Once Upon a Time In Hollywood (2019) Movie Review
Once Upon a Time In Hollywood (2019) Movie Review
Simply put, Once Upon a Time In Hollywood blew my mind. This movie is epic in pretty much every sense of the word. While you’re watching it, you truly get the sense like it knows what it’s doing. Director Quentin Tarantino is an absolute master of his craft, and when joined by the combined talents of the stars of the film, they make it seem so effortless: the directing, the acting, the script, everything. I honestly wasn’t really prepared for this movie. I’d seen bits and pieces of basically every Tarantino movie before, some more than others, but I had never seen one in full. Pulp Fiction was the closest I’d gotten to watching one. I had seen the way that movie has separate stories that intertwine, and how it creates a world within itself of the slimy and gritty mean streets of Los Angeles. In a way, that’s kinda how Hollywood is, but I wouldn’t really compare the two. I’m not saying this movie is better than Pulp Fiction, but it’s on a different plane of existence.
The film, set in 1969 Hollywood, follows Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio), a mid-career actor who is best known for his work on cowboy TV shows and mindless action movies, and his rugged stunt double Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt). Cliff is generally more laid-back than Rick, who is dramatic and impulsive, but isn’t afraid to get the job done when necessary. The two men are best friends and live the wild life of late-60s Hollywood, but when Rick realizes his career isn’t going the way it should, he starts having second thoughts about his renegade lifestyle. He also just happens to live next door to actress Sharon Tate (Margot Robbie) and her husband Roman Polanski (Rafal Zawierucha). The movie also follows Tate as she navigates through the city and eventually becomes pregnant. There are movies within movies, dreams within movies, and extended subplots woven throughout the script. Then all 2 hours and 45 minutes of it build up to one explosive, harrowing, and somehow humorous climax.
I’ve never seen a movie quite like Once Upon a Time In Hollywood. As the title suggests, it is a fairy tale of sorts. It’s hard to believe anything like what happens in this movie could happen in real life, yet the film never really jumps the shark. Because of its long runtime, Tarantino has plenty of time to weave basically everything he wants into the movie. The tones change constantly, ranging from chill Californian vibes to the glamorous, flashy party life to dusty and unsettling creeping dread that feels like it came straight out of the music video for “Closer” by Nine Inch Nails. But the whole time, the movie stays true to its dreamlike overtones. You feel like you’re watching multiple movies at once, with Rick’s struggles with his career to Cliff’s strange adventures with what would become the infamous Manson Family. By the end of the film, you feel like you know these characters. You’ve seen them go through good times and bad times, their true identities showing all the way. DiCaprio blew his performance out of the water in my opinion, and Brad Pitt seems cool without even trying. Kurt Russell makes a great cameo as a disgruntled moviemaker. There are tons of cameos packed into this thing: Al Pacino appears as a loudmouthed businessman, Luke Perry and Michael Madsen show up for roles as cowboys in the movies-within-the-movie, Dakota Fanning plays a cynical young woman on Spahn’s Movie Ranch where the Manson Family hides out, and Bruce Dern makes a cameo as a blind old man stranded at the ranch.
The first 95% or so of the movie doesn’t have too much actual plot. Sure, stuff happens, but the events that take place don’t really lead to one another. It all just builds up to the climactic scene at the end, where most of the subplots come together in some way or another for an aggressive and intense scene. I’m not gonna spoil it, but it does end in a really satisfying way that only Quentin Tarantino could direct. Since it was his work, I expected it to be fairly violent going in, but to my surprise, it turned out that not much of this film actually has a lot of violence in it. Until the climax, there are maybe two or three notable moments of violence, but when that big scene came in, it really did shock me at first. I’ll talk about it more later, but this isn’t a movie for kids. The climax of the film is too brutal for anyone who is mentally 12 or under to watch. Trust me, I’ve seen movie violence. I’ve seen scenes more violent than this. But this is not something for kids to see.
Safety chart:
Violence: 9/10 - Bloody violence. People are burned to death, have their heads bashed against walls, get mauled by dogs, are stabbed with knives, etc. Dead corpses are seen. Punches and fistfights. People are shot in fake movie sequences.
Language: 8/10 - Constant strong language. Lots of f-words, s-words, mf-words, and almost everything else you could think of. What else did you expect?
Drinking/smoking: 7/10 - Rick is a struggling alcoholic. People are seen drinking and smoking constantly. Cliff smokes a cigarette dipped in acid and it clearly has an effect on how he operates.
Once Upon a Time In Hollywood is an expertly made movie. It’s Tarantino’s love letter to movies as a whole, and really captures a certain movie feeling. I can’t think of the last time I saw a movie in theaters that was as inventive or perhaps as memorable as this one. It does such a good job at making you feel immersed in what’s happening on-screen. The extended tracking shots and conversations between characters truly get you invested in the film. I wasn’t bored once during the 2 hour 45 minute runtime. There are tons of references and details. Bruce Lee shows up and characters talk about old 70s films. This is a movie for people who love movies. The actors nail their performances, no matter how big or how small, and altogether this is a movie that I’m so glad I saw. It’s the perfect mashup of reality and dreams that comes together as one long movie that takes bits and pieces from other movies but ends up becoming its own individual film. Only Tarantino could make a scene where two dudes sitting on the couch watching TV seems effortlessly entertaining. I truly loved Once Upon a Time In Hollywood and I encourage you to watch it if you’re a big fan of movies like I am. The only slight I have with the movie is that it lacks a certain urgency and edge. But when the rest of the film is this good, I basically don’t care. I give Hollywood an A+ as a grade. I really think this is a movie that people will be talking about years from now. Time to go watch every other Tarantino film!
