Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood (2019)
Quentin Tarantino’s ninth film (if you count the who volumes of Kill Bill as one entity), Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood (called OUATIH from here on out), is both different than anything he’s done before but also a whole lot of the same. It’s different in that it is set in a time and place he hasn’t explored before, looking at Hollywood of yesteryear, especially in 1969. It’s the same in that it is chock full of material that most other directors would have left on the proverbial cutting-room floor, leading his detractors to continue their mantra of a filmmaker that is indulgent, unfocused, undisciplined, and unable to build on his motley collection of characters and scenes to create a suspenseful and satisfying vehicle as a whole.
Once again, Tarantino wants to turn the violence quotient up to 11 when he does it, he finds a group of people in history that no one would feel sorry to get beaten or blown to smithereens grotesquely: the Manson family. The formula continues his long line of despicable villains, from Nazis to slave owners to racists of the Old West. If he runs out of non-sympathetic villains, perhaps Quentin will finally make do on that Star Trek film he’s been talking about for years.
Leonardo DiCaprio stars as Rick Dalton, a Hollywood star who is seeing his brightness fade in the ever-changing and fickle industry. Brad Pitt stars as Cliff Booth, his dedicated stuntman, chauffeur, and overall sidekick in life. The outlook looks bleaker each time out for both of them, as Dalton goes from leading-man roles in films to heavies on TV shows, mulling over advice to continue his career starring in Italian films rather than take a back seat in Hollywood. Meanwhile, Cliff ends up getting into his own kerfuffles on the side, including a spat with none other than Bruce Lee, a young hippie that he flirts with while out driving around the streets of Los Angeles, and dealing with a past that includes questions on whether he might have murdered his wife and gotten away with it.
Another major side story is that of Dalton’s newest neighbor out on Cielo Drive, Sharon Tate, a fictional representation of a nonfictional character played by Margot Robbie, the wife of one of Hollywood’s hottest directors, Roman Polanski. Unlike Dalton, Tate is a young and exuberant actress with star potential in a film industry growing further away from the studio system of making or breaking stars. While Dalton sees the heartbreak of the steady decline in opportunities, Tate marvels at the impact her acting makes and a modicum of celebrity status, cherishing every bit of the magic that Hollywood still provides to young dreamers around the world.
OUATIH benefits from Tarantino’s trademark comic relief in his situations and dialogue. The filmmaker built his reputation on characters and his scriptwriting, and in this regard, he’s still at the top of his craft. Plenty of star power fills the screens and good performances by all but a few of the more minor roles. DiCaprio is a standout in a well-rounded role of a professional actor who took his fame and fortune for granted until the day when it looked like it all might be dwindling. Tarantino must be enamored at the performance as well, seemingly letting the film continue to strike some of the same chords throughout merely because Leo is firing on all cylinders in the role. Even with DiCaprio at his peak, scenes are frequently stolen out from under him, some by Pitt in his understated role as Rick’s near-silent partner, and in other cases by a young Julia Butters as a precocious actress actor he shares a scene with. Margot Robbie doesn’t get much to do, despite ample run time, but serves as a plot device and thematic contrast for the men’s story arcs.
Another truly great thing about OUATIH is its sense of period, feeling every bit like a film set in its era, not only in the fashion and vehicles but all of the stores around Los Angeles that are lovingly recreated in the style as they were seen fifty years prior. It’s nostalgic but not to the point where it feels just like a “greatest hits” of the era, with an eclectic soundtrack of hits and obscurities, and a collection of TV shows consider both hip and square from today’s standpoint. In terms of setting the mood, from signage to radio stations to TV ads to jargon, it gets it all right. Even splicing in the modern-day actors into film and TV footage of the day is amazing, almost without perceptible flaws, with only the appearance of long-dead actors giving the nod that digital magic has been employed. It feels like a time machine portal to a world gone by that you could walk into and live to its fullest.
As I alluded to earlier, Tarantino has proven himself to be a great filmmaker but not the best editor of his material. Pacing issues abound in OUATIH. There are also some questionable turns of events within the film that take viewers out of the moments to observe the proceedings as a film rather than stay rapt into the story, especially as things begin to take a turn for the violent. One thing that does bode well in Tarantino’s favor is that he’s willing to tinker around with historical events (Inglorious Basterds being the prime example), so even if you think that he’s building up to a specific news-worthy event occurring, he’s apter to subvert your expectations to explore his interests than he is to dramatize for the sake of accuracy. Nevertheless, the tells are certainly there early on for some to accurately guess where he’s eventually going to go with these characters at some point.
Still, several scenes are worth the price of admission, perhaps even a “must-see”, with my favorite being a conversation and confrontation between Cliff and a cocky up-and-comer in martial arts, Bruce Lee. Others involve a trip to see the Manson family before they would become notorious, Rick’s banter with an eight-year-old method actress, and a powerhouse ending in which many of the characters are confronted with a rude awakening. As a gripping drama, it might be too much of a shaggy-dog story to proclaim the film one of Tarantino’s best, but as a pop-culture pastiche featuring solid performances and a handful of truly ingenious, provocative scenes, OUATIH shows why his legion of fans are willing to overlook the filmmaker’s self-gratification. In the end, like the collection of an era on film, you tend to remember only the impactful moments.
Qwipster’s rating: B+
MPAA Rated: Rated R for language throughout, some strong graphic violence, drug use, and sexual references
Running Time: 161 min.
Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie, Al Pacino, Margaret Qualley, Timothy Olyphant, Emile Hirsch, Kurt Russell, Julia Butters
Small role: Dakota Fanning, Bruce Dern, Lena Dunham, Michael Madsen, Damian Lewis, Luke Perry, Rumer Willis
Director: Quentin Tarantino
Screenplay: Quentin Tarantino