Matt at the Movies: 2025's Best Film
Matt Highly Recommends writer/director Paul Thomas Anderson's One Battle After Another, and shares his top 5 PTA films.
“Life man… LIFE!” - ”Ghetto” Pat Calhoun
Paul Thomas Anderson has often been viewed as a critical darling who never seemed to cross over to find the adoration of the general public - or a payoff at the box office.
New York Times culture writer and critic Wesley Morris mentioned on his podcast Cannonball that it seems Hollywood studio execs are in the business of trading him off for each picture, sharing the wealth on the PTA experience while knowing the investment won’t amount to much besides awards and plaudits.
So it’s curious that Warner Bros. Pictures went all-in on One Battle After Another with an estimated $150 million budget, far exceeding anything Anderson had on any of his previous nine feature length films (most of which hovered around $30 million).
I say it’s curious because directors like Ryan Coogler had to grind through years of IP fare like the Creed spinoffs and Black Panther films garnering BILLIONS in sales just to get the opportunity of a large budget to create one of the few original smashes of the year in Sinners. What did Coogler get in return? Sinners’ budget was scrutinized by the tabloids even after becoming a certified hit.
So why does Anderson get a blank check from studios while other successful directors toil away, unable to tell their own stories?
“This adaptation has been in PTA’s mind for decades; it just so happens that the overlap with today’s political landscape makes it more poignant than ever.”
One easy answer to this question is Oscar-winning actor Leonardo DiCaprio to sign on to his project. The leading man in Hollywood for the past twenty-five years will open up some deep pockets, even when you factor in the post-COVID box office uncertainty.
DiCaprio has inhabited a new character archetype in his last three films. He consistently portrays aloof and doltish characters ranging from an over the hill actor (Once Upon a Time in Hollywood), to a world class scientist (Don’t Look Up), and even a wannabe oil tycoon murderer (Killers of the Flower Moon), all with the self awareness of a kindergartner.
In One Battle After Another, DiCaprio ramps it up to eleven, going into full paranoid burnout mode that reeks of Jeffrey Lebowski (The Big Lebowski) and Joe Frady (The Parallax View). It’s not implausible that DiCaprio’s ”Ghetto” Pat Calhoun and Jeff Bridges’ Lebowski would have worked on the Port Huron Statement together (but not the compromised second version, of course). This energy has brought a fun next act to DiCaprio’s career, and allows the loosely adapted 1990 postmodern Thomas Pynchon novel Vineland to come alive with Anderson at the helm.
This adaptation has been in PTA’s mind for decades; it just so happens that the overlap with today’s political landscape makes it more poignant than ever.
I find Anderson to be both mesmerizing and head-scratching. He’s left me in absolute awe with entries such as There Will Be Blood and The Master, contributing to some of the greatest individual performances of the 21st century from his lead actors. He also puts forth meandering stories where the payoff never quite hits — if that was even his intention. Films like Inherent Vice (another Pynchon adaption), Punch-Drunk Love and Licorice Pizza fit that bill.
Anderson has made crowd pleasers — his breakout breakout Boogie Nights — and dramadies that get funnier after each viewing (Phantom Thread). He often has trouble writing complex female characters, which he certainly tried to rectify in OBAA. He loves filming in his home state of California, and sticks to pre-cell phone periods as he finds using technology boring in the storytelling process.
Overall he is one of the most interesting auteurs working in Hollywood today, and actors flock to be a part of his process. So before we get to the review for One Battle After Another, here are my personal top five PTA films. Each is attached with my favorite scene linked in for your viewing pleasure.
Matt at the Movies: Top 5 PTA Films
5. Boogie Nights (1997):
With a stacked cast and his first big budget, Anderson’s second film is a deep dive into the world of adult filmmaking that shows the changing of times from the fun loving 70’s to a more dark and cold VHS era of the 80’s.
Burt Reynolds steals the show in his last great performance, and you can feel yourself being immersed in Anderson’s version of the San Fernando Valley. Endlessly quotable and one of the best “oner” scenes since Scorsese’s Goodfellas.
