One Battle After Another is an instant classic for so many reasons, including its colorful band of characters. Director Paul Thomas Anderson has long known how to create an unforgettable ensemble, and from Benicio Del Toro’s effortlessly cool sensei to Teyana Taylor’s irrepressible revolutionary, Anderson’s latest is full of indelible heroes and villains. It’s all anchored by a subversive performance from Leonardo DiCaprio, whose boozy former rebel, Bob Ferguson, finds himself utterly unprepared for the next wave of the revolution.
When his daughter Willa (Chase Infiniti) is captured by a bogeyman from his past, Bob has to leap into action to rescue her. The only problem is that he’s on the run from those same forces, and barely has the time to escape his home before they knock on his door. That means that, for the majority of the movie, Bob is stuck in the outfit he wears to get high on the couch. His ratty plaid bathrobe is a clear homage to The Big Lebowski’s Dude, and a decisive pivot from Anderson’s plan for the character, according to DiCaprio.
