One Battle After Another is a very American movie, in the way that Die Hard, Air Force One, Mission Impossible, and You’ve Got Mail represent how avid filmgoers envisioned America in the past. Invincible, powerful, romantic, a scary yet happy place to live. Paul Thomas Anderson begs to differ, creating a nightmarish American land that may seem dystopian but sadly, it’s real and present like a donut (no pun intended, Quentin Tarantino).
There are many scene stealers in PTA’s latest masterpiece, described by some as his best, but also drawing some non-PTA fans in the process. Leonardo DiCaprio, of course, leads the cast in another career-peak performance, joined by the wonderful female cast from Chase Infiniti to Regina Hall. And then, comes Teyana Taylor, a force of sexual nature, a spark in a frantic film that doesn’t leave a minute’s rest.
Perfidia Beverly Hills is the dream revolutionary member of a far-left militant group. She’s risky, adventurous, a dominatrix in sexual and spiritual nature, comfortable in her tumultuous war-ravenous skin. She’s the perfect antihero not to Col. Steven J. Lockjaw (Sean Penn) but to Pat Calhoun a.k.a Bob (DiCaprio) whose character arc despite the idiosyncrasies, is harmonious and in tune with both his qualities and shortcomings. Unlike Perfidia whose wild chaotic rampages are at odds with her morally inept behavior toward her peers. Her passionate love is completely detached from her motherhood, ignored and abandoned, with the weight thrown on Bob who accepts it lovingly despite everything.
Taylor is not only on the same level as DiCaprio, but she unsettles him, throwing his character off guard every time, controlling the relationship, tongue and all. Her mismatched lashes, crop-style tops and guerrilla pants are a testament to her untameable selfishness, a woman on the run, living off-grid. As Perfidia Beverly Hills, she is the exciting dichotomy behind bringing Willa into the world with DiCaprio’s Bob.
Taylor acts opposite DiCaprio like she’s the veteran of all veterans. Her sexual, free-spirited, and impulsive Perfidia contrasts his low-key stoner paranoid Bob, but she also goes through the range of emotions that only a bona fide revolutionary who resists -and detests domesticity- experiences. With postpartum depression, fear of settling in, and the hunger for revolting kicking in, Taylor delivers one of the strongest female performances in PTA’s conflicting feature. She’s not an easy character to sit with, she’s not an easy character to love, but it’s impossible to hate her. What could’ve been one dimensional and anarchist in lesser hands becomes a woman with a depth of emotions that she grimly realizes she can’t offer to the daughter she’s just given birth to.
Her supporting performance is at the peak of the season, with some key films still to be given wide release, few names have flown around as key players in the supporting actress category. It would be criminal to undermine the complexity of Taylor’s performance, given that her character arc is the most interesting in a film filled with chaotically driven, whimsical characters. She shines among a cacophony of stars and solidifies her status as an actress to watch in the upcoming years. Her Best Supporting Actress nod should be secured given a lukewarm season for acting nominations looms ahead, but in this unpredictable environment, and the shifting nature of the filmmaking industry, one can only hope the right credit goes to the right artists.
