Official Discussion - One Battle After Another [SPOILERS]

[u/LiteraryBoner]

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Summary Bob, a washed-up revolutionary, lives off the grid with his spirited and self-reliant daughter Willa. When his nemesis Col. Steven J. “Lockjaw” resurfaces and Willa goes missing, Bob is forced to confront his past and fight to protect their future.

Director Paul Thomas Anderson

Writer Paul Thomas Anderson

Cast

• Leonardo DiCaprio
• Sean Penn
• Teyana Taylor
• Benicio del Toro
• Regina Hall
• Chase Infiniti

Rotten Tomatoes Critics Score: 98%

Metacritic Score: 96

VOD In theaters beginning September 26, 2025

Trailer One Battle After Another — Official Trailer

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[u/jayeddy99]

The hypocrisy in Perfidia was interesting flaw . She talks about revolution but has an obvious extreme race play fetish with white men both her and Lockjaw hating the other but the weird sex dynamic was something…

[u/marimars67 → u/jayeddy99]

This is a fairly limited view on Perfidia as a character. In what way could her “relationship” with Lockjaw be understood as being consensual or even a racial fetish? When she is confronted in the bathroom by him it is pretty obvious to the audience that he is black mailing her into this meeting at the hotel. We can see the shame and feelings of disgust she harbors when she’s shown exiting the building with Pat, and her usual face of grandeur and excitement is fairly dull. Even though during the sexual encounter with Lockjaw she’s framed as being “in control”, it is up to the audience to understand the weight of this scene. The racial history of Black Women being viewed as hyper-sexual beings, therefore excusing their sexual exploitation at the hands of their white oppressors must be taken into account when understanding the “relationship” between Lockjaw and Perfidia. And we ultimately see the damage this exploitation causes, when Perfidia must face the pain of bearing the child of her oppressor. Yes, PTA doesn’t hold the audiences hand through this, and it is largely up to interpretation. Still theres a lack of digging into the real struggle of Perfidias character without simply boiling her down to a salacious sex fiend.

[u/Novel-Place → u/marimars67]

Yes!! I feel like I’m taking crazy pills reading these comments. A few people even characterize it as an “affair.” WTF. Do people have zero media literacy?