Rent on Apple TV
This film is a perfect case study to test my critical thinking. On the one hand, this film is loaded with elements (both technical and narrative) that I would usually and unquestionably admire and appreciate; on the other hand, there's no denying it's also rife with flaws that are too obvious and loud to overlook. Not the least among them is an air of pretentiousness and self-indulgence that, while seemingly satisfactory on the surface, doesn't quite hit the intended mark as well as it probably should have, at least not with me. While part of me did enjoy some of the craftsmanship and artistry that went into the production, there's enough there to make me question the integrity of the themes and ideologies presented, ones I technically agree with (to a point).
Inspired by Thomas Pynchon's novel Vineland, the story follows Bob (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his teenage daughter, Willa (Chase Infiniti), who live a reasonably decent life together. Bob manages to succeed well enough as a father, despite substance issues and a troubled past, including involvement with a left-wing revolutionary movement called The French 75 and a relationship with a spastic livewire (to put it mildly) named Perfidia (Teyana Taylor), the mother of his child. At least, he's pretty sure he's her father. It turns out Bob's past has caught up to him when a military colonel named Lockjaw (Sean Penn), who may or may not have been intimate enough with Perfidia to have fathered a child with her, is about to join a super-secret white supremacist movement, and can't have any evidence of his previous indiscretions coming to light, so he's now orchistrating military invasions of American cities to find and dispose of his past choices, causing Bob to jump back into the frey to save the young girl he considers his daughter.
This movie has enough aspects in its creation to warrant a complete pass from me, but I cannot, in good conscience, give it one, because the good graces it earns from me as a viewer either outweigh or perfectly balance the issues I have with it, both narratively and politically.
First, what I liked about the film.
The cast and performances are astonishing and committed, with Leonardo DiCaprio delivering his typical 1,000% amount of energy to his character and performance. A few of my friends and I have declared him the Sir Alec Guinnis of our time, and I stand by that statement. Although the MVP award goes to Benicio Del Toro for being the best supporting character in the film, and someone who you hope to have in your corner in your hour of need.
Also, it would be a disservice for me not to mention and gush about the film's incredible, absolutely gorgeous cinematography. Photographed by Michael Bauman, the film utilizes a lighting style that relies heavily upon natural and practical lighting, as in lighting that comes from the sun or from things you see in the frame (such as lamps) and nothing else. As such, the images can sometimes come across as overexposed (too bright) or lacking proper filler (lights that fill in the shadows), but that is part of the character and personality offered by the artistic choices.
This is the lighting style I use in most of my own projects, and it makes my heart soar when I see it used in Hollywood. It's a lighting style that not only harkens back to the era of some of the greatest filmmakers of the 20th century, like Stanley Kubrick, but also adds a sense of depth and believable texture that is sadly lacking in many modern movies. Yes, part of that beautiful aesthetic was achieved through the movie's choice of capture format (filming on a classic celluloid film format known as VistaVision), but that does and should not give the false impression that the images produced in this film cannot be replicated as well in any given digital format.
I will never tire of saying this, so long as it bears repeating: your story is only as good as how you tell it, not on the format you're using, regardless of what popular conjecture wants you to believe.
Having said all that, I only wish the characters, general plot, and ideologies presented therein were as worthy of the praise and agulation they clearly beg for!
While the overall thematic elements and intended commentary regarding the present sociological and political situations are more or less on point and tuned into an understandable frequency, I can't help but feel that most of the main characters, including Leonardo DiCaprio's (lovable dork that his character is), don't quite align with what most might consider a tangible protagonist, let alone supporting characters. Yes, they're human, they make strange choices, and they're trying to fight against and raise awareness of the many unfortunate injustices and hypocracies that sadly plague our nation as a whole. But, by all that is good in this world, do they (and by extension the filmmakers) have to present it all in such an unlikable, pretentious, and arrogant manner?
Yes, the present state of our social and political climate is frustrating; the lack of effort toward something better is annoying, and the seemingly apathetic powers that be cause much anxiety and a desire for greater action than what is seen. But, for goodness' sake, can we please stop pretending that descending into the same kind of violent and hateful rhetoric as our "enemies" is somehow going to make any difference? Because it's not!
Also, this is a minor nitpick, but the film could have been about a half hour shorter.
One Battle After Another is a film with good intentions and mostly well-crafted execution, but it ultimately proves challenging to endorse in its entirety. While its political and sociological commentary is spot-on in many ways, the intended message gets muddled by a few questionable creative choices. I do still recommend giving it a watch for its stunning visual style and electric performances, but please take what it has to say with a grain of salt, as we should with pretty much everything in this modern world.
"Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent."
-Issac Asimov
Ladies & gentlemen, I am TheNorm; thank you all for reading.
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