The Wiki page is calling Paul Thomas Anderson‘s One Battle After Another (Warner Bros., 9.26) “an American satirical black comedy,” but that’s a vague description. A dude who recently saw this September ’25 release says it essentially “makes fun of radical left revolutionaries.”
Set in the American northwest, pic has to do with Leonardo Di Caprio‘s “Bob Ferguson” character, an unhinged, bathrobe-wearing, hyper-mannered lowlife, and is about his mixed-race daughter, possibly played by Chase Infiniti, having been kidnapped by Sean Penn‘s Col. Steven J. Lockjaw. Maybe, apparently…who knows? The guy didn’t specify.
No, I’ve never read Thomas Pynchon‘s “Vineland,” which the film is loosely based upon.
I wish I was more certain about who play Infiniti’s mother (and DiCaprio’s ex-lover) — Regina Hall or Teyana Taylor. Probably Hall because she’s the prettier of the two.
Except the guy I spoke to wasn’t all that clear about certain aspects. I asked questions and absorbed as well as I could, but I wasn’t left with a specific idea of what the film really is.
“It’s played for comedy,” the guy told me, “but the [wokeys] won’t like it. I laughed and my white friends laughed, but we were in the minority [in the audience].
“It’s a guy movie, kinda like Uncut Gems. Made for a predominantly male fanbase. It will probably go over like Mickey 17 and Alto Knights, both of which lost Warner Bros. a lot of money.
“Guys aside, the humor is aimed more at the demo of black women or conservative white women than liberal white women on anti-depressants who are keyboard warriors on Twitter. Black women and conservative women aren’t as mentally ill as college-educated white women, and will probably enjoy it. It was fun for me, but a gender studies major at a liberal arts college will definitely pan this. Don’t look for much love from the woke army.
“I probably wouldn’t take a woman to see it. It’s a film for dudes.
“PTA actually manages to direct the black actresses — Regina Hall, Teyana Taylor, Chase Infiniti — pretty well. It’s his most commercial work in a sense, but it probably won’t get any awards action. The cinematography and editing are fine, and I loved the performances.
“It’s a movie I’d take my male friends to opening weekend, but not the girlfriend. And Leo, remember, isn’t selling tickets like he did 10 or 15 years ago.
“It’s not a 2025 movie. It’s something that would’ve gone down well during the halcyon days of Obama’s second term. I love this type of shit, but movies like this are not made today.
“Leo has a great scene in which he says ‘I love black women!'”
