Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is a film that is aesthetically appealing from start to finish. Quentin Tarantino's interpretation of 1969 Hollywood is a lush world with superb detail. This movie serves as a love letter to the place Tarantino presumably grew up with.

The cast features an All Star ensemble of actors. Whether supporting or main, every character in this film is portrayed with excellence. Leonardo DiCaprio continues to flex his acting prowess in his portrayal of Rick Dalton. DiCaprio's Rick Dalton is a classic take on the waning career of a once successful actor. His emotion as Rick Dalton is felt in a comical and rewarding sense. His anguish is felt prominently within this film. DiCaprio continues to be brilliant. Margot Robbie's portrayal of Sharon Tate is graceful and wholesome. Robbie's ability to emote with facials alone is true talent. Her on screen presence grants the film and audience with a sense of euphoria. Brad Pitt's character of Cliff Booth is a bad ass in every aspect. His portrayal of the character is presented with an enduring chip on the shoulder. When Cliff Booth is on screen, the film is given security. Pitt continues to exhibit why he is a name that should always be in the discussion of great actors. Pitt's chemistry with DiCaprio's Rick Dalton is excellent. Both men play off each other in a manner that makes you believe they are best friends in real life. On rare occasions will you get a chemistry more authentic than this. Rick and Cliff mirror that of Abbott and Costello, or Batman and Robin. Both men were made for these roles and are symbiotic to one another.

The dialogue in this film is up to par with the rest of Tarantino's filmography. Every word feels natural, and every encounter is perfect. Tarantino continues his streak of quotable One liners. Tarantino does an excellent job of flexing his knowledge of 1969 Hollywood within his dialogue and writing. The film is masterfully paced as well. The flashbacks don't step on the present story and they add incredible depth to an ever growing tale. The film is slow paced in that it adds background and detail to the characters and the world they live in. There are minor points of foreshadowing that tie in perfectly to the overall story. The payoff to this story is incredibly satisfying and unexpected. Tarantino is a master in storytelling at this point in his career.

The film is shot beautifully. Every shot matters and serves a purpose. Tarantino exhibits his appreciation for 1969 Hollywood through long shots of beautiful scenery and diegetic sound. Tarantino's angling of the camera is natural, serving as a film student's wet dream. Once again, the world is incredibly lush. The soundtrack exhibits some of the best usage of music in recent cinema. At times the film feels like a big music video, however this does not take away from anything within the film. The music serves as the mascot for Tarantino's 1969 Hollywood. The music and the setting of 1969 Hollywood are inseparable.

Overall, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is another masterpiece in Quentin Tarantino's filmography. Whereas Pulp Fiction excels in storytelling and dialogue, this film excels in storytelling and cinematography. 1969 never looked so good.

It took Quentin Tarantino a lifetime of living, 5 years to write and a 2 hours 41 minutes watch. This is a love letter to a film industry that is no longer recognisable. Hippies, short skirts, westerns..... all have disappeared from our movie world. But worry not, Quentin Tarantino is here to remind us of old school film making from a once beloved industry which has been described as being on life support.

The performances are flawless. I was apprehensive about how the events of August 8, 1969 would be handled. But that is handled tastefully and respectfully, yet with the classic Tarantino flair.

Will be quite a bit for those under 40 who have no recollection of this Hollywood. Some will categorise this as an over indulgent nostalgia trip for movie geeks. And they are likely to be correct. But for those of us who complain that Hollywood is reduced to remakes and comic book films, QT delivers a unique and creative viewing experience.

There may never be another filmmaker like Quentin Tarantino. If there is, we surely are in luck. But in all likelihood, future generations will just be students of his, and thank God for that fact alone. He's a filmmaker's filmmaker. His love of cinema verges on fetishism. His mission in life, it seems, was to keep his celluloid memories alive and in the American psyche in a time long past it's expiration date. So long as there's a reel and a way, Tarantino will give you a ticket to the greatest shows on earth, filled with filthy language and splattering gore violence. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is his 9th feature film. It's been announced as his second to last film. Rumor has it, if the film basks in an exponentially warm reception, this could be his last film. I pray we can all sit down one last time for the number 10, but if Quentin is seriously considering it, I'll warmly and happily accept that. The truth is, it's all been leading up to this moment. Quentin's personal crescendo, encapsulating all he has learned and all he has experienced as a man living in Hollywood and a successful filmmaker from within it. He went for it, and he did it. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is the best film of 2019, and easily his best film since Pulp Fiction. For me, nothing short of perfect. Everything I wanted it to be, and yet it still shocked and surprised me. I'm convinced that after the second and even third viewings, i'll still find new things to love about it. For nearly three hours in length, it grabs you up from your seat and never lets go.

