Tarantino's Love Letter to 60's Hollywood

Rating: 9/10 (24 August 2019)

Tarantino is the best kind of filmmaker. He's the kind who has such an appreciation for everything that's come before him, but is always looking for something new. He infuses all of his characters with his own style of catchy dialogue, whilst still ensuring that they all have their own memorable personalities whilst assembling casts who know how to bring these characters to life. At a time when it feels far too many mainstream films have become predictable, you never really know exactly where a Tarantino film is going to take you. One moment you'll be watching a boxer on the run from a crime boss, before all of a sudden those same characters are tied up next to gimp as Comanche starts to play.
It's this same unpredictability that underscores the entirety of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. It's similar to Pulp Fiction in the sense that it doesn't really follow any traditional narrative and instead lets the characters drive the story as they go through their daily lives. First there's Leonardo DiCaprio's Rick Dalton. He's a TV actor who's always on the verge of his big break, but the biggest roles are always just out of reach as they always go to other contemporaries like Steve McQueen. He's still doing well in the industry with a recognisable name, a house in Hollywood and receiving offers to star in spaghetti westerns. But in spite of all his success, he feels as though his life stuck in westerns doesn't let him live up to his full potential as an actor, as just like a lot of people at the time he views the spaghetti westerns as a cheap form of entertainment. Similar to how the current age of Hollywood is coming to an end, he fears that he's no longer in his prime.
He's supported by his best pal and close friend Cliff Booth, played by Brad Pitt. Without any stunts to do, he finds himself stuck doing chores for Rick, driving him around wherever he needs to go and picking him up when he gets down. In contrast to Rick who reaps the success of his life in Hollywood, Cliff is both the metaphorical and literal punching bag of the industry, but he's so easy going and care free that he doesn't give a damn. He's just happy to help out his buddy and is described as being "more than a friend and less than a wife."
Finally there's Margot Robbie playing Sharon Tate. Whilst Rick and Cliff are both starting to fall out of the industry, Tate is very much on the rise as the talk of the town as her career is still on the rise and embraces it with a very unselfish sense of joy. One of her best moments is just seeing the genuine pleasure she gets from being in the audience and seeing how much the audience is enjoying her performance.
In the background of all this, Manson and his followers keep popping up throughout the film. On the one hand, their presence creates a creepy atmosphere whenever they're on screen with the film becoming much quieter, especially when Cliff visits the Manson ranch and we see them thriving in the broken set of old western shows watching his every move in complete paranoia. But similar to Stuntman Mike in Death Proof, he shows the pathetic bumbling side of these killers with the script showing nothing but disdain for both their viewpoint and their actions.
Though even with the underlined bleakness present within the setting of a dying age of Hollywood history, just like the fairy tale nature of the title suggests we do get drenched in the culture of late 60's Hollywood. Stars like Steve McQueen and Bruce Lee will randomly pop up. Whenever the characters are driving the background is always filled with billboards and fashion plucked from the era. There's even a series of both real and fake radio ads throughout the film, some of which are even included in the films soundtrack to create a real radio experience.
But more than anything else, Taranino's love of cinema really shines through, with characters going into great detail on how an actor like Rick would operate in this time through guest spots on network shows and the filming techniques employed by spaghetti western filmmakers. It's a true snapshot of life in 60's Hollywood and Tarantino's love letter to the final moments of Hollywood's golden age. It's also filled with so much great comedy, memorable character moments and ends on such a high note that the films 2 hour 41 minute runtime just leaves you wanting more.