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
Been thinking about Perfidia too, read a few pieces like this one last year, just saw your note. Have only seen the film once, and I’m not especially familiar with all the tropes (white guy in Australia), so hesitant to jump into the discourse, but fwiw my response was more empathy and pity for the character rather than feeling like the film was inviting me to fetishise.
Think the writing of the character was clunky and the obvious grotesqueness of the objectification isn't by any means a free pass. But I still got the sense of someone who was held together only by velocity. That came through in the performance anyway. Sometimes characters almost feel like they’re enraged by the story they’re in, on top of everything else—they want to be more. Maybe that's too generous, but like you say, think it was an interesting attempt, and one that people could draw the wrong lessons from.
The biggest false note for me was the letter at the end—not that such a change wasn’t possible, but that it hadn’t been earned for mother or daughter; it was where the character seemed most used as a plot and thematic device. Perfidia rocking up at their doorstep and none of them knowing what to say except the daughter would’ve been better.
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!
Been thinking about Perfidia too, read a few pieces like this one last year, just saw your note. Have only seen the film once, and I’m not especially familiar with all the tropes (white guy in Australia), so hesitant to jump into the discourse, but fwiw my response was more empathy and pity for the character rather than feeling like the film was inviting me to fetishise.
Think the writing of the character was clunky and the obvious grotesqueness of the objectification isn't by any means a free pass. But I still got the sense of someone who was held together only by velocity. That came through in the performance anyway. Sometimes characters almost feel like they’re enraged by the story they’re in, on top of everything else—they want to be more. Maybe that's too generous, but like you say, think it was an interesting attempt, and one that people could draw the wrong lessons from.
The biggest false note for me was the letter at the end—not that such a change wasn’t possible, but that it hadn’t been earned for mother or daughter; it was where the character seemed most used as a plot and thematic device. Perfidia rocking up at their doorstep and none of them knowing what to say except the daughter would’ve been better.
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.)