This week on Women InSession, we continue our critic spotlight series as we get to know Zach Youngs and his journey to becoming a film critic and writer! Zach is an incredible writer who covers everything from mainstream cinema to local film festivals in the Pacific Northwest. We are lucky to have him on the team and we had a great time talking about his experiences.
Panel: Kristin Battestella, Jaylan Salah
On that note, check out this week’s show and let us know what you think in the comment section. Thanks for listening and for supporting the InSession Film Podcast!
On this episode of Chasing the Gold, Shadan talks more with Erica about the movies she saw at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, this time talking about the very best of the fest! As always, Toronto came ready to play and featured some of the year’s biggest titles and they did not disappoint. The films at the top of the list will no doubt be huge players this awards season.
Check out this week’s show and let us know what you think in the comment section. Thanks for listening and for supporting the InSession Film Podcast!
Synopsis:A band has three days to come together as a unit and learn to play a song before the school festival, so they can leave high school with a bang.
The high school film is often a nostalgia trip for those long out of high school. We remember the angst, the torment, and the rejection, but we also remember the triumph. Even the worst high school experience has a high point. Even Carrie was having the night of her life in the few hours before, you know, pigโs blood and carnage. Itโs exhilarating to live through anotherโs triumphant moment. Linda Linda Linda has the kind of moment we all dreamed about in high school, one great rock show.
At the beginning of the film, thereโs a bit of chaos and drama that perfectly captures the strange love/hate relationships that can only occur as you grow up with someone. We donโt know what happened between Kei (Yรป Kashii) and Rinko (Takayo Mimura) or why the band broke up because of the rift, but that intense feeling is there. It almost shifts the genre from a coming-of-age into a sort of music biopic as we get the complications of starting from scratch learning new instruments, songs, and, for one member of the band, a new language in a short amount of time.
The script from Kรดsuke Mukai, Wakako Miyashita, and Nobuhiro Yamashita is executed with multiple points of view without ever getting lost in any of the stories. The way the script weaves the story of the final days of the school term is methodical, sometimes slow, but always with a point to giving us a sense of place and time through characters. None of the characters make a bigger impact than Son (Bae Doona).
The way Son, a Korean exchange student, is written is that she’s kind of an audience surrogate. Being a person who is trying to grasp a new language, she asks the questions we want to know and acts as our conduit into this high school world. She knows enough Japanese to get by, she’s accommodating and polite, but in some ways that gets her into trouble. Being in the band is what finally gets her to be herself in all its weird and funny glory. Son wanted so much to belong and find people her own age to hang out with that this miscommunication in accidentally joining the band became the best thing she could ever hope for. Even as she struggles to follow all of a conversation, she’s able to get a lot from context and eventually gives a really good piece of advice. Son becomes the beating heart of the story.
It’s the beauty of Bae Doona’s performance that really cements Son into our hearts. Bae tackles Son with a wide eyed and enthusiastic glee. She has this languid way of being present in every scene she’s in. She’s always making a movement or motion that reminds us she’s there. The way that she’s able to grow Son from a quiet girl into a rockstar is profound. She builds the character before our eyes with precisely imprecise movements and moments of unique passion.
One of the best scenes, in a film of great scenes, is one adolescent awkwardness. This is where Nobuhiro Yamashitaโs directing, Ryรปji Miyajamaโs editing, and Yoshihiro Ikeuchiโs cinematography really mesh. Son is asked if she will meet Maki (Kenโichi Matsuyama) in an empty classroom. Son and her bandmates are intrigued because the note is written in Korean. What follows is so wonderfully, universally painful. Son and Maki are standing far too far apart as Maki does his best to say how he feels about Son in his stilted Korean. After Makiโs final confession of love, Son tells him she likes him as a friend, but really just wants to play music. The cuts between their faces, the faces of Sonโs band mates and Makiโs friend, and the way too far distance between them adds so much to the scene. Itโs perfectly staged and perfectly acted.
On top of everything, the music is spectacular. The songs, originally performed by Japanese punk band The Blue Hearts, are vibrant and catchy. The show the band puts on after all their hard work is utterly electric. All this rock music blends so well with the film score by James Iha, of The Smashing Pumpkins. The score builds a delicate indie folk sound that compliments the daily activities of the students and the punk sensibilities of the band.
Linda Linda Linda is full of joy and triumph. It’s a film that’s got a great universal appeal in its portrayal of high school and the fear, anxiety, and excitement of what comes next. Nothing about it fails to delight and if there is one flaw, the pregnant pauses can get a bit much and make you embarrassed for the characters by proxy, which in turn is how you’re supposed to feel about something that is left unsaid for that long. The 4K restoration is lush and Linda Linda Linda is a film that deserves more attention now that it’s been given this chance at finding a new audience.
Landing an iconic role seems like an obvious path to movie stardom. Instant fame. Box office success. A place in film history.
For many actors, however, stepping into such roles proves to be a double-edged sword. While big franchises can propel actors into the spotlight, they donโt always secure long-term success or critical acclaim. Some performers can find themselves typecast. Others are unable to replicate the same momentum beyond their most famous role or are even overshadowed by supporting co-stars.
They might boast a broad body of work. Yet stars can find themselves remembered for only one part. Thatโs why true career success, ultimately, isnโt always defined by the most iconic role on an actorโs resume.
Example: When Bond Isnโt Enough James Bond. Few characters are as iconic in the cinema world. However, when analyzing the careers of Bond stars, recent research from Betway reveals that leading the franchise doesnโt always guarantee long-term success.
In fact, several supporting players outranked the men who stepped into the role of 007.
The analysis saw Judi Dench, who portrayed M across seven films, emerge as the most successful Bond actor overall. This was based on her possessing more awards, credits, and acclaim than her leading co-stars. Another surprising name at the top of the list is Madonna. With only a cameo in Die Another Day, she ranked higher than most Bond actors thanks to her extensive achievements outside the franchise.
The lesson from this research: even the worldโs most famous spy canโt necessarily guarantee career dominance.
The Double-Edged Sword of Iconic Roles Itโs clear that taking on a legendary part can transform an actorโs profile overnight. Sylvester Stallone toiled in acting obscurity for years before being launched into superstardom as Rocky. However, itโs possible to be โboxed inโ after playing a major role.
Take Christopher Reeve as Superman, for instance, or Mark Hamill as Luke Skywalker. These are two actors who became pop culture icons but found mainstream film roles hard to come by afterward. Fame from a single role can, in a cruel twist of fate, become a shadow, one that looms over everything that follows.
Supporting Stars Who Steal the Spotlight Sometimes, the lasting success belongs not just to the lead but also to the supporting cast. Take Alan Rickman. His performance as antagonist Hans Gruber in Die Hard launched a career filled with awards and critical acclaim. Okay, Bruce Willis didnโt do too badly from being the starring role in the same film, but the point still stands.
