Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019) Reviews

'Once Upon a Time in Hollywood' sounded like it would be a great film from the get go. Although Quentin Tarantino's films have been spotty in recent years, his best work such as 'Reservoir Dogs' and especially 'Pulp Fiction' are masterpieces. The cast consists of many immensely talented actors. It looked great from the advertising and who cannot help resist that title. That it was one of the year's most positively received films further added to the interest.

Although it is not quite perfect, 'Once Upon a Time in Hollywood' to me was as great as hoped. One of Tarantino's best in direction, writing and as a film as an overall whole in recent years, towards the better end of his filmography and one of 2019's best films, its positive reception richly deserved. It is unmistakable Tarantino in a good way and a great representation of the cast, with many giving some of their best work in recent years.

Will start with the very, very few things that didn't quite come off for my tastes. Some of the pace, especially for a film as long as it was, could have tightened and not every scene felt necessary. Actually would have trimmed some or all of Sharon Tate in the cinema, regardless of how beguiling the production values and Margot Robbie's (that smile is a beauty) acting were.

Did think too that the Bruce Lee caricature and encounter were quite tasteless and anybody who was offended can't be blamed.

That sounds like a film worth a 7 or 8 out of 10. The good things though were so amazing and the film was in a different league to a lot of films released this year that to me awarding 'Once Upon a Time in Hollywood' either of those scores felt too low. It looks wonderful, dazzlingly shot with shots filled to the brim with atmosphere, stylishly edited with a lovingly recreated period. Tarantino directs with great confidence and his distinctive style is all over it. The music is used sparingly, but the music choices are very effective when used. Particularly so the quite sinister use of "Twelve Thirty" in a scene that already makes one feel unnerved.

Script has the hard-boiled edge necessary and has entertainment and intensity. A word of warning, there is a lot of profanity (am mentioning this because this is something that bothers people) but to me it didn't feel as gratuitous as feared. Some pacing issues aside, the story is often absorbing and is quite nostalgic and daring with expert melding of fact and fiction. A few great scenes are everything to do with the making of the western with Rick and the girl (fans of classic-era westerns will enjoy it, likewise anybody with super fond memories of episodic television), Cliff's truly chilling encounter at the Spahn Movie Ranch and the splendidly over the top (and extremely violent just to warn you) finale in true Tarantino style.

Found the characters to be interesting, with Rick and Cliff being quite meaty roles. The acting is exemplary, Leonardo DiCaprio is charisma and intensity personified and Brad Pitt, here the epitome of cool, has not been this good in years. Margot Robbie is absolutely radiant with a smile that lights up the screen. Bruce Dern, Damian Lewis and Al Pacino provide delicious support in small roles.

In conclusion, the odd pacing issue and one tasteless scene aside this was a great film. 9/10

Full disclosure: Quentin Tarantino’s cinema is something I’ve never responded to with the reverence and prosaic rhapsody of others. I find his comfortability with certain types of language empty provocations and his increasingly lackluster female characters are certain hardening of grossly masculine outlook. Into this fray comes his ninth film, a paean to the sunset of an era of white male rule and nearly three hours of Tarantino having a midlife crisis.

 

The story largely concerns Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio), a former western television star, and Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt), his stunt double and best friend, as they navigate the rise of the New Hollywood and cultural changes of 1969. Orbiting around them are Sharon Tate (Margot Robbie), the Manson family, and various other players that seem to exist merely to threaten their place in the firmament. Being a Tarantino movie it, of course, ends in bloodshed and historical revisionism, like several of his films post-Inglourious Basterds.

 

I was with Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood elegiac tone and vision for the first two hours but that final forty minutes ruined the entire experience. Sure, up to that point there was a certain hysteria about the presence of non-white people and women, but it was counterbalanced by a humanizing element to Sharon Tate and Pitt’s work as a zen-like figure knowing he’s lost every other relationship in his life. Then Tarantino insists on transforming these guys into heroic figures by killing the Manson family in the most violent ways imaginable.

 

Frankly, Once Upon a Time would’ve been better had to ended prior to August 1969. It is this ending that solidified the general sense of, as Richard Brody described it, “[celebration of] white-male stardom (and behind-the-scenes command) at the expanse of everyone else.” It’s a bit awe inspiring in how it went from an extended love letter to Hollywood and a mature vision from one of cinema’s enfant terribles before swinging wildly, manically back into his bloodthirsty provocations.

