Lessons from the production and portrayals of race, gender, and politics in Paul Thomas Anderson’s film about revolutionaries and supremacists, parents and children.
Highlights
First, the standout moments for me. Chase Infitini is incredible throughout. Yet in such a kinetic movie, perhaps the most heart-stopping moment for me is the bathroom scene, opposite the also fantastic Regina Hall:
There’s this unexpectedly stunning, thrilling race…
… and the inventively dizzying suspense of this The-French-Connection-meets-Jaws-but-in-the-desert chase:
“The sequence is seamlessly supported by the work of composer Jonny Greenwood, sound mixer Tony Villaflor, and supervising sound editor Christopher Scarabosio, whose music and sound design intensify the car chase tension and give you that roller coaster feel” (via the film’s official account):
Writer/Director Paul Thomas Anderson and Cinematographer Michael Bauman crafted the “River of Hills” sequence through merging car-mounted VistaVision cameras and a ground-hugging perspective influenced by "The French Connection" to deliver a powerful sense of movement and scale.… pic.twitter.com/8wzjHBmq4C
— One Battle After Another (@onebattlemovie) February 3, 2026
Race and Gender
“Anderson isn’t interested in Perfidia [Teyana Taylor] as a character, but Black women revolutionaries as caricature. But his Black motherhood plotline is the most offensive of all.” Brooke Obie (aka Black Girl Watching) on how “Paul Thomas Anderson’s empty foray into white leftist revolutionary ideology and iconography hypersexualized Black women“…
… versus other commentators and Teyana Taylor herself on the complexity of her character (via Awards Watch and The Atlantic):
Politics
In part one of his three part examination, Eric Ross reads One Battle After Another, and in particular the story’s 16 year time jump, as PTA’s “funhouse mirrored” autobiographical engagement with the disillusionment of the Obama era:
F.D Signifier identifies what he terms “wokewashing” in Hollywood’s adaptation and appropriation of historical figures and events in social justice and civil rights:
Production
How One Battle After Another was written and directed, according to Paul Thomas Anderson (via Kermode & Mayo):
How One Battle After Another was filmed, with DP Michael Bauman (via Variety):
How One Battle After Another was lit, with gaffer Justin Dickson (via Aputure):
How One Battle After Another was edited, with Andy Jurgensen (via The Film Stage):
Further Viewing
Thomas Flight examines how the film developed throughout its production process:
Chase Infiniti’s screen tests, with Leonardo DiCaprio, Regina Hall, and casting director Cassandra Kulukundis:
One Battle After Another Bonus Leonardo DiCaprio and Chase Infiniti pic.twitter.com/ePJDcRr1aK
— dicaprioupdate (@dicapriooupdate) June 3, 2026
A longer conversation about how One Battle After Another was filmed, with DP Michael Bauman and Producer Sara Murphy (via ShotDeck):
More lessons from the time Paul Thomas Anderson made a film without a director of photography: