Paul Thomas Anderson attacks the polarized world in a new movie, ‘one battle after another’

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“One battle after another,” the new and ambitious film by director Paul Thomas Anderson (“Black Blood”, “Ghost Plot”), who hits theaters on September 25. The studio has already launched original hits this year, such as “sinners” and “The Time of Evil”, but Hollywood is watching closely to see if this successful wave will extend to this expensive author project, with estimated cost above $ 140 million.

Freely inspired by Thomas Pynchon’s novel “Vineland”, “one battle after another” is starring Leonardo DiCaprio as Bob, an expert in explosives of the Radical French 75 revolutionary group. He embarks on secret missions alongside the impetuous perfidia (Teyana Taylor) and the most committed Deandra (Regina Hall). Bob and Perfidia fall in love and have a daughter, Willa. But the involvement of Perfidia with the relentless Colonel Lockjaw (Sean Penn) puts the French 75 in danger and force Bob to flee with his baby.

Many years later, Bob lives under a fake name in the quiet city of Baktan Cross along with Willa, now a teenager (Chase Infiniti, in his movie debut). Paranoid and often stoned, Bob warns Willa, skeptical, to be alert in case of attacks, and he has reason to worry: Lockjaw still chases them, convinced that their capture can guarantee the entry into a secret and wealthy group of white supremacists who, unbelievably, call themselves Christmas adventurers. When the colonel finally uses all his firepower against Baktan Cross, Bob needs to save Willa with the help of his ingenious karate instructor (Benicio del Toro) as well as Deandra, who reappeared.

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In mid -August, the six main cast members gathered in a video girlfriend to talk about the movie. (Taylor, who was at vocal rest due to a benign tumor in the vocal cords, participated, but sent answers by email.)

Penn said that even in the script phase, “one battle after another” caught him by surprise by Anderson’s willingness to provoke more than some controversial points of society.

“When I read, it went blinded – Paul hadn’t told me anything about it,” Penn said. “I had just left the shower and was going to look at a few pages before I dressed, but I ended up stretched on the floor laughing, naked and dripping, because he went to the spot.”

But in such a politically polarized moment, does a film that addresses white supremacy, the countercultural black revolution and empathy for immigrants resonate with the public? DiCaprio emphasized that, despite his political connotation, the real core of Anderson’s film is the story of father and daughter, in which Bob and Willa need to overcome the difference of generations to survive.

“If there is any politics in this movie, I think it’s about how some people are still trapped in their habits and others have embraced the future,” said DiCaprio.

Here are edited excerpts from our conversation.

What makes 2025 the right time for “one battle after another”?

Leonardo DiCaprio: This movie is politically charged, but I think it has a lot to do with how tribal we have become. How we define who we love or tolerate. The two central forces are part of Paul’s imagination, but I think they are an analogy where we are as a society and how we stop listening to each other, and how these characters thinking or acting on these extremes can cause a lot of pain.

Sean Penn: It will be very, very interesting to see which audiences it will reach. I think it can be one of those moments when you work in a movie and it really becomes a gift for the public, as with the best things.

Benicio Del Toro: When I read the script, it was exciting. It makes you think and laugh. I hope people will see this and realize the sense of humor, but also the reality of everything.

There is definitely a sense of humor in the movie, although many of the ridiculous elements, such as the Christmas Adventurers Club, are seriously interpreted.

Penn: Well, they became less ridiculous even after we filmed. I see the culture adapting to face everything seriously.

Regina Hall: Paul does something incredibly intelligent in catching what is real and writing in the most extreme way, and so people can see the absurdity. So if you introduce a group like Christmas adventurers directly and authentically, it allows the public to see how unbelievable some of the things they say and do.

Leo, you have been following Paul’s movies for some time. He initially invited you to star in “Boogie Nights”, but what people may not know is that your father participated in his last movie, “Licorice Pizza.”

DiCaprio: Yes, probably the cutest moment was when I asked my father to play the role. He is a hippie – not a radical revolutionary, but an incredibly wise and peaceful comic book hippie. During Covid, his hair got a little and a half black because he couldn’t dye, and Paul saw a picture and said, “This is the man I want for this character.” And I told him, “Dad, Paul Thomas Anderson wants you to make a point in his movie.” He was very excited.

Is there anything from your father in your acting like Bob?

DiCaprio: I think in some ways, but my father was much more pacifist and obviously would never come to these extremes. My character was so marked by the trauma of what happened to him by becoming a revolutionary that he almost becomes this mixture of both political parties: he is paranoid and ancient disorder, but he cannot stay firm and cannot relate to the new generation.