 

At least DiCaprio and Pitt deliver some truly great work and maintain your interest. DiCaprio creates a portrait of a star struggling to transition from superstar to smaller player that unearths layers of melancholy and vulnerability we haven’t previously seen from the star. There’s a scene where DiCaprio, a great actor, must deliver lines and perform in a manner that’s mannered and artificial, and it’s thrilling to watch him go so far outside of his comfort zone.

 

But it is Pitt that emerges as the film’s true MVP as he interacts with a larger number of players in the film. He meets his shrinking platform with a benevolent resignation to the charging tides and manages to subtly reflect the internal struggle he’s experiencing throughout. He’s magnetic when merely inhabiting the screen or when sharing it with a crop of up-and-comers, especially in some extended dialogue scenes with Margaret Qualley.

 

The best scene probably belongs to a nearly silent Margot Robbie as her Sharon Tate goes to watch The Wrecking Crew, a real movie the actual Tate starred in. Robbie-as-Tate watches the real Sharon Tate and for a moment the tragedy that subsumed her movie career is washed away. We’re glimpsing the movie star Sharon Tate, a charismatic beauty that possessed a certain sadness behind her eyes, and her film career is elevated above the tragedy that prematurely ended her life. This is one of the few true moments of elegy and eulogy for a fading Hollywood in a film that ends that maturity with a blowtorch to a swimming pool.     

Cuando uno mira Once Upon a Time in Hollywood encuentra mucho de lo que esperaría de una película de Tarantino: Extensos diálogos de comportamiento que hacen que los personajes se sientan muy humanos apoyados por actores carismáticos, un ritmo lento con el que la tensión se mantiene en constante aumento, y violencia gráfica exagerada de la que nunca llegas a aburrirte.
En este caso nos ubicamos en el Hollywood de los 60's, en un contexto histórico muy particular, y al introducir sus personajes ficticios justifica con el efecto mariposa la modificación de los eventos reales.
La historia principal se centra en un actor de western clásico que busca revitalizar su carrera, con miedo a estancarse en un mismo papel como es común en muchos actores. Paralelamente conocemos a Sharon Tate; la película asume que el espectador promedio conoce la historia de su asesinato, y por ello juega con nuestras expectativas a lo largo de toda la película presentándonos uno a uno a los participantes del suceso.
Mientras el personaje de Dicaprio supera sus conflictos internos para redescubrir al héroe de acción que representa en pantalla, el personaje de Brad Pitt, quien queda implícito mató a su esposa, está ocupado siendo un héroe de acción en la vida real, persiste como un ideal estoico que sabe lo que quiere y pierde el tiempo siendo una herramienta para introducirnos a nuevos personajes.
El contraste entre una divertida historia psicosocial llena de referencias al cine de la época y una aventura secundaria que progresivamente construye tensión para siempre dejarte con ganas de más, a la vez que intenta hacernos simpatizar con la esposa del director judío, resulta en un ritmo inusualmente lento por la alternancia entre peripecias mayormente inconexas entre ellas, por lo que se exige del público un nivel inusual de paciencia, incluso para estándares de Tarantino, por más divertidas que algunas de esas peripecias lleguen a ser. A la narrativa la beneficia la constante iluminación cálida y la saturación de colores más homogénea que en anteriores películas de Tarantino y Robert Richardson, con lo cual la película mantiene un tono bastante ameno, como si de un anuncio de café se tratase. Y es esta ambientación de lo que derivan mis principales problemas con la película.
Con esta obra Tarantino hizo un homenaje a Hollywood, el entorno de la historia es romantizado y naturalizado en función de que el espectador lo acepte con comodidad. Pero Tarantino no homenagea el cine como lo hace por ejemplo, Cinema Paradiso, como un medio de unificación del pueblo y proyección de ideales para la juventud; sino que romantiza la decadencia de la que Hollywood es representante:
Un hombre que asesinó a su esposa anda libre y no tiene que pagar ninguna consecuencia, persistiendo como un ideal de masculinidad por siempre salirse con la suya. Y con ese mismo asesino el consumo de drogas es convertido en algo divertido y nada perjudicial. Y hasta puede decirse que se honra la capacidad del cine para reescribir la historia y finalmente convertir la ficción en realidad. Pero lo más descarado ha de ser la sexualización de los personajes, con culos y sus pies mugrientos cubriendo medio encuadre durante planos extensos, incluso si el personaje es menor de edad. Todo esto, sumado a las múltiples referencias a la filmografía de Tarantino, hace imposible separar a la obra del artista, y la película se hace una expresión de los gustos excéntricos de un pedófilo con fetiche de pies romantizando la industria en la que vive.
Esto último se hace evidente en el acto final, cuando aparece un grupo con críticas negativas a la industria hollywoodense, pero en lugar de enfrentar esas críticas a los anti-valores defendidos por Tarantino, la película desecha cualquier oportunidad para que los personajes tengan una catarsis real en su desarrollo para humillar de manera desmesurada a los personajes cuyas perspectivas Tarantino desprecia; escondiendo las críticas debajo de la alfombra y queriendo que mires en la dirección contraria. Tan acelerada conclusión, en la que el personaje formado por la agenda anti-blanca de Hollywood tiene que ser asimilado por el protagonista para defender su casa, resulta muy insatisfactorio para las anteriores 2 horas y media de historia.
Las últimas películas del director pueden ser resumidas como una excusa para proyectar sus sueños húmedos en el pasado por medio de sus personajes, sea acabando con el Tercer Reich, burlándose de los esclavistas americanos, o humillando a los Confederados, y esta vez les toca a los aceleracionistas del Clan Manson, siempre asegurándose de que el público se caiga de la risa y no le importe la infantil parcialidad de la historia. Y aunque no llega a ser tan ridículo como en Inglorious Basterds, me parece imposible no condenar una película que resulta en tal defensa de la industria más degenerada del mundo y una celebración de su efecto transformador en la sociedad.

