Francis Ford Coppola reviews One Battle After Another, says he found the name of Sean Penn’s character ‘weird’
Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another has received widespread acclaim from fans and critics alike since its release. Now Academy Award-winning filmmaker Francis Ford Coppola, who made The Godfather films, has seen the film and shared his honest review on his Instagram account. Coppola said he intends to watch the film a second time because he was confused in some parts because of his hearing condition.
What Coppola said
In the caption of his latest post, Coppola began, “I went a few days ago to a theater in Rome so I could see Paul Thomas Anderson’s ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER with a big audience. The fact that my hearing’s not so good, and the subtitles were in Italian, made the experience challenging. I am a fan of PTA’s unique films, beginning of course with BOOGIE NIGHTS, and one of my all-time favorites, PUNCH DRUNK LOVE, along with PHANTOM THREAD, THE MASTER, and recently LICORICE PIZZA. Something I love about his films is that he allows you to form your own opinions without diminishing his own. Much like a Kubrick film, I would like to see this a second time…”
He added how he found the name of Sean Penn’s character ‘weird’ in the film, and wrote, “I love the fact that it was an action story set in what’s really going on in America today, a fictional thriller with a setting that is the real thing. I think one of my misunderstandings came from Sean Penn’s character “Lockjaw” and not being sure exactly who he was. His weird name made me link him immediately to Kubrick’s General Buck Turdgidson as played by George C. Scott, a military type but lower level so he could rise through up the ranks, making Colonel and not the big chief of all military matters.”
‘It’s a film I want to see a second time’
“For me, after one audience viewing, I felt that just as things were getting going, there came a 16-year pause. Although now that I know that, for subsequent viewings, I will be able to enjoy focusing on the characters and all the memorable performances of Leo, Sean, Benicio del Toro, Regina Hall, Teyana Taylor, Tony Goldwyn and Chase Infiniti. It’s a film I want to see a second time: the problem with my hearing no doubt played a part in my confusion on certain things, but then the film emerged into the love story that it is; father and his one daughter, and as you can imagine, very moving to me,” he concluded.
One Battle After Another stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Sean Penn, Benicio del Toro, Regina Hall, Teyana Taylor and Chase Infiniti. The film revolves around a washed-up former revolutionary, Bob, who lives off-grid with his spirited daughter, Willa. Their secluded life is shattered when Bob’s nemesis, a man known as Lockjaw, resurfaces after 16 years, leading to Willa’s disappearance and forcing Bob to confront his violent past to rescue her. The film was released in theatres on September 26.