Ultimately, prestige and longevity often come from versatility rather than marquee billing.
Awards Over Box Office Blockbuster roles tend to bring major financial rewards. Look at Dwayne Johnsonโs purported net worth as an example. Critical recognition, however, is another matter entirely. See Dwayne Johnsonโs acting credentials in comparison.
Many actors achieve their greatest acclaim outside the franchises that made them famous. Robert Pattinson, once defined by Twilight, reinvented himself in independent cinema before landing future high-profile roles in flicks like The Batman and Tenet. Leonardo DiCaprio might have been a global star after Titanic, but it took years of collaboration with Martin Scorsese to reach Oscar-winning status.
Iconic roles bring visibility. Awards and credibility usually require stepping away from the brightest spotlights.
Reinvention Is Key After playing iconic characters, the actors who thrive are usually those willing to reinvent themselves. Going back to James Bond, look at Daniel Craig as a prime example. Though his tenure as a secret agent made him a household name, his broader success has come from diversifying into projects like Knives Out and even stage work in New York.
Hugh Jackman followed a similar path. He effectively used his role as Wolverine as a platform for acclaimed performances in musicals and dramas. Itโs another example that highlights how iconic roles can be a springboard, but they should never be the final destination. Reinvention and evolution can push acting careers to new heights.
This week on the InSession Film Podcast, in anticipation of One Battle After Another, we discuss our Top 5 Paul Thomas Anderson scenes! We also discuss John Boyega’s recent Star Wars comments and pay tribute to the late-great Robert Redford.
Check out this weekโs show and let us know what you think in the comment section. Thanks for listening and for supporting the InSession Film Podcast!
– Opening Banter / Robert Redford (0:31) We open the show by talking a little Paul Thomas Anderson and why his films are impossible to rank, despite our attempts to do so on Letterboxd. After setting the table, so to speak, for this week’s show, we talk about the late-great Robert Redford and the massive impact he had on the film community. His passing last week was devastating to hear, but there is lots to celebrate and we did our best to honor him.ย
– John Boyega Comments / Mandalorian & Grogu Trailer (16:36) We love John Boyega, but we felt compared to push back against his recent Star Wars comments about the Sequel Trilogy. The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi are both good films that wonderfully subvert the Star Wars formula. If he was to have his out, maybe the larger audience would have been happy, however it would have left us disappointed. Regardless of how we feel about the films, though, his bitterness is very understandable. And since it just came out, it made sense to also talk about the new trailer for The Mandalorian & Grogu, which doesn’t look good at all.
– Top 5 Paul Thomas Anderson Scenes (51:18) Paul Thomas Anderson is one of the great filmmakers working today, and as noted above, we have found ranking his films damn near impossible. So we thought it would perhaps be more attainable to talk about the best scenes in his films. An exercise that, as you could imagine, proved to be extremely challenging in its own right. There are so many great moments to choose from, but once we narrowed our lists down, we had the best time talking about why PTA’s films and scenes resonate so deeply. What are your favorite PTA scenes?
If you want to help support us, there are several ways you can help us and we’d absolutely appreciate it. Every penny goes directly back into supporting the show and we are truly honored and grateful. Thanks for your support and for listening to the InSession Film Podcast!
Director: Jay Duplass Writer:ย Jay Duplass, Michael Strassner Stars: Michael Strassner, Liz Larsen, Olivia Luccardi
Synopsis: A newly sober man’s Christmas Eve dental emergency leads to an unexpected romance with his older dentist as they explore Baltimore together.
It’s easy to set a film in a city that many people know. It’s easy to build a story about a place people know even if they’ve never been there before. It’s difficult to capture the spirit of a place and translate it so that outsiders don’t completely feel left out. The filmmakers behind The Baltimorons obviously love and know Baltimore and its people. They take us not to the touristy parts. They take us to where the people are and where those people come to like each other everyday.
The great thing about Jay Duplass and Michael Strassner’s script is that it feels lived in. These two people, Cliff (Michael Strassner) and Didi (Liz Larsen), feel like they were plucked from the air. Cliff is a guy who always feels he has to be on, but instead of the broad comedy lens where it’s a joke a minute, this funniness is supposed to fall flat. That straight woman act isn’t faked or because Didi’s in on Cliff’s joke. Her confusion and disinterest is because she just doesn’t understand that Cliff is trying to be funny. There are these barriers between the two characters that Strassner and Duplass break down layer by layer and truth by truth until the jokes become funny because we know Didi’s seen the real Cliff.
It’s easy to want a comedy that has laughs every few seconds, but it’s so much more fulfilling to laugh as you cry or as you cringe. Many of Cliff’s one off jokes and bits bring to the surface the deep conflict within him. The way he expresses truth is often through a joke or a bit. One of the most enthralling scenes is as Cliff takes Didi to his old improv stomping grounds and is cajoled into doing his most famous character. When no one volunteers to be his partner, Didi joins him on stage. It’s awkward, painful, and funny as Cliff is a tough scene partner because he’s nervous as he’s never done this sober. Ultimately, though, this is where Cliff is able to say what he’s wanted to say for a while. It’s where Cliff and Didi realize that this, whatever it is that this is, is something more than just two lonely people on Christmas Eve. This is a connection. Though, the connection wouldn’t work if not for the two leads.
Michael Strassner is a force of nature on screen. He is an incredible physical comedian. He knows how to work with a situation and really sell it. As much as he is great at the bits he performs, he’s still able to be devastating when need be. Cliff is a guy who has a lot of walls up and a lot of issues he needs to take care of. Strassner is able to bring out that vulnerability and that human side of the Cliff who would prefer we just see a joke machine. He taps into something magical and winning in his performance.
Liz Larsen is a truly wonderful surprise. She plays straight, she plays playful, she plays vulnerable, and she plays sharp and tenacious. Through Larsen’s fantastic performance we see a woman taking some time to be the person she wants to be. Larsen finds the depth of Didi and shows us who this woman is and how she lived pre-Cliff and how she might live going forward. Larsen feels as if she’s known Didi all her life.
Strassner and Larsen are able to take a disparate pair and turn them into a romantic possibility. Together they have a chemistry that is like an improv exercise. You see them say “yes, and” to everything because it’s plain that for both of them they don’t entirely know what’s going on, but they don’t want it to end. It’s a connection that is the spark they each need in their lives.
The Baltimorons is strangely easy to love. If you look at the film on paper, you might say it couldn’t work, but it does, it really, really does. It’s a sort of throwback to the types of films director and co-writer Jay Duplass and his brother Mark made their names with. It’s not quite mumblecore and it’s not all the way to Harold and Maude, but The Baltimorons runs with its take on the odd couple type of romance and creates something utterly unique. It’s funny, complicated, and not to be missed, especially if you like a Christmas romance.
