Each actor did a solid job of carrying their respective scenes. Of course, Leonardo DiCaprio delivered as the greasy Bob, and Sean Penn did an excellent job of playing a repulsively racist military official with a funny walk. By far, the standout character was Willa, Bob’s daughter, played by Chase Infiniti. Surprisingly, this is her first credited film, which does not come across through her excellent performance as an actually effective Gen-Z character. Her performance was certainly worthy of a “Best Supporting Actress” nomination at the Academy Awards, and she would certainly be a strong contender for the win. Infiniti was captivating in all of her scenes, and it was a pleasant surprise to see her character, a young kidnapping victim, behave competently in a modern film.

Another star performance was Benicio del Toro, who played Sensei. His character was one of the most intriguing parts of the film, especially when he is revealed to be something of a revolutionary himself. Each scene between him and Bob was a comedic highlight, and his character added another facet to the film’s themes on hispanic immigration that it would not be the same without. He was a joy to watch, especially his silly dance in one of his last scenes.

The film’s score was incredibly engaging as well, matching the scenes perfectly, and the soundtrack included several playlist-worthy needle-drops that left me kicking my feet in the theatre. The highlight of the movie has to be the scene with the hilled road chase during the climax, but there were several awesome sequences that leave a striking impact post-viewing; for example, when “Ready or Not” by the Jackson 5 kicked in and Bob escaped the hospital, as well as the sequence where Bob and Sensei are hiding out in his place.

Of course, the film is not without its flaws. There were some story beats that didn’t quite feel necessary. Avoiding spoilers, it was undeniably an odd choice to bring back a certain character only to kill him off minutes later by the same group of people. There was simply no point narratively for that to happen. The character of Perfidia (Teyana Taylor) also felt very underutilized. She ran away, but it felt like there were several aspects to her character that could have been explored more before her disappearance. At the same time, it is still understandable and, in a way, somewhat works. Viewers get to know her about as little as the other people in her life did before she disappeared.

As a result of the segments with Perfidia during the first act, the film felt rather segmented. The pacing was solid, but at times, it felt like they were setting up two different stories with different tones, dramatic and comedic, to the point where it’s quite interesting that Anderson submitted his film under the comedy category for the Oscars. While the film is very funny at times, the biggest part of its identity is in its drama and social commentary. It feels similar to how FX original series “The Bear” was always in the comedy category at the Emmys despite being very dramatic at its core. 

Overall, the film is still certainly beyond worth watching if you have the time. It is an original story, which is incredibly hard to come by nowadays, and is very thought-provoking for viewers. It has great performances that will most definitely be nominated during awards season this year, and stellar directing from Paul Thomas Anderson himself. ✮