gross about 20-25$ million in its opening weekend. It grossed $22,000,000 domestically and $26,100,000 internationally, marking Anderson’s best-ever opening weekend.