4. Phantom Thread (2017):
The reunion of three-time Oscar winning actor Daniel Day-Lewis and Anderson after their first triumph was bewildering on first watch. A finicky 1950’s haute couture dress maker with mommy issues falling in love with a young waitress does seem like a barrel of laughs. When you mix in a joke sniping high strung sister (Leslie Manville) and a brash lover who pushes back against the domineering rigidity we get the pleasure of having “entirely too much movement for breakfast.”
3. The Master (2012)
The cinematography and landscapes are breathtaking in this post WWII epic that finds veteran Freddie Quell (Joaquin Phoenix) become a muse for the L. Ron Hubbard-inspired Lancaster Dodd (Phillip Seymour Hoffman).
Two lost souls trying to find their purpose feed off each create this wonderful juxtaposition of broken psyches. If there was a modern film that would inspire one to shout, “Acting!!!” with a capital A, this processing scene would be my pick.
2. One Battle After Another (2025)
More to follow below, but I believe this is the film where PTA brought together all his tools to create his best film. The blending of aesthetic, soundtrack selection and the Jonny Greenword score, topical subject matter, gorgeous cinematography, a propelling plot, and the subdued dry humor of this amazing cast has made it my favorite film of 2025 so far. PTA with a big slice of Coen brothers is something I can always get behind. Read the MatM review below.
1. There Will Be Blood (2007)
PTA is only fifty-five, but many would consider this film his magnum opus. Loosely adapted from Upton Sinclair’s Oil!, we follow the cutthroat up-and-coming oil man Daniel Plainview (Daniel Day-Lewis) as he expands his empire into the Southwest at the turn of the 20th century.
The story showcases the American ethos of greed and power through one of the most unlikable bastards in movie history. Day-Lewis and Paul Dano put on a masterclass of acting in an epic battle pitting their view of what creates the fabric of America: religion, or capitalism. I can’t help but side with many of the Letterboxd bros as this is my favorite movie of all time. Let’s finish the list with my favorite four minutes in cinema history.
One Battle After Another
There’s an insane, yet hilarious quote in the second act of One Battle After Another from a member of the Christmas Adventurers Club, a group whose sole purpose is to keep the status quo of white empowerment intact in the United States. This extremely powerful and ultra-wealthy cabal states that their main purpose is to keep America safe from, “…dangerous lunatics, haters, and punk trash.”
The droll delivery encapsulates the essence of the film that asks some pretty heady questions in the most ludicrous way possible … but in our current political climate, can you even tell the difference?
Questions, codespeak, and myriad tunnels are littered throughout the brisk two hour and forty-one minute runtime. Who is the enemy? Hey homie, are you cool? Do you know the key tenets of the rebellion? Is that an Apache helicopter flying over my house? Do you like black women? What time is it? Bob, can you be like an ocean wave? Sensei, do you have a gun? Are you teaching real history, like what went down in the Philippines?
Whether you are an anti-government conspiracy revolutionary of the French 75, or a far-right Santa-praising supremacist hell bent on cleansing the country of “domestic threats,” sometimes you just need a couple small beers and some Steely Dan to chill the out.
Let’s dive into Paul Thomas Anderson’s tenth feature film One Battle After Another currently playing at the Independent Picture House.
The Breakdown
“This is a new conscientiousness.” -Perfidia Beverly Hills
The film is broken into three acts, including a prologue that brings us back to 2008.
We meet members of a far-left revolutionary group called the French 75, who attack political targets, ICE detention centers, literal power grids, and even banks to fund their domestic terrorism. Newest member and bomb aficionado Pat Calhoun (Leonardo DiCaprio) falls for Perfidia Beverly Hills (Teyana Taylor), who is one of the most radical, straight-talking no bullshit women I’ve seen on screen in a while. Pat is under her trance as Perfidia — who comes from a long line of revolutionaries — takes over every room she enters as she commands the attention of the viewer with power and raw sexuality.
During their attacks, they lock horns with a corrupt ICE detention officer named Steven J. Lockjaw (Sean Penn), who Perfidia humiliates professionally as well as sexually. The weird sexual chemistry between Lockjaw and Perfidia is both revolting and oddly funny. She always seems to be in complete control until she isn’t. Her running scenes would make Tom Cruise jealous.
