Regina Hall on Becoming a Watchful, Reactive Protector Yet Complicated Revolutionary in ‘One Battle After Another’ [VIDEO INTERVIEW]
Eight minutes and six seconds. That’s how long actress Regina Hall has on screen within Paul Thomas Anderson’s epic One Battle After Another, as she portrays Deandra, aka Lady Champagne, a leader of the French 75, a revolutionary group that looks to change the status quo and is quickly dissolved by the viscous Steve Lockjaw and his military goons. With this, Deandra and the surviving members of the French 75 have to go into hiding, till Lockjaw resurfaces looking to capture Bob and Willa Ferguson (Leonardo DiCaprio, Chase Infiniti), therefore, Deandra must come out of hiding to do her best to save her former friends and the first child of the French 75. If it sounds like a lot, it’s because even with her minimal screen time, Hall (with the help of Anderson’s elaborate, excellent screenplay) delivers a significant, vital role with her most complex performance to date, leaving a lasting impression every time she appears within One Battle.
Hall, a D.C native and graduate of Fordham University (English) and New York University (Journalism), has been an actress on screen for close to thirty years, mostly known for her comedic work in The Best Man, Girls Trip, Think Like a Man, and the Scary Movie franchise. In recent years, Hall has balanced out the comedies with some of her best work of her careers, most notably in 2018’s Support the Girls, where she was nominated for Best Actress at the Gotham Awards and the Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead, as well as won the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress. Matching her stellar performance in that film lies her richly detailed work within One Battle, a role that our own Sophia Ciminello highlighted in her review, stating that this is a “new kind of role for Hall, absent of the familiar comedic tones from her earlier work” and has “a warm, steady through-line that begins as an early, constant presence and evolves into a protective figure to Willa in Perfidia’s absence.” Hall’s performance is richly layered, and as viewers see the film on multiple rewatches, the more her marvelous work stands out.
In my recent conversation with Hall, we discussed about getting the call from PTA (a friend of hers long before shooting the film) that he wanted her to play Deandra, her initial thoughts on the role, and the conversations her and PTA had about Deandra style of leadership within the French 75 and how it might clash with Perfidia. We also spoke about how Deandra sees the downfall of the revolutionary group happen before everyone else, creating her on-screen dynamic with her co-star Chase Infiniti, throwing Willa’s cell phone out the window, struggling with the regrets of her past, and Deandra’s heartbreaking last moments before she is never seen again, which Hall intended to play differently but changed because of her love and respect for her character’s final journey. We also theorized what Brenda, her character from the Scary Movie films, would think of Lockjaw and the insane Christmas Adventurers Club.
Hilarious, insightful, and introspective, there isn’t anything Regina Hall can’t do and One Battle After Another proves she’s one of our most impressive, versatile actresses working today.
One Battle After Another is currently in theaters and available VOD.
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