Director:John Lasseter Writer:ย John Lasseter, Pete Docter, Andrew Stanton Stars: Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Don Rickles
Synopsis: A cowboy doll is profoundly jealous when a new spaceman action figure supplants him as the top toy in a boy’s bedroom. When circumstances separate them from their owner, the duo have to put aside their differences to return to him.
In recent years, it has become pointlessly popular to pick on Pixarโs Toy Story. Modern analysts have made a habit of circling back on the filmโs obviously aged animation; theyโll poke fun at the dog, ask why Buzz acts like a toy around humans if he doesnโt believe that he is one, and then ultimately tap out upon any further discussion. Those folksโ next target is usually the fourth movie in the series, or some other innocent animated property that almost every member of the audience universally enjoyed.
Those qualms aside, now 30 years aged, the original Toy Story is still one of the animation studioโs finest entries to this day. There exists an early innocence about the property that differentiated it then from other such similar efforts; even Pixarโs own follow-ups donโt quite hit the same mark of purity. Characters are simple, from their movements to their motivations. To that point, this earliest form of what would become a major franchise represents a dedication to a concept that is now almost wholly unfamiliar in the animated medium.
The basic, now run-down idea that these are just toys come to life drives the film at every corner. Itโs just the most unassuming, easygoing, feel-good effort from the studio, perhaps ever. That could be a reason why some modern audiences are so ready to leave it behind, at least from a critical standpoint. In comparison to other uber-popular animated movies of the time – such as The Lion King or The Iron Giant – Toy Story lacks a demanding sense of self-preservation or immediate importance, and thatโs a compliment.ย
All the same, the cast, and narrative that structures them, remains incredibly memorable while still preserving that sense of comfortable drowsiness that the movie emits in retrospect. For children then and now, each character carries a seemingly inherent sense of welcome that, for one kid or another, allows them to be their obvious favorite. Between the dozen or so toys that rotate in and out of the limelight here, including Woody and Buzz at the forefront, Toy Story works to the same tune that children picking and favoriting their own toys does; except, in this case, they talk. Itโs the perfect concept-to-execution for this genre of movie.
The filmโs eventual sequels, while as good and, at times, arguably better than their genesis, donโt quite capture the same plain magic of the 1995 release. Each of the three sequels has a clear villain – singular, pointed – while the first film, even given Sidโs manic scientisms, is more or less just a point-and-click, day in the life adventure for the toys. You go to the Pizza Planet, spend some time outside, journey through Sidโs lab and then, ultimately, end up behind the moving truck for the finale. Itโs almost structured like an old Nintendo 64 story game, one that kids of the time wouldโve been obsessed with had that been a reality. Unorthodox is the word, and yet, it still works so well and operates almost completely alone in the space.
Itโs not hard to imagine that Toy Story may still be revered and rewatched another three decades down the line, if not much longer. Aged animation aside, itโs a perfectly contained, infinitely giving story that can be thrown on essentially anywhere to great, repeated effect. As old as it is, much like the franchiseโs toys (aside from Wheezy, poor guy), it just doesnโt seem to age. It is, and always will be, a quintessential childrenโs movie.
On this episode, JD and Brendan discuss Scarlett Johansson’s directorial debut Eleanor the Great, starring the great June Squibb! Better late than never, it’s amazing to finally live in the era of “June Squibb the movie star” and leading actress. Regardless of what you think about the film itself, she is excellent here and it likely would have fallen apart without her charming and very funny performance.
Review: Eleanor the Greatย (4:00) Director: Scarlett Johansson Writers: Tory Kamen Stars: June Squibb, Erin Kellyman, Chiwetel Ejiofor
Director:Scarlett Johansson Writer:ย Tory Kamen Stars: June Squibb, Erin Kellyman, Chiwetel Ejiofor
Synopsis: After a devastating loss, witty and proudly troublesome Eleanor Morgenstein, 94, tells a tale that takes on a dangerous life of its own.
Fear not, those born before 1990.ย Scarlett Johansson’s directorial debut, Eleanor the Great, is here to save you some hassle. The next time your parents or grandparents ask for a recommendation for something to watch, this is exactly the film to recommend.
We all know those movies you show your elders. They might not have the most complex themes, captivating storylines, or the most stellar of performances, but your loved one will definitely turn to you once the credits roll to exclaim, “That was really good!” While I’m pretty sure that wasn’t the intention with this film, it certainly fills a very specific cultural need. Keep this one in your back pocket when your grandma puts you on the spot.
June Squibb stars as the eponymous character, a 94-year-old Floridian living a quiet life with her best friend and roommate, Bessie (Rita Zohar). When Bessie unexpectedly dies, Eleanor moves to New York with her daughter Lisa (Jessica Hecht), who encourages her to branch out and make friends. At the local Jewish community center, Eleanor stumbles into a Holocaust survivor’s support group. While not intending to deceive, she relays Bessie’s stories of survival on to the group as her own.
Inspired by her passion, college student Nina (Erin Kellyman) decides to profile Eleanor for a journalism course. Nina is dealing with the death of her mother and the silence she is receiving from her newscaster father, Roger (Chiwetel Ejiofor). Eleanor and Nina help each other with companionship and navigate their losses, as Eleanor seeks to have her bat mitzvah that she couldn’t complete in her youth.
Despite Johansson’s filmmaking ability, the whole film is a sitcom scenario. As soon as Eleanor innocently lies, you know exactly how the story beats will transpire. In fact, if you pause the film, there is a fair chance you can assume the remainder of the plot. Luckily, the narrative simplicity isn’t a deal breaker. There is a reason sitcom plots are successful. The viewer wants to see how the story ends with characters they have invested into. Eleanor is a sweet old lady who told a lie without benefit. There is no world where she deserves to be alone or overtly punished. It can only be too real.
That all being said, the film’s numerous discussions about Holocaust survival are all delivered by actual Holocaust survivors. Each of those accounts are performed with sadness and delicate precision. The levels of authenticity in these survival stories permeate the screen and provide a lasting impression. Those realities are a bit juxtaposed by Eleanor’s own recounting, in that it feels particularly wrong framing it with her own experience. A mid-film conversation between Eleanor and her rabbi gives the impression that maybe, just maybe, she could get away with it. Luckily, the filmmakers know better than to let that happen, though that would at least be a bit unconventional.
That expected conventionality only works if you have dynamic, likeable performers delivering the goods. Both Squibb and Kellyman have a gentle and believable chemistry. There is no mystery in the dynamic, but each performer is more than willing to accept the realities. Despite her age, Squibb’s delivery and ability is still young and quick. There is no suspension of disbelief, Squibb still has her full faculties and quick-witted charm. It’s not the most complex of performances, but it is one that she is uniquely adept at playing. Kellyman shares the screen nicely with Squibb, complimenting her quick wit with pensive understanding. Again, this is not the most complex of roles, but it is Kellyman branching out from her usual performances.
