When Scorsese Stands Up, Hollywood Listens
There are compliments, and then there are consecrations. Last night at the Directors Guild of America Theater in Los Angeles, Martin Scorsese moderated a post-screening Q&A for Paul Thomas Anderson's One Battle After Another. The response? A standing ovation that refused to quit, followed by Scorsese himself declaring it “a fascinating and extraordinarily made film” with “extraordinary performances everywhere.”
For cinephiles, this wasn't just another industry event. It was one master filmmaker blessing another—and not in passing, but with a full-throated endorsement.
The Year's Best-Reviewed American Film
Happy One Battle After Another week. Anderson's sprawling, $150 million adaptation of Thomas Pynchon's Vineland officially arrives in theaters on Friday, September 27, 2025. Already, critics have christened it the best-reviewed American release of the year. On Metacritic and Rotten Tomatoes, the spread isn't close.
The story follows Leonardo DiCaprio as a washed-up revolutionary forced back into the fray when an old adversary resurfaces and threatens his teenage daughter. Around him swirls a heavyweight ensemble: Sean Penn, Benicio del Toro, Regina Hall, Teyana Taylor, and breakout newcomer Chase Infiniti. The performances, as Scorsese stressed, are not ornamental—they're the architecture.
A Political Film for a Polarized Age
Scorsese didn't stop at craft. He noted the film's “thematic points” were “on spot right now.” That matters. Anderson's films have always been rich in texture, but One Battle is the rare PTA project to explicitly grapple with ideological division. In a cultural moment where every story risks being weaponized, Anderson's balancing act—political but not polemical, human but unsparing—feels especially vital.
Watching DiCaprio stagger through the contradictions of an old movement now splintered by modern reality is brutal and exhilarating. Gorgeous. Grating. Gorgeous again.
Oscar Buzz: Can PTA Finally Win?
Here's the irony: Paul Thomas Anderson has been nominated for six Academy Awards but has never won. Not for There Will Be Blood. Not for Phantom Thread. Not even for the screenplay of Boogie Nights.
That's why this moment feels different. Scorsese's presence on stage wasn't just collegial—it was strategic. Just weeks ago, he and Steven Spielberg appeared together in conversation, both openly advocating for stronger recognition of visionary directors in an increasingly IP-driven industry. Add Scorsese's stamp to the already glowing reception, and suddenly One Battle After Another has the air of inevitability.
Anderson may not care about Oscars. But the people championing him clearly do.
The Box Office Test
According to Deadline, Anderson's $150 million gamble is projected to open around $20 million domestically. That's respectable for a prestige drama, but nowhere near blockbuster territory. Whether critical momentum can push it higher is the open question.
The truth? This isn't a film designed for opening-weekend dominance. It's built to endure. A movie that grows legs because audiences need to talk about it, fight about it, see it twice just to process what it's doing. If the standing ovations keep coming, word of mouth will carry the load.
Why Scorsese's Support Matters
It's worth pausing on what it means for Scorsese to step outside his frequent A24 orbit and throw weight behind a non–A24 title. This isn't casual. It's intentional. The old guard of American cinema—Scorsese, Spielberg, Nolan—are signaling that Anderson represents more than a personal favorite. He represents continuity.
In an era when studios are panicking over superhero fatigue and algorithmic content churn, One Battle After Another looks like an argument for why original, difficult, unflinching work still belongs on the biggest screens.
5 Reasons One Battle After Another Is Already a Landmark
- Scorsese's Endorsement – A master validating another master, turning the film into a cultural event.
- DiCaprio at His Rawest – Less Gatsby polish, more bruised revolutionary.
- A Political Edge – The film stares down polarization without cheap catharsis.
- Oscar Energy – Six nominations behind him, Anderson may finally break through.
- Scale and Risk – A $150 million Pynchon adaptation in 2025 is, frankly, audacious.
Final Thoughts
Watching Scorsese praise Anderson is more than just a nice headline—it's a generational passing of the torch. A signal that One Battle After Another isn't just another prestige drama but a work meant to be fought over, remembered, maybe even canonized.
I walked out of the Q&A buzzing with one thought: cinema still has battles worth fighting.
Anderson's film opens September 27, 2025. Don't just see it. Wrestle with it.
What about you? Do you think One Battle After Another can finally deliver Paul Thomas Anderson his long overdue Oscar—or is this another masterwork destined to be admired, not awarded?
