ONCE UPON A TIME IN… HOLLYWOOD / CERT: 18 / DIRECTOR & SCREENPLAY: QUENTIN TARANTINO / STARRING: LEONARDO DICAPRIO, BRAD PITT, MARGOT ROBBIE, AL PACINO / RELEASE DATE: AUGUST 14TH
There is no questioning Quentin Tarantino’s contribution to modern cinema: The maverick filmmaker rescued film narrative from stagnation and pumped fresh air into screen dialogue. In Inglourious Basterds, QT decided that rewriting history was a perfectly valid way to spin a tale. And it was.
There is, however, an aspect of movie making Tarantino has yet to master: depth. His movies have been consistently hollow and the subtext – crime doesn’t pay, violence is inherent to the human condition, what goes around comes around – feels less than inspired. Once Upon a Time in… Hollywood doesn’t show much progress in terms of substance, but there is an important change that sets the movie apart from Tarantino’s previous eight: instead of plot-driven, this one is character-based, not a bad move considering QT is good at coming up with memorable creations (see The Bride, Jackie Brown, Vincent Vega, Jules Winnfield, Mr. Orange, and Col. Hans Landa).
Most of Once Upon a Time unfolds in the course of one day in Hollywood in 1969. It’s a fateful one for former TV star Rick Dalton (DiCaprio) who comes to the realisation his window to become a movie star has closed. Stuck playing villain-of-the-week roles in westerns and detective shows, he’s too square to mesh with the kids and too one-note to rival the likes of Steve McQueen or Paul Newman. This also spells bad news for Dalton’s stunt double, Cliff Booth (Pitt), already on the outs with his community. Running errands for the actor, Booth bumps into the Manson Family. He knows something is not right with the commune but can’t imagine the extent of their wickedness.
A third character basically floats over Los Angeles. Unaware of the evil encircling her, Sharon Tate (Margot Robbie) lives a blessed existence, married to the hottest director in town and poised to become a star. As showed in the film, she represents the purity of dreams. If you know your Hollywood history, you’re aware of the perversity to this depiction. Once Upon a Time In… Hollywood succeeds in several accounts: Tarantino not only recreates late ‘60s L.A., but the ambience, whether is Hollywood Boulevard anything-goes vibe or the noxiousness of the Spahn Ranch where the cult of Manson was sheltered.
While QT would rather to keep Once Upon a Time’s conclusion under wraps, the film’s themes only crystalise in the third act, and there is no way to properly assess the movie without discussing it. The next couple of paragraphs are spoiler-free but proceed with caution.
The title gives away the end-game: This is a fairy tale and more often than not, they have happy endings. The Tate-LaBianca murders are widely considered a breaking point for the peace-and-love generation and the end of old Hollywood. The ‘70s would bring easy riders and raging bulls, cynicism, rage, and hopelessness become the predominant sentiments. Without going into details, Tarantino reimagines the horrific events of August 9th, 1969 at the Tate-Polanski mansion. By doing this, he is giving traditional Hollywood a new lease on life. But why? As the embodiment of the establishment, Rick Dalton is not someone who deserves an extension: bigoted, sexist, reactionary. Quentin’s nostalgia may be aesthetically pleasing, even entertaining, but doesn’t hold water.
Expected Rating: 9 out of 10