The rest of the cast fill out the edges as best they can, though they are almost all underwritten. Ejiofor, in particular, barely gets to do much of anything and even then isn’t much more than a talking head. Hecht does little more than complain about Eleanor at every corner, though the film does give her a bit more backstory than it could have. Zohar gets the signature supporting role, especially in a late-film story where she recounts her own survival story to Eleanor.
Despite staggering conventionality, Eleanor the Great will be a staple of the elder generations. Johansson has to start somewhere as a filmmaker, and there are much worse places to start than this.
Director: Kogonada Writer:ย Seth Reiss Stars: Margot Robbie, Colin Farrell, Jennifer Grant
Synopsis: Two strangers who meet at a mutual friend’s wedding have the chance to relive important moments from their pasts, illuminating the path that led them to the present and gaining the opportunity to change their futures.
A Big Bold Beautiful Journey, one of the most anticipated movies of 2025, is a reminder of the power of a good trailer. While the Margot Robbie and Colin Farrell feature itself plays like an arrogant snooze fest, its sizzling preview teems with hopeful, wondrous possibilities. A fantastical three-minute romp, the trailer feels hopelessly romantic, an immersive trip through nostalgia, brimming with emotional introspection.
Instead, we are treated to a film that is almost arrogantly self-indulgent, borrowing its structure so blatantly from better works that I call it grand theft. The intended subtext of being open to new people, experiences, and love is lost beneath the pedestal on which the script places itself. Frankly, A Big Bold Beautiful Journey provokes more yawns and eye rolls with its cloyingly emotional shmaltz than it does deep, meaningful contemplation.
The story follows David (Farrell), an ordinary man on his way to a wedding. While walking to his car, he chats with his parents on the phone, who remind him to keep himself open to love. Theyโve always called him โspecial,โ though he feels anything but. When he reaches his unremarkable sedan, he discovers a wheel clamp on one of the tires. Fortunately, he notices an advertisement for car rentals and decides to take a walk in the nice, soft rain.
Even though he has a cell phone, where he could find a rental car company to come pick him up, he wanders into what looks like an abandoned warehouse, where he meets a sales representative (Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destinyโs Phoebe Waller-Bridge), who has a penchant for swearing, and a stoic mechanic (Academy Award winner Kevin Kline). When he speaks, his coworker finds him to be utterly fascinating. David, as he should, finds the whole encounter strange.
For one, they have a picture of David that looks like he is auditioning for a Broadway play. How did they get his picture? He doesnโt pursue it, leaving the elephant in the room. The rental car cashier is also incredibly bossy, insisting that David use the rental car’s navigational system instead of relying on his phone’s system. Nevertheless, he carries on and makes it to the wedding, where he catches the eye of Sarah (Robbie), the quintessential manic pixie dream girlโfree-spirited, eccentric, and full of spontaneous energy.
A Big Beautiful Journey is from Kogonada, who has become a critical darling with such films as Columbus andAfter Yang, known for his meditative and meticulously crafted visual spin he puts on minimalist cinema with deeply moving results. Yet, strangely, the third movie in the Kogonada trilogy about human connection and meaning becomes charmless, even though the script is a metaphor for opening yourself up to meaningful emotional intimacy.
The issue is the mismatch between the director and the writer. Written by The Menuโs Seth Reiss, the film, like the characters played by Farrell and Robbie, is a marriage without chemistry, the most straightforward explanation being a studio-arranged union. The redemptive framework is akin to A Christmas Carol, like so many recycled guided-journey movies that usually take place around the holidays.
Here, Reissโs script has David and Sarah go on a journey led astray by a bossy GPS (voiced by Jodie Turner-Smith), to doorframes in the oddest of secluded places, placing them during essential times in their lives that shaped their behaviors. While the psychology of that is strongโDavidโs parents (Hamish Linklater, Jennifer Grant) being overindulgent and overpraising, and Sarahโs motherโs (Lily Rabe) illness. The scenes play out as overly manipulative and donโt land with the emotional punch they are intended to, which points to a script, director, and studio not on the same page.
A Big, Bold, Beautiful Journey is well-intended, and I wouldnโt dare not be open to an emotionally resonant film, despite what may come across as cinematic critic cynicism. However, Kogonadaโs film is like an old clichรฉ of a modelโbeautiful on the surface, but with little personality and dull, almost naรฏve, in substance. This is a typical romantic fantasy that will end exactly the way you think, offering little surprises, emotional payoff, and ridiculous product placement. (Yet strangely doesnโt allow any major car rental chain to make an appearance.)ย
The filmโs pretentiousness is fine as long as it elevates the material, but here, the style only diminishes it.
You can watch A Big Bold Beautiful Journey only in theaters September 19th!
Director:Park Chan-wook Writer:ย Park Chan-wook, Lee Kyoung-mi, Jahye Lee Stars: Lee Byung-hun, Son Ye-jin, Park Hee-soon
Synopsis: After being unemployed for several years, a man devises a unique plan to secure a new job: eliminate his competition.
From Oldboy to Decision to Leave, Park Chan-wook is no stranger to telling stories that are, at once, incredibly engrossing and stylistically directed, as well as impactful in twisted, demented, or emotionally powerful ways. His works, even expanding to television in 2024 with HBOโs The Sympathizer, have often left a lasting impression on audiences, addressing real world, socio-political themes and commenting on aspects that continue to affect those around him, and bringing those into his projects. His latest effort, No Other Choice, is no exception.
Image Credit: Courtesy of TIFF
Man-soo (Lee Byung-hun), as shown by the movieโs opening minutes, has a literal picture perfect life: a well paying job in the paper industry, a beautiful house, his lovely wife Mi-ri (Son Ye-jin), two wonderful children, and their two dogs. Everyone is living blissfully and with a smile on their faces. Things change quickly, however, when he loses his job and the familyโs main source of income dries up, effective immediately, leaving Man-soo wondering what happens next and his family having to potentially sacrifice everything to make ends meet going forward. When a position that would be perfect for Man-soo opens up, he devises a plan to knock out the people who are just as qualified from the competition and make sure he gets the job, which may mean he will have no other choice but to do something harsh if worst comes to worst.
No Other Choice has serious themes on its mind, as most Park Chan-wook features usually do, but it isnโt afraid to be funny and comically over-the-top when it wants to. As Man-soo begins to look into his potential competition and learn more about their lives, like with the borderline dysfunctional couple Gu Bummo (Lee Sung-min) and his wife Ah-ra (Yeom Hye-ran), the sequences that unfold are brilliantly directed and sharply written, practically to perfection, and extremely funny, particularly in a standout moment involving a blaring soundtrack playing while an argument takes place. But what makes No Other Choice ultimately stay with the audience is how its title becomes more and more ominous, starting at first as a darkly funny line when the loss of a job is concerned, and then turning into a line built on an inevitability, that something must happen because Man-soo has no other choice. This stellar balancing of tone and characterization is what lands the movie in the end.
