To call One Battle After Another the most ambitious film of director Paul Thomas Anderson’s career would be a disservice to his filmography. All of his work is marked by ambition, both in the production and thematic elements. From looking at the porn industry in ’70s Los Angeles to the California oil boom in the early 20th century to the confusing and conspiratorial ’60s as seen through the eyes of a detective as paranoid and baked as the world he’s living in, Anderson is constantly expanding the scope and ramping up the audaciousness of his films.
One Battle After Another is another entry in this experiment. What truly tips the scale is everything surrounding the film. This is Anderson’s biggest budget yet, a $200 million endeavor with a big studio and a bankable leading man and big promises of thrills and action and suspense. Even more importantly, it is a film about America today, at least in the way Anderson views it.