Paul Thomas Anderson’s latest adaptation, One Battle After Another, is a dark comedy that explores the American paranoia about race through its portrayal of Sean Penn as Colonel Steven J. Lockjaw. In an alternate reality, Lockjaw is a commanding officer at an immigrant detention facility, where he becomes obsessed with a far-left revolutionary, Perfidia Beverly Hills (Teyana Taylor), after a night of forced intimacy.
As the story unfolds, Lockjaw’s character represents the modern right-wing counterreaction and Trumpism, but his motivations are rooted in acceptance rather than power. The film takes creative liberties with Thomas Pynchon’s novel, Vineland, to explore this theme.
Lockjaw is played by Sean Penn for comedic effect, showcasing a painfully stiff and clueless weirdo who embodies the hypocrisy of modern American ideology. Despite this, Lockjaw remains an agent of the state, relentlessly pursuing his targets until the bitter end.
The film highlights the absurdity of the Christmas Adventurers Club, a white supremacist group that offers membership to Lockjaw pending background checks. This plot twist reveals the club’s shallow solidarity and eventual downfall.
Throughout the movie, Anderson expertly contrasts the ugliness of Lockjaw’s mission with Penn’s comedic portrayal. The outcome is both darkly humorous and thought-provoking, leaving audiences questioning the nuances of American politics and society.
Source: https://www.theringer.com/2025/09/30/movies/colonel-lockjaw-sean-penn-one-battle-after-another-movie