Lockjaw is singular in his pursuit of the French 75 and his black fetishization of Perfidia. The romance between “Ghetto” Pat and Perfidia leads to her pregnancy and their daughter Charlene.
Perfidia, who never embraces the patriarchal standard of motherhood, continues her work with the French 75, eventually leading to a botched bank robbery where she takes a course of action foreshadowed by her name. It leaves you at the edge of your seat, wondering what perverse scenario Lockjaw will come up with next to allow her to stay out of prison. Teyana Taylor steals this first act, and her interactions with Lockjaw set up the rest of the film.
From there, the French 75 is on the run including “Ghetto” Pat and his newborn daughter. They are given new identities, instructions, and a location in a sanctuary city called Baktan Cross in northern California. One would think that this film is about crashing the system and a singular story of fighting back against oppression. I would reply that this must be your first Paul Thomas Anderson movie and we will be zagging momentarily. Sixteen years pass…
“I’ve got a little Latino Harriet Tubman situation going on at my place. All legit. From the heart. No cash.” -Sensei Sergio St. Carlos
So what happens to an ex-revolutionary after sixteen years of hiding? Well apparently, you become Jeffrey Lebowski 2.0, a burnout who constantly worries about their daughter’s well-being, is a luddite for “safety” reasons, and will forget how many beers he had the previous night.
Pat, now Bob Ferguson, and his daughter (renamed Willa) live a quiet existence. Code speak, paranoia, and a no cell phone policy rule the domicile. Willa tries to maintain an average teenage life that includes Taekwondo lessons taught by sensei Carlos (Benecio Del Toro), maintaining friends, and making sure her father doesn’t dive too far into his many vices. She pities her dad but also loves him. Being raised on old war stories and fear of someday being swept up for her father’s crimes is the least of her concerns while trying to survive the grind of being a teenager.
Lockjaw has risen in the ranks after putting his symbolic heel on enough immigrant necks to earn a special invitation to membership in the aforementioned Christmas Adventurers Club. His previous run-ins with Perfidia, and the potential fathering of a biracial child, would instantly blackball him with the Club, so he sets out with the full power of the federal government to find Willa and erase any racial impurities from becoming an obstacle in his quest for acceptance. Things really ramp up from here as an all hands on deck underground signal is sent from the remaining French 75 members to keep Bob and Willa safe from capture.
All the while, a pulsing Jonny Greenwood piano score reminiscent of The Firm plays throughout this chaotic series of events.
The film really hits its stride when the focus is on one-on-one character pairings. Pat and Perfidia. Lockjaw and Perfidia. Bob and Willa. Lockjaw and Willa. Some are loving, some are perplexing, and any including Sean Penn will make your skin crawl.
However, the juxtaposition between Bob and Sensei Carlos is the highlight of the film for me. Bob is completely frazzled, frantic, and scared for his daughter’s safety. Sensei is measured, understanding, and tranquilo.
As Bob races from one safe harbor to the next, his brain is singular and unfocused. Sensei Carlos has a bigger picture, has been through the fights before, and knows when it’s time to play defense vs offense. He grounds Bob to show him that not everything is about his struggle. To not be so selfish. To look around and see there are dozens literally around him who are fighting just as hard as he is to secure their freedom as undocumented folks. Their exchanges as Bob calls the French 75 underground emergency hotline to get Willa’s rendezvous location is one of the most crowd pleasing scenes I’ve ever seen from a PTA film.
“Green Acres, Beverly Hillbillies, and Hooterville Junction!!!” -Willa Ferguson
As the movie hits the third act you see everything come crashing together after sixteen years of a slow boil. Let’s just say we have more unsavory characters brought into the fold, the most unique car chase scene I’ve ever seen, and much more “Hail Santa” fun with the Christmas Adventurers Club.
Time is money, why should I go?
The story has everything, for both PTA acolytes and the casual viewer. Dramatic action, compelling antagonists, mystery, multiple Oscar-worthy performances, and a comedic sensibility to break the tension all fill the theatre. This is the most straightforward Anderson film since Boogie Nights; it also feels like an ode to the director’s daughters; Anderson has three with SNL legend Maya Rudolph.
Who doesn’t love a father/daughter story at the end of the day?
