Teyana perfidia beverly hills taylor

Last Thursday, I very eagerly listened to the Cannonball episode about Paul Thomas Anderson’s new revolutionary tale One Battle After Another. It was kismet, I waited until AMC’s half-off Wednesdays to finally watch it and Wesley drops the episode the day after (we are so connected)! I found myself vigorously nodding along to his and guest Sean Fennessey’s sentiments about the new PTA flick — until one part of the podcast where they bring up Teyana Taylor’s Athenian-like character, Perfidia Bevery Hills.

I don’t want to single out Wesley and Sean, they are part of a cacophony of folks voicing similar opinions about Taylor’s character. She is powerful, she was electrifying, there was a part of her who wanted to be with Lockjaw — Sean Penn’s cop character who serves as the antagonist of the film.

Their gender does not escape me either. Perhaps Taylor’s steady facial expressions coupled with her short run time did not allow them to see past their opinion that she was in a “love triangle with Bob (DiCaprio’s character) and Lockjaw.”

My issue is when Morris then follows these sentiments by saying Perfidia’s response to Lockjaw’s pursuit of her was “hmm, lemme think about that.” Wrong! There was no room for contemplation in a space occupied by coercion and intimidation. I felt so strongly for Taylor’s character. I loved her, rooted for her, empathized with her, hated her… I did the Latino scoff (you know the one, where you click your teeth and side-eye) when she ratted on her comrades. I grew up around a culture that does not forgive snitching.

The truth about Perfidia is that she is stagnated by the structure of institutions like government and family. In the first act of the film, when Perfidia’s family is speaking to Bob, DiCaprio’s character who in the first act was affectionately called Ghetto Pat, they express their concerns for their soon-to-be family, calling him a “stone” and her “water.” It stuck with me because it wasn’t particularly a read as it was the truth of their being. Perfidia is not set, she isn’t anchored to anything, she is unmovable.

This is a film who is led by its characters. Yes, Perfidia is the one who most electrified me, but everyone from Chase Infiniti’s performance (PLEASE CAST HER IN EVERYTHING) to Tony Goldwyn’s scary illuminati cult-like leader performance (he was born to play someone in a position of power wearing a suit) was breathtaking. Someone once said that PTA finds the absurd in the sinister, I will go as far as to say he highlights the hope in mundanity and vice versa.

If you can, watch the film in VistaVision. It’s PTA’s preferred method for watching the film, here are the locations in the U.S. that project the format. IMAX is also a perfect alternative. Support the motion arts and please watch this film if you can!!