Lee Byung-hun is extraordinary in the movie, channeling the fragility and desperation of Man-soo in every frame, and his want to grasp onto everything that made him so happy once more. He worries about not having enough work, he worries his wife might see him as lesser, he worries his kids will lose respect for him, but most importantly, he worries he’ll lose himself. When the going gets tough, it’s easy to understand why Man-soo is doing everything that he does and the extreme actions he may wish to take, while also lamenting the places he’s being pushed into because of a world that’s pushing against him. Lee’s performance, as well as Park’s storytelling, come together wonderfully, and the movie’s sledgehammer-like commentary (almost to a fault, particularly towards the final act) on jobs being replaced by machines and the advent of capitalism lands home.
Much like many of Parkโs previous efforts, No Other Choice is a visually spectacular and uniquely framed feature, with Kim Woo-hyungโs cinematography yielding some of the most striking shots of the year. For a movie that is as bleak as it eventually gets, it remains incredibly vibrant and colorful until the final frame, and is backed by an energetic, even sometimes whimsical score from Jo Yeong-wook that elevates the darkly comic setting, along with Kim Sang-bum’s sharp editing that at 2 hours and 19 minutes, keeps the movie on its toes throughout, hardly missing a step. The production design, ranging from showcasing Man-sooโs love for plants and gardening to the framing of his family’s home, is immaculate, packed with little details that will make for interesting observations on repeat viewings.
Not much is being said about the back half of No Other Choice in this review, and for good reason. Much like Bong Joon-ho’s Parasite in 2019, it’s best to go into this movie knowing very little past its initial premise. Rest assured, the sequence of events that unfold once Man-soo really begins to look into his competition make for some of the best filmmaking of 2025, and one of the year’s best movies overall. No Other Choice once again proves that Park Chan-wook is a master storyteller who can subvert any expectations effortlessly, and one can only wonder how his next project will surprise audiences.
On this episode, JD and Brendan discuss Kogonada’s new film A Big Bold Beautiful Journey, starring Colin Farrell and Margot Robbie! Coming into 2025, this was easily one of our most anticipated films of the year (JD’s #2 on his Top 10 list). We are big fans of Kogonada’s previous two films, and despite the early reactions we were trying to maintain some hope. Something that proved to be beneficial as we do defend the film while recognizing that it’s far from being perfect.
Review: A Big Bold Beautiful Journeyย (4:00) Director: Kogonada Writers: Seth Reiss Stars: Margot Robbie, Colin Farrell, Jodie Turner-Smith
This week on Women InSession, we discuss the rich history of Egyptian cinema and its cultural significance as a dominant force during its Golden Age! At its peak in the 40s and 50s, Egyptian cinema was massive and often challenging the form. So we had a lot of fun talking about its influences the filmmakers that define the region.
Panel: Kristin Battestella, Zita Short, Jaylan Salah
On that note, check out this week’s show and let us know what you think in the comment section. Thanks for listening and for supporting the InSession Film Podcast!
In this interview, I talk with Egyptian music composer Hesham Nazih and his work on the new miniseries Eyes of Wakanda!
Eyes of Wakanda is the new animated series set in the Black Panther universe from Marvel Televisions. It is now streaming on Disney+ as it blends the vibrant imagery of Wakanda with concise storytelling and a rich, layered visual texture. For a unique miniseries, they picked Emmy-nominated Egyptian composer Hesham Nazih to add emotional resonance, depth of rhythm and character motifs to the grounded Wakandan world. Nazih discusses Emmy nominations, challenging projects, finding inspiration in African music, and a history of culturally-significant scores.
Director:Elizabeth Ai Writer: Elizabeth Ai Stars: Lynda Trang Dai, Ian Nguyen, Elizabeth Ai
Synopsis: Exploring the defiant Vietnamese new wave music scene, a filmmaker takes a vulnerable, personal look at her community revisiting their unexamined past.
The glory and the importance of the documentary, as a filmmaking form, is wide and varied. Any subject that strikes your interest likely has at least one film covering that very topic. More important though, are the documentaries that introduce you to a culture, or subculture, that you didnโt know existed. The true importance of these documentaries is not showing you a strange new world, it is in finding common ground despite those differences. If you told me that I would see parts of myself in the story of young Vietnamese immigrants in the 1980s, I am not sure that I would easily believe you. And yet, New Wave does just that, and more.
One might think that New Wave, from the title, would be purely about music, but it delves deeper and in a more roundabout way. Part of the way through, you might even be tempted to call it unfocused. But film sometimes opens itself up slowly, just as life does. New Wave follows Elizabeth Ai, who starts out exploring her (and other young Vietnamese peopleโs) obsession with new wave music, Vietnamese voices covering that music, and her own childhood motivations. But, as many filmmakers will tell you, especially of the documentary variety, sometimes this artform has a mind of its own. Ai finds herself discovering where her own story is headed, as well as the story of Vietnamese people connecting with an American experience in their own way.ย
As the film begins, the energy pulses from New Wave almost uncontrollably. The score, the clothing, the reimagined scenes from Aiโs own past burst with life. It is infectious and we find ourselves pleasantly lost in that created world. The journey deeper into the Vietnamese immigrant experience is helped by this introduction that brings us in close and makes us connect with their stories. The next portion of the film focuses on Lynda Trang Dai, a niche music star who performed covers of literally every 80s artist one can imagine. Lynda, shown through her video past and her interviewed present, holds a deep sadness, frustration, and anger. Director and writer Ai expertly shows us the reasons why through her Lyndaโs current silent rage and past judgment by local media.ย
This barely contained personal and collective anger is detailed both through Lyndaโs own words and, unexpectedly, Aiโs own relationship with her mother. Both Lynda and Aiโs mother, despite being quite different, share a difficulty balancing financial support and emotional connection with their families. As the film loops back to the world of new wave and some painful moments, the reality of the world comes crashing in. Like many children in the 1980s, they were allowed to do basically whatever they wanted and the inherent danger and bitterness of these choices rises to the surface. But where this film truly soars is in the difficult exploration of the collective trauma of the Vietnamese people. This manages, incredibly, to tie all of these disparate stories together brilliantly.ย As one might imagine, it is difficult for both the older and younger generations to discuss this horrific past. Both groups clearly want to leave it behind and start anew.ย
The parents suffered hideous traumas in that war-torn nation. Their children, whether they were consciously aware or not, experienced it both first and second-hand. But the difficulties of life in the United States as a non white person come to the forefront in numerous painful ways.ย
Looking back at when they began their lives in America, an unnatural level of work and hustling was needed for both survival and to send money home to relatives. It would be hard to imagine people more in need of escape than these refugees. For some, that escape was music, for others, less adaptive choices were made.ย
The film never takes the easy way out by giving us a target to blame. Ai, as both director and subject, bravely puts her own familial trauma on display; first, over difficult memories and one-sided phone conversations, and eventually, through honest attempts at reconnection. Again, like our lives, there are no simple answers here, and no perfect relationships. We are all doing our best, and our traumas, both personal and collective, make this process difficult. New Wave manages to find a middle ground allowing us all our faults and a real chance at reconciliation.