Star(s) of the Show
There are at least five performances that could garner awards consideration. Leo is essentially a lock for a best actor nomination as Pat/Bob. Sean Penn will also be a lock for supporting actor as Lockjaw, and Del Toro could easily join him in the category.
Both Chase Infiniti as Willa and Teyana Taylor as Perfidia Beverly Hills both blew me away, and PTA’s casting director should receive a healthy bonus. I saw Infiniti last year in the TV adaption of Presumed Innocent on Apple TV+, and she was excellent playing a smaller but pivotal role as Jake Gyllenhaal’s daughter.
This film was my first foray into actress and musician Teyana Taylor’s acting, but she blew the doors off every scene she was in. I’m wondering if Infiniti will vie for a best actress slot or or compete with Taylor for best supporting actress. All of this, and I have barely mentioned Regina Hall who is the heart and soul of the French 75. Her performance was so important to show the other side of a revolutionary. What happens when you are the opposite of Perfidia Beverly Hills: caring about the wellbeing of your team members, the bigger picture, and keeping the fight going long after everyone else has given up? If she snuck in with a nomination I would be extremely happy.
The real star is DiCaprio, but he did not steal the show … Sean Penn as Steven J. Lockjaw did. The two-time best actor winner was perfectly cast for this role of a morally bankrupt, sadistic, and self-loathing black fetishist racist who just wants to be loved whether it’s from Perfidia, or the Christmas Adventurers Club. His demeanor, the gait of his walk, his posture, physique, and icy stare embodied tumescence.
Penn’s performance reminded me of J.K. Simmons’ Oscar-winning turn as an abusive jazz conductor in Whiplash. You just hate the guy, but you want to know the new low he will stoop to next. He was the perfect heel, and the encapsulation of the Peter principle. The lengths he will go to secure power should be unbelievable, but in our current times you just accept it as a reality. Top notch work by Penn in this film.
Don’t Sleep On
The cinematography. Like my favorite film from last year, The Brutalist, One Battle After Another was shot on VistaVision, a widescreen format that hadn’t been used for a major studio release since 1961. If you’ve seen The Searchers or North by Northwest, you’ve seen what VistaVision can do.
There are so many amazing shots throughout the film that I will buy a stills book if Warner Bros. puts out a limited edition. From the French 75 excursions, to desert landscapes, and usage of eye in the sky overhead shots, PTA and his cinematographer Michael Bauman expand the scope of any of his previous films. You can see the bigger budget in his filming locations and set pieces that make this project feel grander.
There’s a shot where Bob is following some of Sensei’s underground skater punk street coyotes as they parkour from rooftop to rooftop. The backlit sky of the riots and the smooth movements from the shadows of each of the characters sets a mood as they traverse each obstacle. The second jaw dropper for me was the camera work on the three-car chase that ends the film.
I’ve never seen a director use the hilly landscape and roads to create a rollercoaster gut-filled tension like this scene. It was a perfect action set piece to round out the film.
Best Ten-Minute Stretch
This has to be the chaotic, charging insanity of Bob and Sensei moving throughout the Underground Railroad network of rooms as Bob desperately tries to charge his phone. Radiohead alum Jonny Greenwood’s score creates a kinetic energy as we watch two of the best working actors in Hollywood feed off each other’s aura to make one of the more memorable sequences in 2025.
Could Have Used More …
Prologue context?
As a cis white man, I have a specific worldview, but I have to imagine there are some who might not love the fetishization or portrayal of Teyana Taylor’s character Perfidia Beverly Hills (or other members of the French 75) through the white male gaze.
Quentin Tarantino has also run into this several times in his career when he writes racially charged dialogue for his black characters. I cede my time to Khalila Archie who wrote this excellent opinion piece for BET on the subject.
MatM Score: Highly Recommend - 9.5 and rising
The perfect PTA cocktail & best film of 2025
Closing Credits
There are so many great films coming down the pipeline this is any cinephile’s favorite time of the year. Don’t forget to catch the Charlotte filmed and based on a true story Roofman which also debuted nationally this weekend. Thanks again for checking in with Matt at the Movies over here at Y’all Weekly.
“Life man… LIFE!”