Rent Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood on Amazon Video (paid link) Written by: Quentin Tarantino Directed by:Quentin Tarantino Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie, Kurt Russell, Margaret Qualley, Timothy Olyphant, Dakota Fanning, Luke Perry, Emile Hirsch, Bruce Dern, Damian Lewis, Al Pacino Rated: R Watch the trailer
Plot
A faded television actor and his stunt double strive to achieve fame and success in the film industry during the final years of Hollywood's Golden Age in 1969 Los Angeles.
Verdict
This is a meandering movie about two men aging out of the movie industry. Until the end I wondered what is this movie about? What is Tarantino trying to say? The conclusion crystallizes what this movie is. It's part fairy tale, part ode to the Golden Age of Hollywood, and a 'what if' of possibilities.
The directing is excellent, though Tarantino gets to be quite indulgent, a luxury not afforded to most directors. DiCaprio delivers one of his best performances, and his and Pitt's characters are charismatic.
The more I think about this movie, the more I like it. At three quarters in I wasn't sure I would, but that turned around with an amazing final sequence. Watch it.
Review
I'm a fan of Tarantino movies. He usually delivers stylish action movies. I loved The Hateful Eight. It's easily my favorite Tarantino movie and just a masterpiece of a movie, except for the ending which was a slight step down compared to the rest of the film. Once Upon a Time is less violent (until the end) and contains a lot more feet (and all his movies contain feet) than the typical Tarantino movie.
Just a note I will hide all spoilers at the end of this review.
This is Tarantino's most cerebral film. I enjoyed every minute, but I was also wondering what it all means. DiCaprio plays Rick Dalton an aging TV western star at a time when
western's are no longer being made. Cliff Booth (Pitt) is Dalton's assistant and stunt
double who is getting too old to be a stuntman. We also see Sharon Tate, an emerging star.
Brad Pitt and Leo DiCaprio as Cliff Booth and Rick Dalton.
It's a contrast between the old and new, but at three quarters in I wasn't sure I would recommend this as I wasn't sure how it all
fit together. The final sequence changes that. It's packed with humor and
violence alike while also pulling everything in this movie together. Because of how this ends, in hindsight I like the movie more. It becomes something I would definitely recommend.
There are a few caveats. You absolutely need to know some bits of history as the movie hinges on this. Charles Manson was a cult leader during the 60s that sent some of his followers, or "family" to kill record producer Terry Melcher who Manson believed still lived on Cielo Drive. Melcher had moved from the home and Roman Polanski and Sharon Tate began renting. A scene early in the movie indicates that Rick's house being on Cielo Drive is important. I believe the name Charles is mentioned, but Manson is not.
While I can't state for certain what Tarantino wants to say, I have a pretty good idea though I can't get into that without spoilers. The ending of this movie makes a huge difference, and after the end of the movie, I liked the whole thing an awful lot.
The directing is excellent, though part of that is that Tarantino is established
enough to be very indulgent, negotiating full creative control with the studio.The writing is great. Everything in this movie has a purpose, fitting together by the end. It's very deliberate and well crafted.
DiCaprio has an amazing performance as aging actor Dalton. There's a distinct difference between Dalton and when Dalton is acting. DiCaprio jumps between those two states effortlessly. Dalton is riddled with anxiety and on his way if not already an alcoholic.
Brad Pitt plays Cliff Booth.
Pitt is a likable character as Cliff Booth, though that's debatable, but he doesn't have to display the same range as DiCaprio. I like Booth. He's happy serving as Dalton's driver or repair man, but he's also completely his own man. We get a sense of him from the way he drives very fast but controlled to how he hops over walls and onto a roof. He's a stuntman at heart, but not a leading man. Maybe that's from always being the understudy to Rick. He's the opposite of Rick though they are linked by playing the same character.
Margot Robbie plays Sharon Tate.
We're seeing Tarantino's nostalgic version of the 60s with lots of winking and nodding. Sharon Tate played by Margot Robbie seems to be the personification of the time. She's a rising actress, excited to see herself on screen for the first time. She contrasts with Rick who can no longer get good roles. They face an uncertain future while Tate's looks bright. The times are changing, but this movie doesn't put old and new in a relationship like this genre tends to do. Tate and Dalton are neighbors that don't meet.
There's a few plot lines in this movie. What each plot line symbolizes and how they compare and contrast is vague. It's the ending I can't talk about that pulls these plot lines together.
You have to know a bit of history to get the twist the ending has. Sharon Tate was a real
actress and was killed by members of the Manson "family." The address was the target, not Tate. In this movie, Rick Dalton becomes the target. Rick Dalton is not a real actor, but a fictional character that happened to live next door to Tate.
Tate's death marked the end of the Hollywood Golden Age, not specifically but generally. In the movie history is revised and the Manson "family" are diverted to Rick Dalton's house where they encounter Cliff Booth, the man who was able to best Bruce Lee.
This turn of events is the catalyst for Dalton finally meeting Tate and ostensibly Polanski, This could be the resurgence of Rick's career. The Golden Age of Hollywood doesn't end, instead continuing. The title of the movie is the first line of many fairy tales. That's what this
is, changing history to something that's not the end of an age, but a continuation.
This movie feels like a commentary on Hollywood of today through the lens of the past while also a tale of violence against three people who murdered Sharon Tate and her friends. It's a vigilante punishment for what the Manson "family" did.
I wondered if their would be an instance where Cliff is mistaken for Rick. With how crafted the plot feels, that seemed like a possibility. Everything has a purpose, the friendship, the dog, and the flame thrower but their link of playing the same character serves only to develop the characters.
Cliff supposedly killed his wife which is part of why he can't find
work. That doesn't seem to matter to Rick. It's only hinted that Cliff
killed his wife. We don't know the details, though we seem to see
everything but the "murder."
He's a likable character, but that bit really changes our perspective of the character. A character that is otherwise cool seemingly killed his wife. It may just be a commentary on actors and how they play really cool characters, but hide secrets that would change our opinion. When the Manson "family" encounters Rick, they don't recognize him at first. Rick is notable because they loved the character of Jake Cahill. Rick isn't Jake, and isn't as likable.
The final question posed is what if the Golden Age didn't end. What if Rick Dalton managed a resurgence. What would that mean for the industry?
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