Leonardo DiCaprio had been wanting to work with Paul Thomas Anderson for nearly 30 years.
With their first partnership, One Battle After Another, (loosely based on Thomas Pynchon novel, Vineland), finally hitting theatres, DiCaprio’s glad they’re teaming up for a project that blends so many of the genres he loves, including action and political satire.
DiCaprio plays Bob Ferguson, a one-time member of a revolutionary group, forced back into action when a ruthless enemy from his past (Sean Penn), resurfaces and his teenage daughter (newcomer Chase Infiniti, in her film debut) goes missing.
Roused from his mid-life malaise, Bob embarks on a mission to find his child with the help of her resourceful martial-arts instructor (Benicio Del Toro).
The actor, who worked with Anderson on 2014’s Inherent Vice, says that working with the moviemaker is a dream for any actor.
“I think working with Paul is one of those things that any actor would want,” the 58-year-old Sicario star says.” … And I’m no different.”
Speaking over Zoom from Los Angeles, DiCaprio and Del Toro, in an exclusive interview, talk about their experience making One Battle After Another.
Q: Leo, why was One Battle After Another the perfect film for your first team up with Anderson?
DiCaprio: Because it’s an incredibly entertaining epic that’s topical. He’s been writing it, and thinking about it for decades now. The fact that it’s coming out right now, it’s really a mirror for what’s going on in politics and our world and our society. He created these incredibly flawed characters that have different ideologies, but they’re convinced they’re doing the right thing. He made it a satire, which I think was incredibly important. This isn’t a film that is imposing a political belief system. … It’s a film that makes you think, but there’s an emotional undercurrent underneath it all of trying to discover where the humanity is in an incredibly chaotic mixed-up world, and he does it in such a hilarious way, too.
Q: Benicio, what was it like being asked to be a part of this story?
Del Toro: It’s always great to work with a filmmaker that you admire. The thing with Paul is he encourages you to bring yourself into the character. … Having the opportunity to work with Leo, also, was a great cherry on the cake.
Q: There are some car chase scenes, Benicio, in which you’re behind the wheel and Leo is hanging out the window. What was that like?
Del Toro: That’s a lot of trust … I knew I had the diamond sitting on the window of the car. I knew I had to be careful. I knew I had to pay attention. I knew I had to be sensei in every sense of the word.
DiCaprio: He’s one of the best damn drivers in the business.
Q: Paul’s working with a lot of big themes here. How did he pitch this to you?
DiCaprio: Many of the movies that I enjoy watching are films that have had a lot of thought put into them … He’s been tinkering around with how to create this story… for years … To me, it was just one of those rare opportunities that doesn’t come along … It’s rare for a film to come out that is in the zeitgeist of what we’re talking about in today’s day and age that is this thought out. A lot of films that want to seem topical come across rushed. This is something Paul put a tremendous amount of thought into and you feel it when you watch the movie. You feel like these characters could exist, and these worlds could exist.
Q: How about you, Benicio. What was his pitch like to you?
Del Toro: ‘It’s happening baby!’ (laughs). He just said, he had this movie. Leo was already in it. I think I might have been the second one onboard. I didn’t even ask for the script. I said, ‘Sure.’ That’s what happens when you have a filmmaker like Paul Thomas Anderson. We’re both cinephiles. We love movies. We want to be in good movies. So, when a filmmaker like Paul reaches out to you, it’s a gift. I can’t answer it any other way. It’s a no-brainer to say yes, then you deal with the part and the script.
Q: If there’s one theme that you hope resonates after audiences watch One Battle After Another, what would it be?
DiCaprio: The premise of this was based on the Weathermen of the late 1960s; people who were speaking out; people who were speaking out on civil rights, Vietnam, imperialism, capitalism. So, what if that was put into a modern context? How in the day and age that we’re in, how do we communicate any more? There’s so much disagreement, and Paul’s just holding a mirror up to society … But at the heart of this movie, you have characters that have a humanity to them. They’re just trying to do the right thing. They’re just trying to reconnect with their family and create family. He’s able to tackle these complex issues, but it’s the humanity in these characters. They feel like real people and it’s very relatable to mass audiences. I just hope that people will go out and see it because it’s a truly original concept by a filmmaker that’s trying to do something different.
mdaniell@postmedia.com