We know Bob as part of a revolutionary group, but when he gets older and becomes a father, every rebellious attitude of his daughter makes him hesitate.

DiCaprio: Yes, because then the discussion becomes about love and family. I think when you are young, it tends to fight and risk life for your beliefs, but then he has something at stake.

Chase Infiniti: Willa and Bob are always in conflict with their own personal beliefs, and the distance between them is so strong sometimes that it is hilarious.

Hall: People forget that when you are young, you don’t realize that your parents have gone through it. You always think it’s the new generation doing something for the first time.

Chase, you didn’t know Paul’s work before that, right?

Infiniti: I didn’t know. My journey to get here was months of auditions, camera tests, and then just wait to hear Paul news. But yes, I didn’t know much about it, which I think it also made it much easier to just appear like myself and relieve the pressure.

Sean, you worked with Paul before, in “Licorice Pizza”. But this is a much larger role.

Penn: I have known Paul well for years and was waiting for the day when the right time would come. I spent about 15 years for fear of being in filming sets, and then I had “Dad” and Paul’s movie in the same year, and that rejuvenated my desire to be a movie actor. Paul is a very kind prince of the San Fernando Valley who understands really wicked things and can write about them beautifully. When he brings people, he is really listening and extracting the best of them. You don’t want Benicio Del Toro to be restricted to set, for example.

Del Toro: There is this inspiring thing that some people have, that gives you attention and that raises you. It makes you want to do better than the best you can do. It just happens, people inspire you.

Penn: Paul is the exception to the rule: he is the inspiring vegan.

Benicio, many of his dialogues are in Spanish without subtitles. Did this choice of direction surprised you?

Del Toro: I thought it was cool. I remember asking Paul: “Are you going to put subtitles there?” And he replied, “No. Everyone understands.”

Leo, how did you bring Teyana to the project?

DiCaprio: I have known Teyana for a long time. Paul and I were talking about who would interpret this radical character, but also someone capable of manipulating. The echoes of her character reverberate throughout the movie, and each character is emotionally marked by perfidy. So we knew we needed someone who was not only bold and frank but brought a talent for improvisation.

And we always talked about Teyana. She personified this character in a way that no one else could. We all suffer a carnage after it enters screen, joining the shards of our lives.

Teyana Taylor: Funny: Leo and I met Diana Ross’s birthday party a few years ago and instantly became best friends. This is my companion, my partner in the crime!

The second half of the movie has a lot of action, including some unconventional car chases that even resemble “Mad Max”.

Del Toro: Yes, and we were really driving the cars. This is a lot of confidence.

DiCaprio: Well, we had cameras stuck, but we were left alone like two children in the middle of a blocked street. Remember that turnaround, Benny? We hit that thing probably about 50 times in a row. There is action, but there is something tactile that I, as a spectator, I feel it was much more invigorating. We have seen so many spectacular things in the cinema these days that it is difficult to do something that seems realistic indeed.

And with the action, Paul is open to making immediate changes if he thinks it may not be suitable for the character. We had an entire sequence of more traditional action, but Benny came in and said, “I just don’t think our characters would react this way if we did something so extreme.” And the whole movie turned upside down after that. The trajectory of our characters, we rewrite it on time.

The film does not hesitate to address delicate themes, but it is rare to see large budget productions on political issues charged in a year like this. Can you predict what the public reaction will be?

DiCaprio: It’s an interesting question. Paul said, “Imposing your political agenda or public belief system is like taking medicine.” Of course, you can’t believe that a movie will create a world in which we are all together, but at best art and movies like this reflect society and the times in which we live. As Sean said, everything became even more real and exaggerated. It is unfolding right before us, before our eyes.

So how will the public react? It will be interesting. But I think for Paul’s credit, he has extrapolated the absurdity and extremism on both sides of the spectrum, which was important because you don’t want to alienate the audience at all. You want them to get involved with the characters.

Hall: I like movies when people go out and talk about it. Sometimes I watch a movie and I don’t even think about him after finishing. But I think anything that can cause discussion and self -reflection is great. It is also a lot of fun. After seeing, I thought, “Wow. How did he make an exciting chase with three cars and two of them so slow?”

Sean, can you predict how people will react to the movie? Or does it matter to you?

Penn: Well, look, I care? None of us want to feel alone in the world, and I would like to find out that the audience and I shared the excitement with a movie like this. I was at the height of the cinema in the early 1970s, and I remember not only there were great movies that were exciting, fun and with some reflections, but were also the biggest hits of the time. And I think Paul personifies all this.