Oscar Winner: One Battle after Another

After watching the easily despised War of the Worlds (review soon...), I needed a palette cleanser. What better way to cleanse one's palette than a movie that won several Oscars? Complete with a ton of top-notch talent trying to top one another, One Battle after Another features easily my favorite performances this year with a message about current politics that deserves to be heard by most. I think this is by far the most relevant film to the Oscars this year and hence why I'm choosing to cover it quite a bit afterwards. This is the first in my review series of Oscar Winners this year! This is One Battle After Another!

PLOT: Stellar, although off-putting.

This movie features a lot of intimate relationships to put it mildly. But, in a weird way, it makes the plot work a significant amount more? The story itself is about immigration and revolution through the means of the working class, so it makes sense to focus on intimate ties between characters and how those in power often abuse this power for their own relationships and gains. The message of the movie enhances the plot's almost extreme nature. It's a 2h30m movie as well, so it needs to use its time wisely. In my opinion, it ends up working extremely well as a result of the film's in-your-face attitude about its themes and structure. So, a bit off-putting, but insanely well-structured and told.

CHARACTERS: Compelling and strange.

The characters in this movie all work incredibly well and it's due to the actors and the overall writing of the film. Each one is incredibly well fleshed-out and are necessary to the plot. I've seen movies where characters were absolutely able to be cut and none of the characters here can be. This movie has a structure that demands its characters be quick to understand and grab your attention in a movie with pacing and writing as in-your-face as this. So, thankfully, the cast does their job incredibly well. I understood Sean Penn (ugh) and Leonardo DiCaprio as people within their first scenes as a result and am able to immerse myself in this world as a result. Good movies like this nail the immersion first and never distract from what you're watching. So, compelling, absolutely. A bit strange? No doubt. The first scene with Sean Penn features his character living through a "fantasy" in a sense and it's no doubt off-putting. However, the acting is gripping and almost makes you laugh in how realistic it is. With characters as fantastical as this in a plot as strange as this, the acting and writing take everything to a whole new level.

SHOTS: A Paul Thomas Anderson film, ye say?

This director knows how to shoot things in a compelling manner. Good shots can take you into the world of a film. Needless to say, this film has incredible cinematography and shots that help you further understand the world the characters live in. Long takes with good camera angles, intentional shots that show you more information about the plot, and camera angles that don't feel flat or boring all help this movie stand out in a year of already great cinematography. Well-done!

SOUND: Top tier.

I loved the soundtrack in this. Very jazzy and off-putting to let you know that you cannot feel comfortable in the scenes regardless of what might be occurring. In a film such as this, you need the sound to at least be passible. This movie goes above and beyond to make sure that the soundtrack fits every moment and enhances it. Sound design as well goes a long way in enhancing your immersion. This movie's sound design is quite good and enhances the movie's overall quality.

WRITING: Appropriate and fitting.

This movie has a clear message it wants to tell and it uses a hyper-fictionalized version of our own world to tell this tale. The writing itself as a result is hyper-fictionalized and really goes out of its way to match the movie's intense nature and difficult subject matter. When I say "difficult subject matter", I mean it, this movie's very focused on talking about current American issues and doesn't shy away from how difficult it might be to tell. I appreciate a movie that is willing to discuss current issues as it will be able to be examined historically in a decade with a less biased eye that might result in more people enjoying the movie. Needless to say, this movie will be looked on in a decade with a more favorable eye as people look back on this and see how historically relevant it was.

LITTLE THINGS: Let's talk about the elephant in the room.

Politics are not what we're here to discuss. The movie is tackling a current social issue and I think it's important for films to do so. This makes the film, despite its goofy way of tackling these issues, socially and politically relevant despite what people might insist on either way. I think it's important to talk about these issues and to see them reflected in film. I hope that most people will look past it and see the movie as the stellar piece of film history it is.

VERDICT: A great film pertinent to current events and enhanced by its direction and cast.

Needless to say, I enjoyed the heck out of this film. It's got a stellar cast with a stellar script and a top notch director. Paul Thomas Anderson made a movie relevant to today's issues that is hyper-fictionalized enough to entertain most while also serving as another great directorial effort with a stellar cast and crew. Overall, the only thing I can complain about with this movie is some of the smaller details just simply not coming together. Amazing film overall!

SCORE: 9.5/10