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Writer's pictureBrady Drake

"Once Upon a Time in Hollywood": New Tarantino Flick You Should Go See

Updated: Sep 22, 2020

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019) is an epic new installment from Quentin Tarantino. This more tamed (as in tame for Tarantino) cinema product is a big-budget film about the end of the Hollywood golden era. Read here to see if it is for you! There will be a spoiler paragraph, but I'll provide some warning beforehand.

This a fictional story set in reality in the late 60's Hollywood. We find actor Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio) in a career rut alongside his friend and stuntman Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt). With the hippie era in full swing, times are changing, and some people are getting left behind.

Per usual, I like to look at acting first. Nominations. You're going to see DiCaprio and Pitt as nominees in nearly every award show. I expect them to win many of them too. <Hey, it's me from the future and DiCaprio was nominated while Pitt won the Oscar.>

DiCaprio is one of the best actors to ever be on Earth. He doesn't have to be your favorite, but you should accept this statement as fact. He does not disappoint in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. His role as Rick Dalton may go down in his top five best performances for me (and he has a plethora of great performances). He does everything perfectly down to the stutter the character has. One of my favorite parts is when he gets back to his trailer while filming a western. He had messed up some lines, and he gets frustrated with throwing things. The quote I enjoy is "You embarrassed yourself in front of all these people." Watch it and you'll see why.

Brad Pitt is excellent as the stuntman Cliff Booth. He's been out of work too along with DiCaprio's character. This is the pinnacle way to play the "straight man" character or someone who doesn't show much emotion. He is cool, calm, and collected (until he doesn't need to be at least). When he does use some emotion (in a sense), it is awesome. This is Brad Pitt's best performance of his career. I know he has given many fantastic ones, but this is the film that will give him his first acting win.

Also, Margot Robbie is great as Sharon Tate. She isn't necessarily a lead, but she gives an award-worthy performance too. I can see three acting nominations including her. Another actress I want to mention is Julia Butters. This 10-year-old has a bright future if she keeps this up. DiCaprio thinks she will be the next Meryl Streep. Her couple of scenes come on the western set with DiCaprio. She seems so believable that I have to remind myself it is acting. The line "That was some of the greatest acting I've ever seen" she says to DiCaprio is perfect as seen below.

Tarantino is normally known for his witty and excellent writing. While this movie has its moments, it doesn't quite live up to his name. I wouldn't think twice about a lesser writer's script, but Tarantino's standard is so high. He went away from dialogue-heavy to more drawn out shots. It helped at times but not all the time. For instance, there are way too many shots of people's feet. It's distracting how many.


Also, I learned that many of the better lines were contrived by the actors and not Tarantino himself.

The atmosphere of the Spahn Ranch where the Manson family lives is chilling. It seems somewhat normal at first, but little things let you know something is wrong. That whole scene is tense and cool, so I won't give it away. I want to say that actress Margaret Qualley does a great job too. She is part of the ranch, and I honestly think she may be better than Margot Robbie here. She had a harder role to fill, and she could even take the nomination (but the Oscars won't do it).

Also, I love the feel of the movie. The Hollywood golden era was still in full swing. The clothing, music, and more are fun to see. This movie handles nostalgia better than most productions including Stranger Things in my opinion. Even when the nostalgia is the scene's focus, it isn't shoved down your throat.


*STOP HERE TO AVOID SPOILERS*

The final scene is definitely different than I expected, but it was necessary. We all know the real stories of the Manson murders including Sharon Tate. It is something that is even too much for Tarantino to show. He rewrites history.

In this movie, the three people who committed the murders attempted to kill our heroes Rick Dalton (DiCaprio) and Cliff Booth (Pitt). Booth who is crazy high at the time is confronted by them. However, his dog attacks them, and Booth can really fight (remember the scene where he fights Bruce Lee). By the way, his character would actually beat Bruce Lee, so I don't want to hear anything. One girl stumbles injured to the pool where Dalton is shocked to see her, so he literally torches her. It was a crazy scene.


Overall, it is a good film that you need to see. Tarantino is in his element and continues to do excellent film making. My movie rating is B.

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