The Robe Runner: A Defector's Tale
In the film One Battle After Another, Leonardo DiCaprio's character, Pat Calhoun, is often compared to a stone, a metaphor that becomes increasingly relevant as the story unfolds. Pat's girlfriend, Perfidia, is the true revolutionary, but he struggles with a nervous energy that keeps him rooted in place. When she disappears, Pat finds himself alone with their baby, Willa, who gives him purpose. However, his past catches up with him, and he becomes a paranoid ex-guerilla, spending his time smoking and watching movies.
The iconic robe that Pat wears is a nod to this dichotomy. It's a comfortable, cozy robe, made from vintage-looking fabric, and aged to look old and cheap. The robe's design is inspired by the Dude in The Big Lebowski, but it's not overly symbolic. Instead, it's a practical garment that reflects Pat's character and his journey.
Pat's robe is a 90s-era garment, a nod to the larger disorientation that permeates the film. The source novel, Thomas Pynchon's Vineland, toggles between the 1960s and 1980s, and Pat's character reflects this time-jumping. He's a slacker slash revolutionary, a family man with a girlfriend who is anything but, and all of this roils beneath the robe and the sunglasses he pairs it with.
As the film progresses, Pat's robe is abandoned, and he is no longer lost or split in two. He has become an adult, and he knows who he is. The Steely Dan lyrics that introduced Willa finally encompass both of these grown-ups, as they face terrible trouble and stay the same.