Sharon daydreaming or moviedreaming with her film, after forcing her entreé, is happiiest Tarantino scene. But the end, after the alternative Tarantino pastiche murders, is as happiest. Cahill/Di Caprio enters paradise on earth, on Hollywood, Tate/Polanski house

Just amazing. I just love it in so many ways. It has great comedy moments, as it´s kinda serious in Tarantino´s way. It´s for sure his most mature movie, with a lot of references (maybe too many references). And the end, it´s simply just like during the judgments, "Tex" Watson, Patricia Krenwinkel, Susan Atkins e Leslie Van Houten laughed and mocked the crimes they committed, but Tarantino returned in kind, the chance for everyone to laugh at the killers. Genious!

I already saw this movie when it was released but I was quite eager to check it out again. Well, eventually, I think it turned out to be his most challenging movie so far which was not necessarily a bad thing, in the contrary, but I wish this challenge would have been more rewarding. I mean, I really liked it but it just never left like a real home-run to me. Still, on the technical side, it was just a marvel to watch. Indeed, Tarantino went very far in the mood and the details to create a believable version of Hollywood at the time. On top of that, Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio were both pretty good and I was above all impressed by DiCaprio who gave here one of his best performances. However, what the main point was probably the nostalgia that Tarantino has for this time and place but, if you don't share this feeling, well, there are so many references that you will either miss or that you won't care about at all. On top of that, even if it is something you probably should expect from this director, the whole thing was pretty random. In 'Pulp Fiction', you had also such seemingly random mess but every single scene did end up being crucial, which wasn't really the case here. I mean, at some point, you get to see Cliff Booth visiting Charles Manson's commune and, of course, I get that Tarantino wanted to create some ominous atmosphere, but it also felt like a random scene just to give Booth something to do, and, eventually, it led to nowhere. Finally, except for DiCaprio and Pitt, all the other characters were barely developed at all, the worst being probably Margot Robbie who maybe had some decent screen time but not one single line of worthwhile dialogue. Still, I have to admit that I never expected the twist at the end as Tarantino used the same trick he did with 'Inglourious Basterds', rewriting history in the process, but it was actually pretty neat and it worked better this time around. To be honest, this re-watch didn't change my mind about this movie, in my opinion, the whole thing is basically always interesting and fairly entertaining but never really fascinating to behold. Anyway, to conclude, even if it didn't completely win me over, it was still a really bold project, much more interesting than all these remakes, reboots and sequels that you get to see nowadays at the movie theater and the damned thing is definitely worth a look, especially if you are interested in Quentin Tarantino's work.