Film Review - Once Upon A Time... In Hollywood

Quentin Tarantino is at his bests when he is placing his imaginative products fantasy narratives in his films. Perhaps the most famous of these his fictional Red Apple Cigarette Brand that first appeared in 1994's Pulp Fiction. Here, Tarantino's creative juices are on overdrive as his central figures are an imaginary T.V. star on he decline from his heyday in the '50s alongside his faithful stunt double who is always there to help carry the load. Once Upon  Time In Hollywood features the two leads fake movies, T.V. guest spots and variety show appearances all with the August 1969 impending Tate/ LA Bianca murders lurking to be addressed at the end of the film.

Rick Dalton (Leonardo Di Caprio) was a major TV star on N.B.C.'s Bounty Law bringing in fugitives for a Dead or Alive Reward in the neighborhood of $500.00 Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt) was Dalton's stuntman a supposed war hero that apparently got away with murdering his wife but has not had real steady industry work in the 8 years since Bounty Law has gone off the air. As Dalton describes in an interview on set. He could fall off a horse himself but if he did so and sprained an ankle the production could be set back a week while he healed so that's where Cliff comes in. The pair are inseparable, Cliff on the Dalton payroll mainly driving Rick around to his current string of guest starring roles as the Heavy since Rick lost his driver's license to too many drunk driving episodes.  Early on in the piece Dalton takes a meting with seasoned agent Marvin Schwarzs (Al Pacino) who tires to encourage Rick to go to Italy to star in Spaghetti Westerns (ala Clint Eastwood) A chance to be the star again as the role of heavy is one step away from being unlikable and out of show business altogether.

Dalton's home in the Hollywood Hills is next door to that of newlywed couple Sharon Tate (Margot Robbie) who's role is heavy on facial expression, physical presence but short on dialogue and Roman Polanski (Rafal Zawierucha) who appears to be an Austin Powers clone bombing around in a British sports car and velvet suits. Robbie's performance peaks in a scene where she goes to see a public screening of herself in The Wrecking Crew. Tate's physical comedic acting on display to the delight of the audience Tarantino clearly showcasing her as a star on the rise. Every time Rich sees the pair his thoughts turn to a future role with his neighbour who Rick points out directed Rosemary's Baby that could get his career back on track.

The set department, costume design,and wardrobe were on high alert to get February and August 1969 on point. Bright colours rule the day especially in how Robbie and Pitt are outfitted. Cliff Booth does a lot of fast driving around own with plenty of vintage cars from the ear passing by or parked tantalizingly on the street on the fore or background. The grungy dirty hippie feel of the Spahn ranch where Dakota Fanning as Squeaky Fromme and Lena Durham as Gypsy appear as acolytes is brought home with the wardrobe, set and design choices. It's in this scene where Pitt does his best work. Taking the group of peacenik hippies on that the audience know are prone to extreme violence head on and escaping unscathed.

Once Upon A Time ... In Hollywood is a fantasy account of 2 February plus two August days in 1969. Tarantino is paying homage to Serio Leone with the title, format and his lead characters dabble in Spaghetti Westerns. The film is a tribute to the background details of the industry at the time. Downtime between scenes, that produce a wonderful conversation between Dalton and precocious child actor Trudi (Julie Butters), bets and dares leading to a confrontation between Cliff and Bruce Lee (Mike  Moh) on the backlot of the Green Hornet, the makeup trailer, set designers and wardrobe working spaces. The third act leads to the inevitable events of August 9, 1969. Tarantino is back on track with this one that will firmly loge itself in the top groupings of anyone's list of Tarantino outings.

**** Out of 4

Once Upon A time... In Hollywood | Quentin Tarantino | U.K. / U.S.A./ China |161 Minutes | 2019.

Tags: Tate/La Bianca Murders, 1969, Hollywood, Manson Family, Spahn Ranch Celio Drive, Spaghetti Western, Flame Thrower.