One Battle After Another – New York Film Critics Circle

Esther Zuckerman on One Battle After Another

Esther Zuckerman January 9, 2026 January 9, 2026 Essays

Steely Dan is the key. Not just the “crackling tube sound” that Bob Ferguson, played by Leonardo DiCaprio, says his friend is trying to achieve, but the way in which Paul Thomas Anderson works the band’s 1972 song “Dirty Work” into his masterpiece, One Battle After Another, our winner for …

Sam Adams on Benicio del Toro for One Battle After Another

Sam Adams January 9, 2026 January 9, 2026 Essays

There are supporting performances and there are load-bearing ones, turns so essential to a movie’s existence that without them the whole structure might crumble to the ground. At first glance, Benicio del Toro’s Sergio St. Carlos might seem a mere sidekick, the buddy who gets One Battle After Another’s Bob …