On this episode of Chasing the Gold, Shadan talks with Erica about the best movies she saw at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival! She has ranked all 30 movies she experienced at TIFF, and for Part 1, she specifically discussed the back half of the list. Some of these may be fleeting as awards season plunges on, however some of them will still be players in some way, shape or form.
Check out this week’s show and let us know what you think in the comment section. Thanks for listening and for supporting the InSession Film Podcast!
Director:Miguel Llansรณ Writer: Miguel Llansรณ Stars: Teele Kaljuvee-O’Brock, Johanna-Aurelia Rosin, Hannah Grossย
Synopsis: Three young women’s week at the beach turns into a transhumanist mystery romp in one Estonian summer.
Growing from high school to college is a transition that is not only jarring with the newfound independence, but it can also be a lonely journey as well. Friends who were once close now have new friends, leaving those who float through life as introverts to find new ways to get themselves out there. Writer and director Miguel Llansรณ’s third film, Infinite Summer, blends the ever-growing dependence on artificial apps that prey on their users and their sense of worth. It is a sci-fi thriller that unsettles the mind, body, and spirit, leaving its mark on the viewer’s psyche long after its runtime.Summer is the best time to be youngโno school, and in an idle world, it’s spent relaxing and enjoying the company of loved ones. For Mia (Teele Kaljuvee-O’Brock), she’s embarking on a new journey that finds her with newfound independence. Transitioning from high school to college, Mia takes a trip with her friend Grete (Johanna-Aurelia Rosin), who brings along Sarah (Hannah Gross). From the start, it’s clear that Grete and Sarah have different ideas about how they want to spend their holiday trip in Estonia. Their lake house is stocked with everything a young person away from adults could wantโalochol and drugs aplenty. Mia finds herself alone, even left out during the first bits of her trip, and feels a distance between her and Grete.
That distance leads Mia to decide to partake in a game with her cabin mates that involves virtual dating, leading to Mia’s first encounter with Dr. Mindfulness, also known as Ivo. Through a hologram of Ivo that is projected into their room via their virtual reality headset, Mia and her cohorts begin a roller coaster of mindfulness. From the outside, Dr. Mindfulness appears harmless, even if he’s meant to come across as socially unaware, promising Mia an elevated reality, which, to a stressed-out young woman, is appealing. This is done through his new meditation app, which comes with a headpiece that looks like a torture device from SAW, with pretty lights added on.
Infinite Summer is an inventive sci-fi thriller that explores our willingness to find something to distract us from our current reality. Feeling stressed? There’s an app for that. Feeling depressed? There’s an app for that. And those who created these apps see dollar signs over the well-being of those who use them, with them geared to make us addicted by any means necessary and filled with ads to make us buy other useless items to escapeโgiving us a small shot of dopamine to keep us going. For Mia, she is as experimental as any young person is, and while using her new friend’s invention, she becomes enthralled by the ability to escape but finds something much darker beyond its smoke and mirrors. Keeping her in a somewhat psychedelic state, she shuts out reality, but her problems only worsen the more she uses the app.
Beautifully, the film stands out with its unique use of color; hues of blue, pink, and even purple litter the screen while the trio is locked into their Mindfulness headgear, creating sights and sounds that only those tapped into their apps are able to see. The side effects are often shown in dingy colors like brown and grey smoke that pours out of the mouths of the girls after they log out. It blends in well with the environment around it, which alternates from a picturesque cabin hidden away on a lake to running through alleyways of old buildings. Israel Seoane’s cinematography captures the distinct differences in their realities compared to their mindful states, with precise framing when the headpieces are off and frantic frames making their escapism unsettling, to say the least.
From Llansรณ’s script, the film offers a wholly one-of-a-kind experience and explores our need for constant stimulation through our screens in such a strangely alluring wayโwhich is to its benefit. Even as the film delves into an investigation into Dr. Mindfulness that loses some momentum, it’s a trip that is well worth taking. Saying the world is addicted to their gadgets is an understatement. Llansรณ reflects how inwardly these addictions can seem pleasant and even beautiful at times, inviting us to waste time and turn our brains off. Outwardly, they are gaudy and distract others from seeing our real selves. Llansรณ’s work as a writer and director in Infinite Summer guides the audience through the highs and lows of being lonely in a digital world. The content of the film is wild but worth experiencing.
Led by a quirky performance from Kaljuvee-O’Brock, her character Mia is easy to relate to. She starts out as a shy and reserved teenager looking for one last hangout with her best friend before they go off to college. As the film progresses, her shyness fades, leading the way for Kaljuvee-O’Brock to bring more to the tableโshown best while she’s locked into her altered reality. Her youthfulness stands out as each situation becomes more bothersome than the last. Paired with Rosin and Gross, who play their roles as party girls perfectly, their characters all bounce well off each other. Gross plays a sultry and mature woman, more seasoned in all aspects of life than the othersโcharming and spontaneous. Rosin is the perfect blend of the two, and her performance showcases a self-conscious teenager looking for her spot to fit in, even if she has to fake it.
Masterfully, all of these elements blend together to create an unrepeatable experience. From its experimental script that questions the ethics of countless addictive apps to its fish-out-of-water relatability with its characterizations, Infinite Summer is as introspective as they get.
Synopsis: A powerful story of love and loss that inspired the creation of Shakespeare’s timeless masterpiece, Hamlet.
Since it was published in the 1600s, โHamletโ has been universally regarded as one of the greatest works of literature ever written. The story of a young prince wanting revenge for injustices done against his family by his uncle, William Shakespeareโs tragic play has been performed, adapted and reimagined hundreds of times over the centuries, and will likely remain a timeless work for generations to come. In Hamnet, director Chloรฉ Zhao adapts Maggie OโFarrellโs 2020 novel of the same name in order to explore the story that led to the inspiration behind โHamlet,โ a story that, for historians, may still be speculation at best.
Agnes (Jessie Buckley) is a woman in Warwickshire who often keeps to herself and hones her gifts in a manner that confounds some around her. It is here that she meets her husband (Paul Mescal), a man who is trying to make enough of a living to do bigger things in his life and for his family, and he is immediately infatuated by Agnes. The two fall in love and have three children: Susanna, Judith, and Hamnet. When tragedy strikes and Hamnet dies at age 11, the family is shattered and emotionally distraught. It is this tragedy that leads Hamnetโs father, William, to retreat within himself and years later, write a play named Hamlet that will be performed in London.
