{"id":94842,"date":"2025-09-18T22:53:00","date_gmt":"2025-09-18T22:53:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=94842"},"modified":"2025-09-18T22:53:00","modified_gmt":"2025-09-18T22:53:00","slug":"leonardo-dicaprio-on-why-his-new-film-addresses-divisiveness-in-our-culture","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sotnews.agency\/?p=94842","title":{"rendered":"Leonardo DiCaprio on why his new film addresses \u2018divisiveness in our culture\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
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One Battle After Another, the film starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Benicio del Toro and Sean Penn, has been 20 years in the making, according to its filmmaker, Paul Thomas Anderson.<\/p>\n

DiCaprio stars as Bob, a paranoid ex-revolutionary living off-grid, who reunites with former accomplices as he\u2019s forced to confront an old nemesis after his daughter goes missing.<\/p>\n

Director Anderson came up with the idea for the film, which also stars Teyana Taylor and Regina Hall, more than two decades ago, loosely inspired by Thomas Pynchon\u2019s 1990 novel Vineland.<\/p>\n

DiCaprio, who won an Oscar in 2016 for survival epic The Revenant, told the BBC the film reflects what he sees as the growing polarisation in society.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt holds a mirror up to society and talks about the divisiveness in our culture and the fact that there\u2019s so much polarity.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Wolf of Wall Street actor explained that while he doesn\u2019t feel like there\u2019s a central message to the film, \u201cthere\u2019s an interesting undercurrent about extremism\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s political without making it feel like medicine,\u201d he adds.<\/p>\n

Critics have praised DiCaprio\u2019s performance as an ex-revolutionary who confronts an old nemesis<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Usual Suspects actor del Toro plays martial arts instructor Sergio, who comes to Bob\u2019s help when he\u2019s under threat.<\/p>\n

He explains that the film \u201csays something about its time\u201d but \u201cit\u2019s also entertaining, fun and has a lot of heart\u201d.<\/p>\n

Del Toro was most excited about having been able to work with DiCaprio, whom he has \u201cadmired and wanted to work with for many years\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cLeo and I are from the same class if Hollywood were a university \u2013 I\u2019ve met him many times, and then finally we got a chance to work together.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a dream come true, and he\u2019s very funny in real life and in the movie.\u201d<\/p>\n

Starring alongside DiCaprio is Benicio del Toro, Chase Infiniti, Teyana Taylor and Sean Penn<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

One Battle After Another is part political satire, part black comedy and part action blockbuster, and DiCaprio says overall the film \u201cfinds the humanity in all the central characters\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s about the people in the film and the characters \u2013 I\u2019m a flawed protagonist \u2013 you can relate to them and their struggles and that\u2019s not an easy thing to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Titanic star previously told Entertainment Tonight\u00a0his character is the opposite of Tom Cruise in Mission: Impossible, as Bob \u201cdoes everything wrong and doesn\u2019t land or stick any of his stunts\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u2018Surefire Oscar frontrunner\u2019<\/h2>\n

The film has been warmly received by critics, with most of them awarding it five stars.<\/p>\n

The Independent\u2019s Clarisse Loughrey hailed it\u00a0as a \u201cferocious American masterpiece\u201d that is \u201cswaggering, funny and a timely action epic\u201d.<\/p>\n

In a five-star review, The Guardian\u2019s Peter Bradshaw said\u00a0the film\u2019s themes of \u201cdissent, discontent and the lonely heroism of not fitting in\u201d are made more interesting as \u201cthese ideas are very unfashionable in the US right now\u201d.<\/p>\n

The Telegraph\u2019s Robbie Collin also gave a five-star review, and praised the acting.<\/p>\n

\u201cPenn is a knockout tragicomic villain: it\u2019s his best performance in years,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n

He added that DiCaprio \u201castounds \u2013 frazzled and absurd yet also sweet and even noble, he evokes Jack Nicholson in his prime\u201d.<\/p>\n

The Times\u2019s Kevin Maher awarded the film four-stars, calling it a \u201ccareer high\u201d for Shutter Island actor DiCaprio, adding the film is \u201ca surefire Oscar frontrunner\u201d.<\/p>\n

Maher said Anderson, operating with an alleged budget of $175m, was working on \u201chis most ambitious canvas\u201d and concluded the film has an \u201ceasy best picture Oscar nomination in the bag\u201d.<\/p>\n

DiCaprio said that Anderson has \u201cdone a lot of films, but in this one, he really went for it\u201d.<\/p>\n

Anderson also directed 2017\u2019s Phantom Thread and 2007\u2019s There Will Be Blood, both of which won Oscars.<\/p>\n

Praising the filmmaker, DiCaprio called him \u201ca visionary and seminal director\u201d.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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