fantastic writeup. what’d you think of the overall messaging of the film? and also you should definitely check out the novel it’s based on, vineland, one of my all time faves, partyl because i think it’s very illuminating to compare perfidia in the film to her book counterpart, who naturally is a lot more fleshed out tho more of a 1960s mold specifically, and because well it’s a great book about what happened to the radical politics of the 60s in the 70s and 80s
Hm, I don't know if I think about the film in terms of overall messaging. I'd be curious to hear what you think?
I'm yet to dive into Pynchon's work but have seen you speak favourable of him so I'd be interested to read Vineland, especially because it seems to deal with the pandora's box of all modern maladies that is the Reagan era.
i see it as pitching that underneath all of the frantic power dynamics and rhetorical turmoil of individual struggles there’s a wellspring of care that keeps positive projects of liberation in place through the generations. so long as we care about each other in at least some small way, there’s hope to be found. or at least that’s the message i took from it. bob didn’t accomplish really anything in the film except for perhaps the most important action of all: he was there for his daughter when she needed him the most
and yeah pynchon’s a trip. give it a try, it’s a lot more fun than the other postmodern books imo
Yeah, I liked this take! Different from how I thought about the film, but your piece is a more nuanced read than some of the earlier reviewers who just lambasted the movie. I dunno if I’m sold on Bob being analogous to the white guys in Eddington cause he still gets his daughter out the way at the end.
I have to admit, I almost didn't make it through the early part of this movie. Leo's a great actor, but I find his penchant for dating women 20+ years younger than him so gross it makes me not want to watch his films. But it was that scene with Lockjaw leering at Perfidia's ass almost made me pull the plug. I stuck with it though, and I think PTA's directorial talent made it worth the effort.
So! I think we (the amorphous audience) often struggle with how to deal with polarising art. I tend to believe that polarisation can be a factor that makes a film good but that's determined by the calibre of conversation the art produces*.
I think 'One Battle After Another' is a good film in the same way I think 'The Substance' is a good film. I understand why people don't like it and I understand why people do but however you feel about it, it has produced some interesting discourse. It being politically heavy-handed messaging isn't, by itself, a bad thing – especially in a social context where revolutionaries are only ever given cinematic leeway when they're placed in more fantastical settings. But also, ultimately I try not to tie myself in knots about what people rate and do not rate highly and instead, try to figure out how I feel about something.
(*By contrast, 'Saltburn' was also a deeply polarising film but much of its discourse boiled down to grave-coitus and bathwater drinking, the calibre of conversation the art produced was, en masse, largely vapid.)
fantastic writeup. what’d you think of the overall messaging of the film? and also you should definitely check out the novel it’s based on, vineland, one of my all time faves, partyl because i think it’s very illuminating to compare perfidia in the film to her book counterpart, who naturally is a lot more fleshed out tho more of a 1960s mold specifically, and because well it’s a great book about what happened to the radical politics of the 60s in the 70s and 80s
Hm, I don't know if I think about the film in terms of overall messaging. I'd be curious to hear what you think?
I'm yet to dive into Pynchon's work but have seen you speak favourable of him so I'd be interested to read Vineland, especially because it seems to deal with the pandora's box of all modern maladies that is the Reagan era.
i see it as pitching that underneath all of the frantic power dynamics and rhetorical turmoil of individual struggles there’s a wellspring of care that keeps positive projects of liberation in place through the generations. so long as we care about each other in at least some small way, there’s hope to be found. or at least that’s the message i took from it. bob didn’t accomplish really anything in the film except for perhaps the most important action of all: he was there for his daughter when she needed him the most
and yeah pynchon’s a trip. give it a try, it’s a lot more fun than the other postmodern books imo
i like this reading a lot!
i still havent seen this movie but this was brilliant as always
my absolute fave, thank you for reading!
Yeah, I liked this take! Different from how I thought about the film, but your piece is a more nuanced read than some of the earlier reviewers who just lambasted the movie. I dunno if I’m sold on Bob being analogous to the white guys in Eddington cause he still gets his daughter out the way at the end.
I have to admit, I almost didn't make it through the early part of this movie. Leo's a great actor, but I find his penchant for dating women 20+ years younger than him so gross it makes me not want to watch his films. But it was that scene with Lockjaw leering at Perfidia's ass almost made me pull the plug. I stuck with it though, and I think PTA's directorial talent made it worth the effort.
Definitely understand why those would be off-putting elements for the film!
The political messaging felt so heavy handed in this film idk why people rate it so highly.
So! I think we (the amorphous audience) often struggle with how to deal with polarising art. I tend to believe that polarisation can be a factor that makes a film good but that's determined by the calibre of conversation the art produces*.
I think 'One Battle After Another' is a good film in the same way I think 'The Substance' is a good film. I understand why people don't like it and I understand why people do but however you feel about it, it has produced some interesting discourse. It being politically heavy-handed messaging isn't, by itself, a bad thing – especially in a social context where revolutionaries are only ever given cinematic leeway when they're placed in more fantastical settings. But also, ultimately I try not to tie myself in knots about what people rate and do not rate highly and instead, try to figure out how I feel about something.
(*By contrast, 'Saltburn' was also a deeply polarising film but much of its discourse boiled down to grave-coitus and bathwater drinking, the calibre of conversation the art produced was, en masse, largely vapid.)