A Reel Review: ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD

Celebrated filmmaker Quentin Tarantino has always made movies for himself. His films are packed with his favorite things, almost to the point where we expect him to pop up and start pointing out every reference and wink. The beauty of this is that Tarantino is a cinema junkie, so any new project of his can be a delight for any fan of the movies. The often drawback is that all these winks and nods and homages can get in the way of his story, and in his 9^thfeature film, ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD, the man finally comes around and finds a perfect balance. 

Hollywood, 1960’s. Aging television actor Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio), has a had a successful career on television but no-so-great in the movies. His career is tied closely to his best friend and stunt-double Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt), for as Dalton goes, Cliff goes. 

ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD does not have much in terms of plot. There is no ticking-clock, shiny object, or place to get to…and it instead follows Rick and Cliff through three days of their lives in sunny Hollywood of old. Rick is busy filming TV pilots which may or not become a show, befriending a child actress, and resisting an offer from a bottom-feeding talent agent (Al Pacino), who wants him to go to Italy to film Westerns. Cliff in the meantime is causing trouble with his stunt coordinator (Kurt Russell), picking fights with Bruce Lee (amazingly played by Mike Moh), and somehow gets tangled up with a hippie group led by Charles Manson (Damon Herriman). Rick and Cliff’s stories are separate but equal, and they affect each other from a distance as they interact with characters that are tied together…all leading up to a bloody night (which Manson is responsible for), which involves the home of Rick’s neighbor, actress Sharon Tate (Margot Robbie). 

What makes it all work is the wonderful recreation of the world that is no more. Hollywood of the 1960’s is not only created in stunning detail, but also the culture. This is an era where TV is becoming more and more popular and competing with movie theatres (a curious statement on today’s home entertainment vs. movie theatres), and it boils down to kids loving TV while cinema is a place for adults…with Rick and Cliff stuck in the middle. Tarantino builds a fascinating world for these characters to play in, and it works beautifully. 

Building (or re-building) that world of yesteryear involves digging deep into the sixties; films, TV shows, and music of the era are dusted off and put in all the right places. This time around Tarantino makes all his favorite things work for him; TV shows and songs mirror or foreshadow events and characters in brilliant ways. The film looks amazingand the situations the characters find themselves in are gripping. One pulse-pounding sequence at a ranch occupied by Manson’s cult in particular is some of Tarantino’s best work. HOLLYWOOD however feels like it could have used another pass or two in the editing room. Many scenes go on for way too long and others don’t seem to serve any purpose at all. At over 160 minutes, HOLLYWOOD feels longer. 

Acting is tremendous. Leonardo DiCaprio goes way deep, and in having to play Rick and several different TV characters in one film, we can really see his range. Brad Pitt is equally good, and maybe even at his best. Margot Robbie is charming and just lights up the screen. Al Pacino is busy being Al Pacino. Damian Lewis pops in as famed actor Steve McQueen, and is an astonishinglook-alike. The rest of the massive and impressive cast including Emile Hirsch, Margaret Qualley, Timothy Olyphant, Austin Butler, Dakota Fanning, Bruce Dern, Kurt Russell, Zoe Bell, Michael Madsen, Scoot McNairy, Lena Dunham, Luke Perry, and Nicholas Hammond are all perfect. And keep an eye out for a few 1960’s celebrity cameos. 

Anyone who knows their history knows that HOLLYWOOD is destined to end in bloodshed, but in this Tarantino story…doesn’t go the way we would expect. What he does instead is offer us an alternate history; one that really pays off because the reasons for the deviations make sense and are meaningful. HOLLYWOOD is truly a fairy tale set in the past, and finishes as the best movie about 1960’s Hollywood since 1960’s Hollywood. 

BOTTOM LINE: See it