DiCaprio says One Battle After Another reflects extremism, division and society’s fractured state
Leonardo DiCaprio has never been one to shy away from challenging roles. Nearly a decade after winning his Oscar for The Revenant, the actor is back in the spotlight with One Battle After Another—a sprawling political satire and action epic that has already been showered with critical acclaim.
Speaking ahead of the London premiere, DiCaprio told the BBC the film is rooted in themes that feel uncomfortably close to today’s reality. “It holds a mirror up to society and talks about the divisiveness in our culture and the fact that there’s so much polarity,” he explained. “It’s political without making it feel like medicine.”
The film has been two decades in the making. Director Paul Thomas Anderson, known for There Will Be Blood and Phantom Thread, first developed the concept more than 20 years ago, loosely inspired by Thomas Pynchon’s novel Vineland. Now, with a budget of around $175 million, Anderson’s long-gestating project has finally reached the big screen.
DiCaprio plays Bob, a paranoid former revolutionary living off the grid. When his daughter disappears, he is dragged back into the shadows of his past, forced to reconnect with estranged allies and face an old nemesis. “I’m a flawed protagonist,” DiCaprio said. “Bob does everything wrong and doesn’t land or stick any of his stunts. But you can still relate to his struggles—that’s not an easy thing to pull off.”
He is joined by an all-star cast including Sean Penn, Benicio del Toro, Regina Hall, Teyana Taylor and Chase Infiniti. Penn, critics say, delivers one of his strongest performances in years as the film’s tragicomic villain. Del Toro, who plays martial arts instructor Sergio, said working with DiCaprio was a long-time dream: “Leo and I are from the same class if Hollywood was a university. Finally we got to do a film together—and he’s hilarious both in person and on screen.”
The film is not easy to pin down. It veers between satire, black comedy and high-octane action, but at its core, DiCaprio believes it’s about humanity. “It finds the humanity in all the central characters,” he said. “It’s about flawed people, their contradictions, their mistakes—and somehow you empathise with them.”
Critics have been quick to heap praise. The Independent called it a “ferocious American masterpiece… swaggering, funny and a timely action epic”. The Guardian awarded five stars, praising its exploration of “dissent, discontent and the lonely heroism of not fitting in”—themes deemed out of step with today’s America. The Telegraph hailed DiCaprio’s performance as “frazzled and absurd yet also noble”, likening it to Jack Nicholson at his peak.
Even more cautious reviewers acknowledged its power. The Times gave four stars, describing the project as a “career high” for DiCaprio and declaring it a “surefire Oscar frontrunner”.
For Anderson, this is his most ambitious canvas yet. With its scale, scope and ensemble cast, the director’s hand is unmistakable. DiCaprio had nothing but admiration: “Paul is a visionary and seminal director. He’s done a lot of films, but in this one, he really went for it.”
With the awards season looming, the momentum behind One Battle After Another is undeniable. But beyond the glitter of premieres and red carpets, DiCaprio insists its message is what matters most. The film, he says, is about confronting the extremism and fractures tearing at society’s fabric. It may be entertainment, but it’s also a reflection of a world in turmoil