Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
Quentin Tarantino, 2019, USA, Colour, 161 mins, Certificate: 18
There is no middle ground when it comes to a Quentin Tarantino film. In the eyes of the beholder it is either a hit or a miss. It is either to be loved or to be hated. But when it is a hit, loved or hated, it is a hit. His latest is one of those bullseye hits and his most cinephile yet.
Following the “bromance” of two fictional, deeply flawed yet endearing characters, a fading TV star and his indestructible bodyguard/personal assistant, within the non-fictional time frame of Hollywood’s Golden Age in 1969 Los Angeles, it rewrites History to mind-blowing effect.
By swapping a tragic true story with an imaginative, at times quietly evocative and other times (literally) bloody, explosively hilarious, bold, true lie, it makes winners out of the (fictional and non-fictional) losers and anti-heroes of this world, while exacting a creative, retroactive revenge on Charles Manson and his “family”.
On its way to a rock solid cult status, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” won 3 Golden Globes, (Best Picture Comedy, Best Supporting Actor and Best Screenplay) and amassed 10 Oscars nominations, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, Best Actor for the always reliable Leonardo Di Caprio and Best Supporting Actor for the indescribably brilliant Brad Pit at his, glorious, delicious, peak.
Reviews:
A- “Once also has the good luck of being anchored by what might be two of the last true movie stars: Leonardo DiCaprio as Rick Dalton, a boozy, anxious actor staring down the bell curve of a never-quite-stellar career, and Brad Pitt as Cliff Booth, his taciturn stuntman turned trusty sidekick and consigliere.” Leah Greenblatt, Entertainment Weekly
“Quentin Tarantino’s ninth film is funny, revisionist and unexpectedly warm-hearted. For Tarantino this is an almost soft-hearted – for him – film, although he cracks more than a few heads towards the end. It’s consistently funny, with terrific performances from Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio.” Fionnnuala Halligan, Screen Daily
★★★★★ “Quentin Tarantino’s exploitation black-comedy thriller Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood finds a pulp-fictionally redemptive take on the Manson nightmare in late-60s California: a B-movie loser’s state of grace. Quite simply, I just defy anyone with red blood in their veins not to respond to the crazy bravura of Tarantino’s film-making, not to be bounced around the auditorium at the moment-by-moment enjoyment that this movie delivers…” Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian
“… a seemingly unconnected subplot shows [Sharon Tate] casually walking up to a Westwood theater screening of her 1968 movie “The Wrecking Crew.” We see the real Tate light up the big screen, and [Margot] Robbie’s eyes glow with joy in the audience, as she watches the person she’s playing. It’s a moving act of homage, and it is not, crucially, the only way in which Tarantino seeks to inspire a fresh and compassionate reconsideration of Tate’s memory.” Justin Chang Los Angeles Time