Leonardo DiCaprio, known for his roles in “Titanic” (1997), “Wolf of Wall Street” (2013), and “Inception” (2010), stars in a new 2025 Oscar award winning film, “One Battle After Another.”
Set in modern California, most of the filming was completed in Sacramento and Eureka. Leonardo DiCaprio plays Bob Ferguson, a man who was once a big part of a massive revolution, but is now a burnt- out alcoholic father who lives in constant paranoia with his daughter, Willa. Steven Lockjaw, played by Sean Penn, is a military colonel that seeks to stop this revolutionary group. Ferguson must find his daughter in the midst of the chaos.
This is widely considered as Paul Thomas Anderson’s comeback film and return to movie directing after four years. People are considering this as one of his best films, next to “There Will Be Blood” (2007) and “The Master” (2012). Paul Thomas Anderson wrote the screenplay for “One Battle After Another,” basing it on Thomas Pynchon’s novel, “Vineland.” This novel shares the same father-daughter dynamic and is still set in North California; however, it is set in 1984, during Ronald Reagan’s War On Drugs era, while the exact time period of the film is less specific. Both novel and film adaptation share similar themes about family and political extremism.
At first, this initially saw some political controversy, mainly due to the main characters being seen as far-left going against far-right antagonists. However, the film is more about a critique on both sides, showing that either way both sides are flawed. The film isn’t necessarily about both sides but rather human’s impulse to deny authoritarianism. The movie really focuses on the struggle of humans vs. power.
“One Battle After Another” was nominated for 13 and won six Oscars, making it the film to win the most Oscars in 2026. The movie won: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Supporting Actor (Penn), Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Editing, and Best Casting.
The overall pacing of the movie is really good. I find it hard most of the time to be entertained from the start of a movie; however, “One Battle After Another” immediately starts off with action and doesn’t really stop. Running for 162 minutes, the movie is consistently engaging, and uses elements of action and a sense of panic and anxiety driven decisions to keep the viewer fully invested. 
The movie definitely deserves to have won best casting and supporting actor. Penn (Lockjaw) especially, has a completely different demeanor than in real life. His character moves and acts very stiff, while still looking very natural. This made his character realistic and someone I can imagine as a real person. Infiniti does a great job playing as Willa, especially as this is her film debut. She went through months of training in martial arts and weapons to play her character, which is something I found fascinating, and I respect her dedication.
What I found most captivating about the movie was its soundtrack. The score of the film was extremely tense which exactly supported the movie. Its minimal yet orchestral elements helped provide a very refreshing sound. The composer for this movie, Jonny Greenwood, is actually the guitarist for Radiohead. He had previously helped Paul Thomas Anderson on five other occasions. Along with Greenwood, the London Contemporary Orchestra, composed of younger musicians, helped to perform the score. Casa senior Adrian Moreno said, “I thought the music was almost better than the movie. Hearing Jonny Greenwood made it better.”
“One Battle After Another” is a well-done, suspenseful film. If you like movies that touch on political themes and have stressful elements, I highly recommend watching this movie.
