How the Editing of 'One Battle After Another' Earned an Oscar Nomination
How the editing of 'One Battle After Another' transformed it into an Oscar-nominated masterpiece.
As the Oscars get closer, P.T Anderson’s ‘One Battle After Another’ is one of the few films that garnered massive attention and love from the viewers as well as critics. Despite, it performing underwhelming numbers at the box office, the film still left an impact on those who watched it. Many of those who didn't like the film explained their stance by claiming the story felt all over the place, and multiple plotlines and themes felt jumbled. For those who enjoyed the film have agreed with what the critics of the film have said, and have further claimed the intricate and unique style of editing saved the film, and perhaps gave it the record-breaking number of nominations the film received.
The movie, inspired by Thomas Pynchon's 1990 novel Vineland, stars Leonardo DiCaprio as a beleaguered ex-revolutionary trying to keep his daughter Willa (Chase Infiniti) safe as his own identity becomes compromised. The film is a commentary on the current polarization in Western politics and in the end ends up becoming a critique of both sides of the political spectrum.
Andy Jurgensen is the editor of the film and has been nominated for his first Oscar. He began collaborating with the director P.T Anderson in 2014, when he served as assistant editor for Inherent Vice. Since then, he has worked on several high-profile projects with Anderson, including Phantom Thread and Licorice Pizza. His editing techniques and overall composition of the film are what make the several plotlines of the film merge together beautifully, creating a perfect cinema experience.
The brilliance of the film’s editing can be seen in the first 30 minutes of the film, wherein we are introduced to almost every single character in what seems like a montage of events taking place. We instantly connect with the French 24 and the complexity of Beverly Hills (Teanna Taylor), Bob Ferguson (Leonardo DiCaprio), Steven Lockjaw (Sean Penn), and Wila Ferguson (Chase Infiniti). Another brilliant editing was the climactic epic chase sequence, where we truly get an adrenaline rush while watching it. It was truly a pathbreaking, never-before-witnessed scene that captivates you till the end. The other unique aspect of the editing is that viewers noticed was the blend of music and the scenes in the film, and how perfectly it suited the overall film.
In an interview with ScreenRant, Jurgensen highlighted the importance of hitting the right notes in One Battle After Another. The editor shared how he approached character-driven moments, such as a significant encounter between Perfidia (Teyana Taylor) and Lockjaw (Sean Penn), and why music was an instrumental part of the creative process. Andy Jurgensen shed some light on the usage of music and how he interacted with his team
“He's ( director P.T Anderson) just so good with music and songs, and he has so many great ideas. I was traveling with production, and we were screening dailies at the end of each night. That's where we're starting to experiment with the music and needle drops, and even some of the score. We were getting stuff during production, so he could just play it on his phone through the sound system as we were watching the raw dailies. It gave us an idea of whether something could work with a scene.
Steely Dan was locked in, but we would just play Jackson 5 in dailies sometimes, whenever there was a car chase. I remember a shot where Lockjaw's landed off the helicopter, they're briefing all the police officers, then driving away, and the cars are being followed. We had a lot more footage of that, so we were playing ‘Ready or Not Here I Come (Can't Hide from Love), there at one point during dailies.
Lyrically, it kind of worked. But as we were building the movie, it just worked so well in that hospital scene and connected to everybody. I just remember looking over at Paul, and we both had a smile on our faces. It was a bright moment in the music that launches you into the next thing.” (excerpt from the ScreenRant interview)
Andy Jurgersen, who has been nominated for the Oscars 2026, has already won a BAFTA this year for his outstanding work. It will be interesting to witness what the outcome would be this year, as there is tough competition from Stephen Mirrone for F1 and Michael P. Shawver for Sinners. Nevertheless, it can't be denied that ‘One Battle After Another’ had one of the best editing works in recent times, and it is one of Jurgensen’s best works.
This article is authored by Satvik, AVP, a student of Loyola College, Secunderabad, interning with Deccan Chronicle.