Once Upon A Time In Hollywood
Rating: R (USA)/ 14A (Canada)
Director: Quentin Tarantino
Language: English
Length: 159 minutes
Cast: Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio, Margot Robbie
Viewing Method: Regular Screening
Release Date: July 26, 2019
Synopsis: Quentin Tarantino's ninth feature film is a story that takes place in Los Angeles in 1969, at the height of hippy Hollywood. The two lead characters are Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio), former star of a western TV series, and his longtime stunt double Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt). Both are struggling to make it in a Hollywood they don't recognize anymore. But Rick has a very famous next-door neighbor...Sharon Tate.
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My interest in Once Upon A Time In Hollywood should really surprise nobody. It connects my love of Hollywood with my fascination with true crime. There were many things that led to the end of the 1960's era of peace, free love, and flower power and the Manson murders are definitely on that list. Tarantino's latest uses a Hollywood on the cusp of change as its backdrop and delivers a standard Tarntino movie in the process.
The performances of both Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio are the stand out in the film. Brad, as Cliff Booth, is all effortless cool and charm circa Brad in Thelma and Louise. He reminds you why he is a bonafide movie star. It is a fun, enjoyable to watch performance that has a Best Supporting Actor nomination written all over it.
DiCaprio's Rick Dalton is just as strong with DiCaprio giving a more vulnerable performance than I have seen from him in a while. Dalton is an actor looking at the brightest moments of their career being behind them and DiCaprio taps into the razor's edge the character is on emotion wise perfectly. We see Dalton's insecurities reflected in one of my favourite Sharon Tate moments. We see Robbie's Tate's watching one of her movies with a crowd of people in theatre. The delight that registers as people react positively to her performance is a moment that lingers. It hammers home that both of these actors are worried about their appeal to audiences and how they are perceived.
The chemistry between Cliff and Rick is a testament to how well Pitt and DiCaprio play off one another. I would easily watch these two together in another movie. It wasn't a pairing that immediately came to mind when thinking of who I would like to see together on screen but they work extremely well together as these characters.
I, like many who are interested in true crime, have experienced the Manson murders told in many different formats and from just as many perspectives. Tarantino's version is the first in which I feel that I actually got to know Sharon Tate. It is certainly the first that focuses on her life rather than her horrific death. Margot Robbie is criminally underused but the movie makes you love her Sharon. She's incandescent and filled with joy. She is a sweet, luminous presence that takes back some of her narrative. Charles Manson is a footnote in this movie, barely worth a mention. This is Tarantino saying that Manson doesn't get to be the focus. It is Sharon's turn (and Jay's, and Abigail's and etc) to be the focus. This is, perhaps, the most refreshing aspect of this story. We got to see Sharon just living her life, blissfully happy, and I cannot express how much that matters.
This movie is filled with a bunch of actors playing small parts and many of them stood out for various reasons. Dakota Fanning is terrifying as Squeaky Fromme. Margret Qualley offers a memorable performance as Pussycat. Austin Butler made me really excited to see what else he can do after his role as Tex Watson. These are just some of the few memorable 'cameos' from the movie. One of my favourite parts of a Tarantino movie is seeing all of the big names that pop up in small roles and this one definitely doesn't disappoint. It is even, dare I say, more embraced because of the nature of the story being told.
There will be much discussion about the violence in this movie, specifically the ending, and how it relates to the rest of the movie. It certainly made me think about the violence we consume and the whos and whys behind how we feel about it and when we deem it acceptable versus reprehensible. A lot of it comes down to who is committing the violence and against whom the violence is being committed and that feels really apparent here.
The next section is going to be within spoiler tags. It relates to my point about violence, but gives away the ending. Read at your own risk.
There are, naturally, a few issues I had with the movie, some of which I have already discussed such as the treatment of its female characters. Plenty of people more eloquent than than I have discussed the Bruce Lee portrayal and the problems within it. Mike Moh, the actor who portrayed him certainly did the best with what he was given. I much preferred the second, quieter, scene where he is seen training Sharon Tate some stunt fighting for one of her roles to the problematic first.
Ultimately this is a movie that will leave you with a lot to talk about and will not be for everyone. This is a very Tarantino movie, even if I do think it is his most accessible, and that either appeals to you or it doesn't.
The performances of both Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio are the stand out in the film. Brad, as Cliff Booth, is all effortless cool and charm circa Brad in Thelma and Louise. He reminds you why he is a bonafide movie star. It is a fun, enjoyable to watch performance that has a Best Supporting Actor nomination written all over it.
DiCaprio's Rick Dalton is just as strong with DiCaprio giving a more vulnerable performance than I have seen from him in a while. Dalton is an actor looking at the brightest moments of their career being behind them and DiCaprio taps into the razor's edge the character is on emotion wise perfectly. We see Dalton's insecurities reflected in one of my favourite Sharon Tate moments. We see Robbie's Tate's watching one of her movies with a crowd of people in theatre. The delight that registers as people react positively to her performance is a moment that lingers. It hammers home that both of these actors are worried about their appeal to audiences and how they are perceived.
The chemistry between Cliff and Rick is a testament to how well Pitt and DiCaprio play off one another. I would easily watch these two together in another movie. It wasn't a pairing that immediately came to mind when thinking of who I would like to see together on screen but they work extremely well together as these characters.
I, like many who are interested in true crime, have experienced the Manson murders told in many different formats and from just as many perspectives. Tarantino's version is the first in which I feel that I actually got to know Sharon Tate. It is certainly the first that focuses on her life rather than her horrific death. Margot Robbie is criminally underused but the movie makes you love her Sharon. She's incandescent and filled with joy. She is a sweet, luminous presence that takes back some of her narrative. Charles Manson is a footnote in this movie, barely worth a mention. This is Tarantino saying that Manson doesn't get to be the focus. It is Sharon's turn (and Jay's, and Abigail's and etc) to be the focus. This is, perhaps, the most refreshing aspect of this story. We got to see Sharon just living her life, blissfully happy, and I cannot express how much that matters.
This movie is filled with a bunch of actors playing small parts and many of them stood out for various reasons. Dakota Fanning is terrifying as Squeaky Fromme. Margret Qualley offers a memorable performance as Pussycat. Austin Butler made me really excited to see what else he can do after his role as Tex Watson. These are just some of the few memorable 'cameos' from the movie. One of my favourite parts of a Tarantino movie is seeing all of the big names that pop up in small roles and this one definitely doesn't disappoint. It is even, dare I say, more embraced because of the nature of the story being told.
There will be much discussion about the violence in this movie, specifically the ending, and how it relates to the rest of the movie. It certainly made me think about the violence we consume and the whos and whys behind how we feel about it and when we deem it acceptable versus reprehensible. A lot of it comes down to who is committing the violence and against whom the violence is being committed and that feels really apparent here.
The next section is going to be within spoiler tags. It relates to my point about violence, but gives away the ending. Read at your own risk.
There are, naturally, a few issues I had with the movie, some of which I have already discussed such as the treatment of its female characters. Plenty of people more eloquent than than I have discussed the Bruce Lee portrayal and the problems within it. Mike Moh, the actor who portrayed him certainly did the best with what he was given. I much preferred the second, quieter, scene where he is seen training Sharon Tate some stunt fighting for one of her roles to the problematic first.
Ultimately this is a movie that will leave you with a lot to talk about and will not be for everyone. This is a very Tarantino movie, even if I do think it is his most accessible, and that either appeals to you or it doesn't.