Here's the story. The year is 1969. We meet the dashing Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his frisky stuntman sidekick, Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt). The dynamic duo of black and white television, and old, gunslinging cowboy movies. They were the best, they were the most handsome and they were the most talented. They were the best actors in Hollywood.. until now. After an unkindly meeting with his agent, Marvin Schwartz (played in outrageous fashion by the great Al Pacino), Rick is told in no uncertain terms that his time as a leading man is over. In other words, he's lost everything. Reduced to playing walk-on roles in late-60's TV shows, and B-grade Italian spaghetti westerns that nobody will ever see. Devastated, he returns to sulk in his luxury home in the Hollywood hills, while Cliff goes home to a dingy trailer next-door to a drive-in movie theater, to feed his loyal pit-bull Brandy. California Dreaming is not all that it seems. But wouldn't you know it, Rick Dalton has a new neighbor. One Roman Polanksi and his wife, superstar Sharon Tate (Margot Robbie). The contrast doesn't get much starker. As Rick Dalton disappears into the hazy California sunset, Tate and friends are dancing in the middle of it. We begin to alternate between these two stories. Rick Dalton's personal misery in landing mediocre roles, and Sharon Tate humbly enjoying her career at it's peak. She's so humble, in fact, she attends screenings of her own movies in town to kick her feet back and laugh with the audience. But in the middle of the high and hard times of show business, evil lurks in the background, ready to attack. That evil being the Manson family. Cliff, Rick and Sharon all have individual run-ins with Charlie and the gang, dismissing them as your average dirty hippies, not realizing they are all about to make a head-on collision with Helter Skelter.

From it's very beginning, Tarantino doesn't just show you how things were in 1969, he places you there right along with it. I was there with all of them. Many of the sequences here include interludes of driving with an authentic live radio blasting (not unlike K-Billy's Super Sounds of the 70's) the soundtrack of our film. Killer psychedelic tunes and radio ads narrate the few times where our characters stay silent, which in any Tarantino film, is brief. The first hour and a half of the film may even puzzle viewers with how little happens between the characters. But that's the point. Tarantino places the audience through multiple POVs in order to illustrate this time in Hollywood. It was a technique I didn't expect, but I adored it all the same, and if anything, I'll always remember these sequences first when I think of the film. DiCaprio lights up the screen as the manically depressed Rick Dalton who goes between arrogantly strutting on set as if he's still a hot shot, to wrecking his trailer in a fit of insecurity and rage. Brad Pitt is effortlessly cool as Cliff Booth. Dude is the suavest partner-in-crime since Paul Newman. Robbie plays Tate, and with the responsibility of playing the prime victim of one of the most gruesome and horrifying murders in American history, she needed to bring honor in this special tribute to her. Not only did she bring honor, but she also brought beauty, grace, wistful optimism and love. If she had a a song, it would probably be "Good Morning, Starshine", though we all know she was a Paul Revere and the Raiders fan. Tate represents here all that was good of the late 60's. That far-out, free-spirited, love your neighbor, flower power that most Californians at that time adopted.. so long as you didn't take it to the extreme. If you did, you'd turn into one of those goddamn dirty hippies.

That's the other thing that Tarantino explores in 1969. If you were worried about a film about the Manson family that glorifies them as super cool anti-heroes, you best sit down and let this film do the talking. Because Tarantino clearly doesn't just hate Charles Manson, he loathes him. The man who, in his mind, killed the 1960's and the Hollywood he loved. On that note, you might be asking yourself.. this film doesn't really reenact the events of that horrible night, does it? Well, I promise you, this is a spoiler free review, but lets just say the events of August 8th 1969 don't play out here as they did in history. What results is the biggest middle finger ever given to the Manson Family in an epic finale so mindbogglingly brutal and relentless, it will make your jaw drop.

I left the theater having felt like I drank a strong cocktail of Boogie Nights and Beyond the Valley of the Dolls, ripped a bong and got awakened by a punch in the face. This is a movie, and a trip and an experience you won't soon forget. See this thing, right now. See it twice. See it three times. Invite in into your head and let it stay there and stew. Explore this tapestry of Americana, booze, sex, drugs, rock' n' roll and movies. You'll be exhausted, but you will be satisfied.

I don't typically leave IMDb reviews but this film deserves so much praise for its risky screenplay in such a dark true crime setting.

For 2 hrs, 41 minutes, I was taken 50 years back, experiencing Hollywood's film industry as a comedic drama filled with desire, tension and everyday life.

I liked Brad's character the most, but Leo easily matched with his own performance. A definite see-it-in-theatres watch. Bring your sense of humor though. There are lines of dialogue and laugh out loud bits that completely satisfy your curious mind. Expect everything you would from Tarantino, but also what you wouldn't.

I gave it a perfect 10 because I forgot I was watching a nearly 3 hour film, even though it still wasn't long enough for me. I would like to see a director's cut up to an hour longer as I think this is a unique case that extra footage would only help such an already powerful story.

I had the privilege to watch an early 70mm screening of this film at the cinerama dome with the director, Tarantino, in the audience. It was a surreal experience I'll never forget.

I loved both the acting and the story. Brad Pitt shows a maturity playing "The old guy", and DiCaprio is spot on as the self absorbed, insecure fading star. The ending is classic Tarentino with a twist that caught me totally by surprise. I will watch this movie again. Loved it!