Ethics on Film: Discussion of "One Battle After Another"

The world of Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another is hard to figure out. There are immigrants, left-wingers and right-wingers, lots of guns, and a U.S.-Mexico border. But there doesn’t seem to be a Donald Trump or ICE or much of anything that signifies a specific time and place.

As the film goes on, though, and as you think about it after watching, it becomes clear that this lack of specificity could be the reason that the story is so powerful. Without references to divisive political figures or emotional real-world discussions, the absurdity and danger of white supremacy is even more plain to see. Anderson was able to make a timeless film that perfectly encapsulates the era we’re living through. With nearly universal acclaim and 13 Academy Award nominations (the second-most of all time), this movie certainly resonated strongly with critics and the general public.

Synopsis

Inspired by the novel Vineland by Thomas Pynchon, Anderson puts the viewer right into the middle of the action to start the film. We watch a far-left revolutionary group, led by "Ghetto" Pat Calhoun (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Perfidia Beverly Hills (Teyana Taylor) called French 75, “liberate” an immigrant detention center, freeing the detainees and terrorizing the guards. Beverly Hills also humiliates the center’s commanding officer, Steven J. Lockjaw (Sean Penn), setting up the film’s central conflict. After witnessing more attacks from French 75 and the development of a deeply unsettling relationship between Beverly Hills and Lockjaw, the film shifts. Beverly Hills gives birth to a baby named Charlene, ostensibly with Pat, but she can’t quit the life. Her more pragmatic partner pleads with her, but in her last revolutionary act, she murders an innocent bank security guard, leading to her arrest. Lockjaw, now fully enamored with her, sets up a witness protection situation for her in exchange for information on other French 75 members, but she eventually escapes to Mexico. Pat and Charlene flee to a small off-the-grid town in California with support from French 75 and assume new identities.

Sixteen years later, Pat, now called Bob Ferguson, and his daughter, now called Willa (Chase Infiniti), live a quiet life, but the revolutionary past hangs over the household. Pat, a paranoid “lover of drugs and alcohol,” is worried whenever his daughter leaves the house, and, as it turns out, with good reason. Lockjaw, now a colonel in an unspecified military unit, has a chance to join the prestigious Christmas Adventurers Club, a secret cabal of influential white supremacists, but his past relationship with Beverly Hills would be disqualifying and he suspects that Willa is his biological daughter. To keep this secret, he hires a bounty hunter and starts a fake military operation in the small town, eventually kidnapping his suspected daughter. A DNA test reveals that Willa is, indeed, Lockjaw’s daughter, and he makes plans to murder her.

This all triggers an unwanted return to the revolution for Pat. Due to his years of substance abuse, he can’t remember the basic codes that the group uses to communicate and is especially tripped up, as he tries to get to a rendezvous point, by the question: “What time is it?” Pat eventually overcomes these issues with the help of Sergio St. Carlos (Benecio del Toro) his daughter’s karate teacher and a local activist. In the end, though, Willa emerges as the real hero of the story and it's shown that she’ll keep the revolution going.

The Complicated Saga of Perfidia Beverly Hills

Perfidia Beverly Hills appears in the film for about 20 of its 162 minutes, yet her character and decisions inform every aspect of the story. Subverting traditional gender roles, Beverly Hills is the most ruthless member of French 75 and the least interested in being a parent in her family unit. When Pat pleads with her to help take care of their infant, she just calls him boring and runs off to rob a bank. This is a jarring moment, but maybe Anderson is asking us to think about what would have happened if a father said this to a mother. Would he even have to say it? Every revolution requires sacrifices and Beverly Hills made her choice.

Much has also been made of the sexual politics explored through the role. Some have called Beverly Hills’ character exploitative, but Taylor herself has pushed back strongly against this. When Beverly Hills threatens Lockjaw and then enters into some form of a relationship with him, the audience may be taken aback. Anderson is again asking questions of the audience: Why is this all so shocking? Is it because a young Black woman is exerting power over an older white man in a position of authority?

Beverly Hills is not alone. Throughout the film, women are portrayed as stronger, smarter, and more fearless than men. When Willa needs protection, she’s whisked out of her town by French 75 member Lady Champagne (Regina Hall). When she needs refuge, she’s sent to a convent of pot-growing, revolutionary nuns. And when it’s time to finally confront the Christmas Adventurers, Willa takes the lead. None of this is presented with much fanfare or surprise. These women are simply doing what they need to do to protect their community.