There are several schools of thought involved when it comes to the inspiration behind โHamlet.โ While it cannot be definitively said that the death of Hamnet inspired Shakespeare to write the play, the story told in Hamnet does offer many parallels to suggest that much of the imagery and symbolism present in โHamletโ may be directly referencing the life the Shakespeares have known. What follows in Zhaoโs movie is nothing short of extraordinary. By tapping into the emotional and gut-wrenching aspects of its story and building the romance between Agnes and William in a powerful manner. The result is a masterwork from Zhao that ranks among the finest movies of 2025 and a devastating family tragedy that will likely have many shedding a tear by the end.
Much of Hamnetโs emotional punch comes from its two lead performances. As Agnes, Buckley delivers what may be her best performance to date, channeling the love and grief of a mother and a wife as the movie progresses in soul crushing ways, and conveying those feelings in a raw and unfiltered manner. The pain of Agnes is felt in every frame, and as she looks for ways to process that pain, trials, and tribulations that continue to plague her, Buckley lets those emotions come through very effectively. As Shakespeare, Mescal is very reserved with his emotions, letting them peek through the curtain every now and then, just so the audience can have a glimpse of what he feels underneath. There is love and warmth abundant within him, even if sometimes his colder exterior (unless he is with Agnes, particularly early on) sometimes signals otherwise. When the moments of emotional catharsis do arrive for them, they make them count.
Zhao’s direction and visual flair are complemented by ลukasz ลปalโs (Ida, Cold War, The Zone of Interest) gorgeous cinematography, bringing to life the lush and even industrial settings of Warwickshire and London vividly with his use of shadows and colors, given even more life by Max Richterโs wonderful score that adds its own emotional punch to the proceedings. That score is so effective that even when a very familiar piece by Richter is used at one point, it doesnโt take away from the power of the scene. That is a testament to Zhaoโs work and the terrific dialogue-less work from Buckley and Mescal in the moment, and makes for one of the yearโs best scenes.
By the time Hamnet reaches its climax, the final movie is nothing short of a masterpiece from Zhao. Every single aspect of its production exudes a level of talent and love that makes it hard not to be emotionally swept away. A loud collective sob was heard at the end of the screening attended by this critic, and that wasnโt surprising in the slightest. Hamnet is absolutely one of the yearโs best and worth every bit of praise it receives.
This week on the InSession Film Podcast, we discuss our most anticipated movies for the upcoming fall/winter season! Also, we have a laugh over our 1999 Retrospective blunder from last week and talk about Hamnet winning this year’s TIFF prize.
Check out this weekโs show and let us know what you think in the comment section. Thanks for listening and for supporting the InSession Film Podcast!
– 1999 Retrospective Recap (4:35) Our yearly retrospectives are always a lot of fun, but our 1999 Retrospective last week will be one for the books. For the most part, everything went seamlessly, however when we got to our #1 films of 1999, things kind of went off the rails in the funniest way possible. So we had to talk about how it happened and why it’s a moment we’ll never forget.ย
– Hamnet Wins TIFF (20:53) This year’s Toronto International Film Festival just wrapped up with Chloรฉ Zhao becoming the first filmmaker to win the People’s Choice Award twice as her latest film Hamnet took home the top prize. We wanted to talk about the electrifying buzz for the film coming out of TIFF and how it impacts our excitement for the film as we head into the fall season.
– 2025 Fall Preview (45:13) We structured our fall preview a little different this year. Instead of doing a conventional number ranking, or just a general conversation, we decided to do a tier ranking system. We grouped films by our most excited at the top, the movies we’re still quite excited for (even if not as much as Tier 1) in the middle, and those we’re curious about at the bottom. This allowed for us to categorize these movies while including a ton of titles that we might not have been able to otherwise. What are your most anticipated movies of the fall season?
If you want to help support us, there are several ways you can help us and we’d absolutely appreciate it. Every penny goes directly back into supporting the show and we are truly honored and grateful. Thanks for your support and for listening to the InSession Film Podcast!
Director:Paul Thomas Anderson Writer: Paul Thomas Anderson Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Sean Penn, Benicio del Toro, Regina Hall, Teyana Taylor, Chase Infiniti
Synopsis:Bob is a washed-up revolutionary who lives in a state of stoned paranoia, surviving off-grid with his spirited and self-reliant daughter, Willa. When his evil nemesis resurfaces and Willa goes missing, the former radical scrambles to find her as both father and daughter battle the consequences of their pasts.
Back in August, Leonardo DiCaprio gave an exceptionally long interview to Esquireโฆ sort of. The cover storyโs โwriterโ and photographer, insofar as conducting a free-flowing conversation in which questions play a prominent role makes someone the author of a magazine feature, was Paul Thomas Anderson, DiCaprioโs director in the then-upcoming collaboration between two of Hollywoodโs foremost giants. Teasing their first-ever pairing, Andersonโs One Battle After Another, cinemaโs greatest living auteur and his star spoke about regrets, aging, the role of cell phones in movies, how making a โpoliticalโ film can be a bit like eating your vegetables, and more, but itโs the topic of destiny that circles the entire exchange more than any others. โNo one can outrun whatโs inevitable,โ Anderson says. Heโs talking about Bob Ferguson/โGhetto Pat,โ DiCaprioโs character in the film, but one could read it as though heโs talking about himself.
Anderson further describes DiCaprioโs character as โsomeone who starts out wanting to change the world on the far left but gets increasingly cranky and closed off as he gets older.โ And while the specifics of that broad outline relate strictly to One Battle After Anotherโs principal figure and the attitude that fates him, swap โin cinemaโ for โon the far leftโ and youโre getting somewhere re: PTA. Perhaps it was always inevitable for the once-plucky upstart who made Boogie Nights and Magnolia before turning 30 โ and has since seen his filmography go almost entirely unrecognized by awards bodies in terms of actually winning anything โย to become a public figure who, like his Esquire discussion partner, โrarely give[s] interview[s].โ When he does, itโs probably for good reason. When he does, itโs probably going to be about the script that has been sitting on his desk (and its many narrative strands, those of which have been percolating in his mind) for the better part of two decades. โIn a way, none of them ever went out of style, because whatever seems to be happening politically seems to always be the same,โ he told DiCaprio. โSame shit, different year.โย
If that nugget of truth lands with a serious wallop in spite of its own self-evidence, then the punch packed by the film it applies to is more bruising and ferocious than any the writer-director has thrown before. With One Battle After Another, Anderson seems to have distilled decades of pent-up rage regarding societal decay; poignant ideas about the collective necessity to revolt and how oppositional forces aim to stunt a resistanceโs growth by any means necessary; and the long-gestating blueprint for his ideal action blockbuster into a wise, exhilarating, and frequently hysterical epic that meets the moment head-on with one bash to the skull after another. Bracing and concussive, itโs a film that would be the defining work of most filmmakersโ careers, a notion that only warrants debate given how many masterpieces Anderson had made before this one โ eight out of his nine features, for those keeping track at home. Wholly irrefutable is its relevance, a quality that only enhances its narrative brilliance and makes its depiction of a nightmare feel far more dreamlike as it is consumed.
