Sony Pictures
It is easy to spot a Quentin Tarantino movie. His traits for such movies as Pulp Fiction, Django Unchained, and Reservoir Dogs include a heavy dose of dialogue and lingering shots to capture the tone of the film. I’ve always admired Tarantino’s work throughout the years. His newest film, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, features all the things that makes Tarantino such a great director plus it’s got Leonardo DiCaprio, which is always a good thing.
DiCaprio stars as a faded television actor, Rick Dalton, alongside his stunt double, Cliff Booth, as they navigate their way through the film industry during the final years of Hollywood’s Golden Age in 1969. Many actors that have worked with Tarantino in the past appear in this film, a common theme for him. Brad Pitt starred in Inglourious Basterds and Kurt Russell starred in Death Proof and they both return for this film.
Leonardo DiCaprio was absolutely terrific in this movie. I want to start campaigning for his run at Best Actor at the Academy Awards now. Rick Dalton spent his film career playing the bad guy on television shows and movies. There are many moments in the movie where the film presents a show or movie being filmed and you get to see Dalton prepare for a scene. DiCaprio is so damn good at balancing Dalton’s real life and dealing with alcoholism as well as acting as the bad guy. DiCaprio is one of my favorite actors and this is one of my favorite performances from him.
For most of the film I was in love with DiCaprio’s performance. The film centered around his time in Hollywood, and Cliff Booth (played by Pitt) spent a lot of time in the background. He was Dalton’s stunt double, driver, and errand boy. I was afraid for most of the first and second act that Pitt would be underused, and I would be disappointed. Towards the end of the second act I fell in love with Pitt’s character. He had a chance to have scenes all to his own and Pitt truly shined in his role.
Tarantino has a habit of not focusing on one single story. Much like Pulp Fiction, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood balances many different plot lines. Margot Robbie stars in the film as Sharon Tate, a popular actress from the 60s. Tate’s storyline doesn’t do much to the overall story, but instead furthers the storylines of the main characters. Many other performances such as Mike Moh as Bruce Lee and Margaret Qualley as Pussycat didn’t provide much to the central plot but added a lot of depth to Cliff Booth.
Tarantino balanced both fact and fiction in the movie and I was impressed with how he incorporated actors from the 60’s while also taking inspiration from others. Rick Dalton and Cliff Booth are fictional characters but are as real as many stories in Hollywood. The film is fictional but many real celebrities such as Bruce Lee, Sharon Tate, Roman Polanski, and Steve McQueen added a sense of reality to the film.
The ending of the film felt rushed with a new style to tell the story. The film tries to wrap up the storyline between Rick and Cliff while also furthering the plot of Sharon Tate by adding a lot of narration and time jumps. While it did feel rushed, it was highly entertaining with some truly violent scenes coming from Pitt. If there wasn’t any violence, it wouldn’t feel like a Tarantino movie. Sharon Tate’s death is a well-known tragedy that happened in the summer of 1969. She was murdered by members of the Manson Family, a cult that formed in Los Angeles. Since the film mixed fact with fiction, the film was able to subvert my expectations with Tate’s storyline. Sharon Tate’s death has already been used in a movie that came out earlier this year with Hilary Duff in The Haunting of Sharon Tate (don’t see it please) and I was completely shocked with how the film ended!
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is much more than a movie. It was a way for Tarantino to express his love for film. He was inspired by actors and actresses from the 60s and create a narrative that balanced fact and fiction. In my opinion, this is Tarantino at his best and I instantly fell in love with the style of the movie. From watching how DiCaprio prepared for a role, to changing what had happened to certain celebrities, made this film highly entertaining. Tarantino’s ninth film is easily one of his best and I am sad knowing that his tenth film will be his last. Hopefully he goes out with a bang.
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood has a run time of 2 hours 41 minutes and is rated R for language throughout, some strong graphic violence, drug use, and sexual references.
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