The Absurdity of White Supremacy

Aside from Perfidia Bevery Hills, the most compelling parts of the film are the scenes involving the Christmas Adventurers Club. Modeled on the real or imagined elite secret fraternities that are allegedly running all aspects of society, the inner workings are laughable. With talk of “double Yankee” heritage and the “Hail, St. Nick” secret handshake, Anderson is showcasing the stupidity of their ignorance and racism.

Penn, who is maybe more known for his left-leaning activism than his acting at this point in his career, plays Lockjaw with such conviction and indignation that it almost takes you out of the story. His portrayal brings to mind California Governor Gavin Newsom’s merciless mocking of Trump over social media. Using the president’s own signature bravado and questionable grammar choices, Newsom says his goal is to “put a mirror up to Trump and the absurdity of what’s going on in this country” and also to have “a little bit of fun” during a tough time for many people.

Without real power behind it, characters like Lockjaw or Newsom on social media are clearly nonsensical. Of course, in the actual world, white supremacy and the real Lockjaws of the U.S. often are harbingers of violence and oppression. With this in mind, just diagnosing the issue and laughing at it will never be enough. But for an artist like Paul Thomas Anderson, this is how he fights fascism. The hope is that people on his side (America’s young Willas, for example) are galvanized by the story of fighting for what’s right and that people on the other side may see the Christmas Adventurers and Lockjaw and realize the absolute absurdity and stupidity of ranking humans based on skin color.

Who is a True Revolutionary?

Pat/Bob’s failure to remember French 75’s basic codes is a running gag throughout the film, but it could have turned out to be the reason he lost his daughter to a racist gang. Wracked by worry, he almost instantly breaks character, revealing identifying information, and loses his temper when the voices on the other end of the phone (or the other side of a gun) repeatedly ask for the right sequence of words. At one point, a French 75 member scolds Pat saying that if he spent more time studying their ideology, he wouldn’t be in this situation. Of course, this person is oblivious to the sacrifices that this family has made and how much real danger Willa is in.

These sequences bring to mind political arguments centered on semantics that many speculate have turned potential allies away from progressive causes in the U.S.—the idea that if you don’t say the right words at all times and don’t believe in all of the right causes that you can’t be a part of the group. Anderson pushes against this, though, reveling in his characters’ flaws. St. Carlos, one of the most sympathetic characters in the film, is seen merrily taking a DUI test in his last appearance—he was caught driving intoxicated after taking Calhoun to the rendezvous point. These scenes are also, perhaps, a nod to the utilitarian school of ethics, which seeks to “maximize the overall good.” Giving back to the community and allowing others to live with dignity is what’s most important to French 75 and for some of the group members, it's worth dying for.

As positively as most of the revolutionaries are portrayed, though, Anderson reminds us throughout the film that Beverly Hills is, in fact, a “rat.” She divulged information to Lockjaw that led to the deaths of several of her fellow French 75 members, while she escaped to Mexico, seemingly never to be heard from again. Willa eventually finds this out and is understandably let down by this revelation. It truly is hard to accept this fact as part of her overall portrayal, but it is also very real. The surrealness and wackiness of the world that Anderson created allows us, again, to see humanity more clearly.

Discussion Questions

1. What do you make of Perfidia's Beverly Hills' choices from an ethical perspective? Do you think she was able to justify leaving her family and/or informing on fellow French 75 members?
2. Was there anything exploitative about how Paul Thomas Anderson handled the character of Perfidia Beverly Hills?
3. Is this film, or films like it, a useful way to fight against fascism? Did Anderson find the right tone for these subjects? Was it too comedic at times?
4. Should Pat/Bob have been excommunicated from French 75 for forgetting the codes? Was he a "bad revolutionary"?
5. Are the tactics of French 75 justified given the enemies they were up against?
6. What do you think Willa will do or should do next? Will/should she continue fighting in the same way as her parents or will she find more pragmatic ways to combat fascism?

Works Cited

"Gavin Newsom Says His Social Media Strategy Reveals ‘the Absurdity of Donald Trump’," Emily Zemler, Rolling Stone, September 24, 2025

"No, ‘One Battle After Another’ Is Not a ‘Left-Wing’ Movie," Owen Gleiberman, Variety, October 19, 2025

"'One Battle After Another' Is a Powerhouse of Tenderness and Fury," Justin Chang, The New Yorker, September 26, 2025

"The revolution will be in VistaVision: what are the politics of One Battle After Another?," Jesse Hassenger, The Guardian, September 30, 2025

"Teyana Taylor Takes Over," Mikey O'Connell, The Hollywood Reporter, November 5, 2025

Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs is an independent and nonpartisan nonprofit. The views expressed within this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the position of Carnegie Council.