(L-r) TEYANA TAYLOR as Perfidia and SEAN PENN as Col. Steven J. Lockjaw in โOne Battle After Another.โ A Warner Bros. Pictures Release. | Photo Courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures
Maybe thatโs the VistaVision talking, or the percussive nature of Jonny Greenwoodโs piano-dominant, career-best score, which retools the composerโs jittery tendencies in favor of controlled chaos. Or perhaps itโs the fact that its author, whose most โdivisiveโ projects (Inherent Vice, Licorice Pizza) still tend to be far superior to any of the other movies released in their respective calendar years thanks to Andersonโs unique knack for making the most absurd subsets of humanity seem somewhat normal, has chosen to view this tale of renegades and revolutionaries through that same lens. One Battle After Another begins with the ever-exceptional DiCaprioโs โGhetto Pat,โ the first of the two names he goes by in the film, joining the intoxicating Perfidia Beverly Hills (Teyana Taylor) and a smattering of other recognizable anarchists โ Regina Hall, Wood Harris, and Alana Haim among them โ in their efforts to free a horde of imprisoned migrants from a detention center near the California-Mexico border.ย
โMake a show. Impress me,โ Perfidia tells โPat,โ seemingly the squadโs explosives nut, not so much an expert but a fanatic with a set of reliable skills. Swarming the compound involves disarming and entrapping those guarding it, including Col. Steven J. Lockjaw (a twitchy, brilliant turn from Sean Penn), a task Perfidia claims with seductive glee, zip tying his wrists and sending him head over heels in love with her verve, white supremacist ideologies be damned. Itโs on Pat to set off the fireworks that announce the so-called French 75 vigilante groupโs โmothafuckinโ revolution,โ and once his pyrotechnic handiwork reaches the midnight sky, One Battle After Another takes off with it.ย
LEONARDO DI CAPRIO as Bob Ferguson in โOne Battle After Another.โ A Warner Bros. Pictures Release. | Photo Courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures
In short order, we watch as Pat and Perfidia fall for one another, welcome a baby girl, and drift apart as the new mother grows jealous of her partnerโs unflappable affection for their daughter, something that was once reserved for Perfidia and Perfidia alone. Sixteen years down the line, with his gal not-so-suddenly in the wind and his daughter, Willa (Chase Infiniti, deserving of the โrevelatoryโ distinctions sheโs sure to be showered with in the days and weeks to come) resenting him as he drinks and smokes his way into a perpetual fog, the man now known as Bob Ferguson โ after a necessary change of residence and name for anonymity, in case the law went searching for clues to Perfidiaโs whereabouts โ is faced with a new challenge: Rescuing/reuniting with his daughter, who is taken to safety after news of Lockjawโs resurfacing reaches the still-active French 75ers, the few of whom made it out from under his thumb back when their erstwhile leader first disappeared. To make matters more complex, heโs a lost and lonely soul whoโs not quite searching for purpose, but a better way to pass the time. (He watches and quotes The Battle of Algiers at one point, which is a start.)
Thatโs quite a bit to gnaw on for a small bite out of this 162-minute picture, and had Anderson chosen to formally adapt Thomas Pynchonโs โVinelandโ โ a distinct and intricate tome that ran fewer than 400 pages but packed in enough plot to fill a book triple the size โ for his 10th film, there would be even more to digest. For one, audiences would have to get used to Leonardo DiCaprio playing a dude named Zoyd Wheeler (which wouldโve been a hoot, honestly); moreover, they would have been subjected to what in all likelihood would have still been a relentlessly entertaining film, but a denser, more rambly one, too, the sort that Warner Bros. would have struggled to market even more than they did with One Battle After Another in its present, perfectly-commercial state. Instead, Anderson permissibly lifted the bits he most urgently required from Pynchonโs brilliant prose and weaved his own modern tale of rebellion from the yarn it provided. If there is a world in which Thomas Pynchon frequents his local multiplex, one can only hope that he makes it out to see the stroke of genius that his fourth novel inspired, a prescient depiction of ultramodern sociopolitical duress as confronted by those who truly believe in freedom and justice for all.
CHASE INFINITI as Willa Ferguson in โOne Battle After Another.โ A Warner Bros. Pictures Release. | Photo Courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures
Like any review and/or summary of โVineland,โ there are certain details that this account of One Battle After Another wouldnโt dare to divulge, such as the name of the elite underground (and strictly โracially pureโ) society that Pennโs Lockjaw, an insecure prick who would rather see a white world burn than a rainbowed one flourish, hopes to smarm his way into; or the answer to the coded question, โWhat time is it?โ that Bob canโt seem to answer, as teased in the filmโs teasers; or how Sensei Sergio (a hilarious Benicio del Toro) plays into it all apart from his urging that Bob jumps out of a moving car with reckless abandon, โjust like Tom fucking Cruise.โ Even saying this much about the performances within feels like a betrayal that would send one far outside of the French 75โs good graces, not necessarily into a world of hurt, but into one loaded with tripwires and lined with as many explosives as a trio of 70mm film canisters can carry. If one word of advice is permitted, it would be to see One Battle After Another in as large and loud an environment as possible, not only because itโs the way the filmmakers intended for it to be seen, but because itโs bound to loom in that capacity long after its note-perfect conclusion rolls around.ย
That โlarge and loudโ distinction is often limited to โblockbusters,โ a label that cinephiles (and Anderson himself) have never once prescribed to his films, and rightfully so. Yet to call him an โart-house director,โ as DiCaprio noted the filmmaker is often considered midway through their Esquire chat, feels like calling the Russo Brothers โindie darlings.โ Except that, in the case of PTA, the cinematic language he speaks is one of his own creation, the sort that vibrates like the purr emanating off of a satisfying drumroll and can be acquired by no one else. Thereโs no Duolingo for this parlance, just an understanding or a lack thereof, and an acceptance that its timelessness is a functioning pillar of its excellence. Speaking to DiCaprio, Anderson noted that heโs desperate โto hold on to any shred of the Olden Times thatโs left,โ a deliberate act of denial and a search for nostalgia. Thankfully, he also acknowledged the irony woven into his own philosophy: โThe best part of life is the constant forward momentum. It only moves in one direction, so hop on and hold tight.โ In other words, itโs a hilly ride not unlike One Battle After Another, though its valleys function as peaks regardless of the sudden change in altitude. One might compare such an experience to that of riding a rollercoaster. In this case, the word โmasterpieceโ works just as well.ย
One Battle After Another opens in theaters on Sept. 26.
