One of the most original voices in American film has released a new movie and it is causing a splash. Paul Thomas Anderson’s “One Battle After Another” is a strange and ambitious comic epic that dares to put onscreen our current political moment in a way that dramatizes, satirizes, and makes a statement. It’s already generating considerable Oscar buzz.

In it, Leonardo DiCaprio stars as Bob, introduced in a prologue sequence (no time frame is given, the movie takes place in a perpetual reflection of the present) as an explosives and pyrotechnics expert raising havoc with a revolutionary group, before everything goes south and he ends up a burnt-out stoner hiding from his past and trying to raise a daughter on his own. When an unhinged colonel named Lockjaw, played by Sean Penn, finally catches up with him almost twenty years later, all hell breaks loose.

Loosely inspired by Thomas Pynchon’s 1990 novel “Vineland,” and shot on a seldom-used large format film process called VistaVision, this is a difficult movie to properly summarize. There are many plot threads and major characters, several complicated key relationships, and plenty of unexpected story beats. 

Anderson establishes a rapid pace at the beginning and rarely lets up. It’s a lot of movie, even for a nearly three-hour runtime.

What’s impressive to realize, once it’s over, is that a modern film can be this complicated, inventive, and impossible to define, yet remain a coherent film. I’d like to tell you about some of my favorite moments — like Bob’s enraged phone call, or the bizarre scene set inside the compound of the “Christmas Adventurers’ Club,” or the thrilling final chase sequence — but it’s better if you just see for yourself.

Anderson maintains an assured grasp of his emotions and characters, never losing sight of them throughout the chaos. There’s enormous risk in the way he balances tone, combining major action set pieces with political commentary, a sense of chilling reality with the comically absurd, and even raunchy humor with poignant drama.

But finally, he’s telling a grounded, passionate story about a father and a daughter trying to show up for and love one another in incredibly difficult circumstances. We’re following people we can understand, who care about the world and want to make a difference in the face of almost utter hopelessness. This core story manages to make everything else work.

DiCaprio delivers what must be his most manic performance since “The Wolf of Wall Street.” Bob has reduced himself to such an incompetent loser that by the time the plot kicks him into action, he’s forced to spend much of his time frantically attempting to figure out what he’s actually doing, and trying to get simple, straight answers from the people around him. 

He’s fried his brain so bad he doesn’t even remember the secret codes that are supposed to keep him safe and reconnect him with his allies. As a result, he’s in a constant state of panicked, furious confusion. DiCaprio is hysterically funny throughout. 

There is phenomenal supporting work from the entire ensemble, with many standout performances. Newcomer Chase Infiniti plays Bob’s intelligent and frustrated daughter, who gets thrown into some extremely frightening situations and handles herself extraordinarily well. 

Regina Hall, best known for her work in broad comedies like “Scary Movie,” gets to show what a gifted dramatic actress she is, playing one of Bob’s old revolutionary friends, worn out after years in hiding. 

Meanwhile, Teyana Taylor plays Bob’s estranged wife, who vanishes early on when she decides domestic life isn’t for her. It’s a fiery performance that leaves exactly the lingering impression necessary.

Then there’s Sean Penn as Colonel Lockjaw. Penn is already being talked about as an Oscar frontrunner this year, and Lockjaw is without doubt the best role he’s played in a long time. This is a thoroughly cold-blooded character. Penn keeps his face rigid and stone-like, projecting almost inhuman self-discipline. Lockjaw’s decisions, however, often veer into the unpredictable and irrational, revealing a character masking some deep insecurities and perversities.

Lockjaw embodies the authoritarian tendencies of modern America. He is shown emotionlessly running immigration internment camps. We witness him staging secret raids and manipulating protests until they explode into riots. The character is scary and believable and, in a tremendous achievement of writing and acting, he also manages to be fascinating and funny. Lockjaw’s helpless and pathetic side rises to the surface by the story’s end, and against all odds, he actually inspires some pity in his sad, empty final moments onscreen. 

Almost alone among major releases this year (aside from Ari Aster’s under-appreciated and perhaps even more relevant “Eddington”), “One Battle After Another” is fearlessly examining the world we currently inhabit. It’s an angry comment on politics and power, with Anderson exploring the heaviest of subject matter — oppression and resistance, racism and violence, polarization and extremism — and reflecting onscreen our country’s recent descent into fascistic terror. Somehow, he’s packaged those statements as an inspired satire, a moving family drama, and a thrilling action ride.