One Battle After Another

What makes Paul Thomas Anderson's latest work so powerful and propulsive is how boldly and confidently it speaks to this current moment through its blunt depiction of it. He doesn't employ allegory or the past or an alternate future to comment on the present. Those approaches have their place - many of the best films of the year take this tack, and are better for it. But PTA constructs an unflinching portrait of our world that begins by tracking the actions of a fictional revolutionary group, their dissolution at the hands of a Terminator-like bastard heading up a white supremacist immigration detention authority, and follows the ramifications years later when he's incentivized to clean up his past in order to gain entrance to a secret society centered on racial purity...called The Christmas Adventurers Club.

The satire implied by their goofy name lies mostly dormant in the first thirty minutes, which is among the most harrowing and impressive bits of American filmmaking in recent memory. A shot of Perfidia Beverly Hills (Teyana Taylor) walking on a bridge pans down to reveal that she's scouting one of MKU's immigration detention facilities on the U.S.-Mexico border, which militant group the French 75 quickly breaks into to free the captives while loudly and proudly declaring their political intent: "Free borders, free bodies, free choices, and free from fucking fear". No interaction is more loaded or consequential than Perfidia's humiliation of Captain Steven J. Lockjaw (Sean Penn), which ripples throughout the rest of the story. It provides fuel for him to hunt down and summarily execute every member of the French 75 he can find, leaving them in tatters. Later, it gives him reason to go after her co-revolutionary/husband Pat (Leonardo DiCaprio) and daughter Charlene (Chase Infiniti). All is further heightened by Jonny Greenwood's brilliantly tense and playful score, full of scattered piano keys drum kits forming a jazzy, minimalist soundscape, right up until he blasts you in the face with discordant orchestration.

Which isn't to imply the beginning is dour. While its application to reality renders it quite upsetting, there's enough levity to imply it will continue to let up periodically. Every detail of Penn's astounding performance and embodiment of Lockjaw is highly entertaining, from his haircut to his stick-in-the-ass walk to the Mick Jagger-like way he purses his lips. Penn's gravely voice ensures Lockjaw is alarmingly intense at all times, making some of his line readings uncomfortably (but deliberately) humorous and others quite scary. Perfidia is seemingly turned on by political violence and power, leading her to jump Pat's bones as they flee from the havoc they're wrecking. And Pat is well-meaning but nowhere near as dedicated to the movement as his wife, making his outbursts of revolutionary fervor amusing in their overcommitment.

That the following two hours (which take place sixteen years later) juxtaposes the actions and effectiveness of Pat and Lockjaw against each other is nothing short of perfection. Pat's determination to rescue his daughter far outstrips his ability; in addition to his disposition, he's marinaded his brain in pot and alcohol so thoroughly that he became disconnected and paranoid, so it's unsurprising that he can barely remember the movement's procedures and code speak. He's so tied up in his own mess that he never fully appreciates how helpless he is, nor the amount of assistance he requires to progress. Pat's perseverance is both funny and heartwarming, keeping you on his side even as it renders most of his actions ineffective.

He contrasts starkly with Lockjaw, a completely misguided and unserious person, who nonetheless possess deep reservoirs of hatred for "impurity in the gene pool" and a frustrating ability to wield the power of the state to achieve his violent goals. One of the most successful elements of the movie is the depiction of fascists as bound by beliefs in meaningless and silly pageantry, while simultaneously so ruthlessly effective at realizing their threats as to preclude the possibility of going toe to toe with them. That's how you arrive at the chilling scene of a handful of Christmas Adventurers greeting each other with "Merry Christmas, all hail St. Nick", only to plot the murder of Lockjaw and some others in cold blood for making fools of them.

The parallels between the French 75 and the fascists are as uncomfortable as they are plentiful, although PTA always keeps one eye on the noble intentions of upending a broken system. It makes for some interesting dramatic arcs, as we watch Pat and Lockjaw live through the consequences of their past amidst a larger conflict. The major difference is that Pat is self-reflective, trying to do better and bemoaning his failings in an attempt to inspire future improvement. Lockjaw never shows an ounce of self-awareness, convinced that he has a higher calling that requires hiding past "mistakes".

Through all of this character study and intrigue, the plot is as thrilling as can be. Charlene is brought under the protection of what's left of the French 75 (primarily Deandra, portrayed by the excellent Regina Hall), with the aid of the Sisters of the Sacred Beaver. Pat must make his way to her before Lockjaw can. While the beginning is marked by Pat's confusion and exasperation, it quickly gives way to tense escapes and flashing cop lights and people commanding him to keep moving. His guide through the story's bridge is his daughter's karate instructor Sensei Sergio (Benicio del Toro in a lights out supporting role), a man at least as old as Pat who nonetheless has retained and even expanded his anti-government role. One of the film's many jaw-dropping sequences involves him coordinating the evacuation of a few dozen undocumented immigrants camped out in his building, filmed with a constantly moving camera, and as he helps Pat get out of trouble multiple times. The film continues apace, perfectly interleaving strange and amusing dramatic scenes that have you on edge with arresting short punches of action. It all culminates in one of the best car chases ever put to film, a feat made more impressive by never leaving the same long, straight stretch of road. Via perfect camera placement, overwhelming sound design, and Greenwood's stunning orchestration, you experience ten minutes of pure adrenaline, capped by one of the most visceral releases of tension I've ever experienced.

The plot gestures at the messy, complicated nature of people and organizations, and how even the best of intentions can be corrupted by individuality. While it's fair to view it as PTA casting doubt on the entire concept of ideological purity, further bolstered by everything we see of The Christmas Adventurers Club, it speaks more strongly to the impossibility of knowing everything that's going on with another person. Of course, the audience gets a more complete picture, and thus have a much deeper (albeit unspoken) understanding of Perfidia's struggles with her pregnancy and parenthood than her husband. She is human, seeking ways to leverage the position she's in, and ultimately chasing her own desires, uncompromising in her conviction to put herself first. Meanwhile, there are signs from the very beginning that Pat is more taken with Perfidia than the cause, so of course he quickly steps back when they have a child, and plays into the ease with which he fell out of practice (despite ensuring Charlene's history teacher knows that Ben Franklin was a slave holder). Of all the characters we spend any time with, none end up being who we initially thought they were.

That's the key to the whole movie. While the plot is straightforward, the emotional story and ideas being explored refuse to paint clean portraits of its subjects. PTA is not at all interested in how the politics at the core of the narrative map onto the modern left-right divide, preferring to highlight the terrifying way power is wielded by people in a position of authority who have a grudge and an excuse. This in turn forces him to focus on his characters and how they act and react inside such a framework, fighting for their survival while keeping their ideals at the back of their mind. It brings to the fore all the people in the background engaging in various small acts of resistance, even as it's unsure how effective that really is. These are unsettled issues that the filmmakers have no illusions of solving, and aid in making it a timeless snapshot of America and the struggles to live up to its ideals.