Reviewed by Colin Jacobson (January 18, 2026)
When we last saw filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson, he created 2021’s fairly light “coming of age” tale Licorice Pizza. Anderson followed with something darker via 2025’s One Battle After Another.
Lovers Pat Calhoun (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Perfidia Beverly Hills (Teyana Taylor) operate as part of a radical left “revolutionary” group called French 75. Eager to continue the fight, Perfidia flees after she delivers a baby they name Charlene but she ends up in witness protection when she gives up the identities of her colleagues to military officer Steven Lockjaw (Sean Penn), a right-wing leader with whom she developed an unlikely sexual connection.
16 years later, Pat – who now goes by “Bob Ferguson” – and Charlene – now “Willa” (Chase Infiniti) – live off the grid to avoid legal entanglements. Now eager to join a racist secret society, Lockjaw believes Willa is his child.
So he can hide his past indiscretions, Lockjaw seeks to kill Charlene/Willa and remove evidence of that affair. Despite his current status as a paranoid stoner, Pat/Bob attempts to protect her by any means necessary.
As I write this in mid-January 2026, Another stands as the apparent favorite to take home the Best Picture Oscar. I’ll feel pleased if it does so, but not because I think Another delivers a great piece of work.
No – I’d like this more as a recognition of Anderson’s body of work over the last few decades. From Boogie Nights to date, Anderson doesn’t always hit the mark, but he displays too much talent and too many strong films to remain an Oscar bridesmaid forever.
I just wish I felt more strongly that Another deserves Best Picture on its own merits. While I think it provides a good film, I can’t hop on board with views of its alleged greatness.
Though I can say I liked it more on second viewing than when I initially saw it. Inevitably, the glowing reviews it garnered impacted my expectations.
Because I couldn’t see why Another churned such praise, that initial screening left me semi-cold. My subsequent time through the film leaves me more enamored of it, though still not to a level that I think it turns into anything better than pretty good.
Perhaps my chief “complaint” stems from the manner in which Another shifts tone. Even though I noted at the start that it gives us something more serious than Licorice Pizza, that doesn’t mean it lacks a lighter tone.
Anderson melds drama and action and satire and vaguely goofball comedy here. He just doesn’t do so terribly smoothly.
Some of this relates to the characters themselves. While Willa and most of the others come across as real people, Pat/Bob seems like a riff on the Dude from Big Lebowski, and Lockjaw feels like a role straight out of Dr. Strangelove.
Admittedly, neither Bob nor Lockjaw play as overtly comedic as their forebears. In particular, DiCaprio helps make Bob seem fairly believable despite his stoner goofiness.
Penn does fine as Lockjaw but he can’t quite overcome the role’s basic limitations. Lockjaw simply exists as too much of a stereotype for Penn to bring dimensionality to the role.
With these two as our ostensible leads, we find a movie with tonal shifts that don’t consistently click. Anderson doesn’t consistently integrate the satire and comedy into the rest of the film.
I don’t want to overstate this domain, as the shifts don’t feel out of nowhere or truly jarring. However, they do create a lack of flow at times.
At its heart, Another exists as a thriller about a man’s search for his daughter. It works best without the political and social elements, as those can feel like windowdressing.
Not that I think Another should lack those perspectives entirely. I just feel they can seem extraneous at times and create distractions.
I remain fully on the side of the political aisle that supports the film's political message but Anderson shoehorns it in without nuance. It feels like he just wants to create a social statement more than make it fit a storytelling narrative.
When taken at its core narrative about Bob and Willa, the movie works very well. The subplot related to whether or not Lockjaw sired her can feel unnecessary, as I think the story could find other ways to threaten Willa without that gimmick.
Nonetheless, as we see Bob’s attempts to rescue Willa, the movie kicks into gear, as Bob may be a screw-up, but he’s a devoted screw-up. Maybe the movie receives fewer plaudits without its social commentary but I think it probably fares best as cinema.
Sometimes I watch a hugely praised movie and it connects with me. Sometimes I watch a hugely praised movie and wonder what those rave reviews saw I didn't.
Another continues to fall somewhere in between, as it did keep me with it and it worked in general. I just couldn't find much here that I thought made the film great.
