How Is Paul Thomas Anderson's 'One Battle After Another' Based on This Modern Classic Novel?

Paul Thomas Anderson’sOne Battle After Another is finally here, and yes, it’s every bit as confounding, ambitious, and star-stuffed as the trailers promised. The action-packed thriller marks the director’s first collaboration with Oscar-winner Leonardo DiCaprio, who plays the movie’s de facto protagonist Bob Ferguson, a former radical explosives expert now raising a teenage daughter in the redwoods of Northern California, only to realize old mistakes are like ticking time bombs. Sean Penn, Benicio del Toro, Regina Hall, Teyana Taylor, and newcomer Chase Infiniti fill in the gaps as Anderson’s tale careens from small-town paranoia to adrenaline-pumping set pieces worthy of a multi-million-dollar blockbuster, which is exactly what the film hopes to become.PTA veered from his path-often-taking way of filmmaking for this passion project, taking nearly two decades to shape the story, working within a jaw-dropping $130 million budget, and navigating sky-high studio expectations, all while refusing to screen at film festivals, thus building anticipation for what has become one of the most talked-about cinematic events of the year.