Great sense of atmosphere and attitude.

Rating: 8/10 (3 March 2020)

An increasingly irrelevant television actor, Rick Dalton (DiCaprio) and his out of work stunt double, Cliff Booth (Pitt) strive to achieve fame and success in the film industry as Hollywood's Golden Age comes to an end. Tarantino crafts yet another masterclass in classic film making technique and ever engaging dialogue in this stylish revisionist history of 1960s L.A.
Tarantino is without a doubt one of the most skilful directors working today and he surrounds himself with a very talented cast and crew who are all working brilliantly in this his ninth film. The cinematography by Robert Richardson strikes a clever balance between modern camera movement and a more classical filmmaking style paying homage to films from the 50s and 60s with plenty of long wide takes showing off the wonderful work from production designer Barbara Ling and costume designer Arianne Phillips. The design feels both stylish and tactile, Tarantino's preference for real sets, cars and props over CGI environments gives the film's setting weight and character which perfectly captures the feeling of Hollywood in this era. Edited by Fred Raskin the film clocks in at 161 minutes. It doesn't strictly follow a traditional three act structure and often indulges in scenes which do little to advance the plot or characters, but despite the slower pace it is consistently entertaining.
The acting on display is all excellent as you would expect from such an A-list cast. DiCaprio brings a lot of charisma to a mean and self-obsessive alcoholic. Pitt manages to make his character likeable despite being lazy and violent with a questionable past. If those characters show the fall of the Golden Age of Cinema Margot Robbie in her small role as Sharon Tate represents a more innocent and romanticised past for Hollywood, something authentically optimistic. These characters have little in the way of character growth and Tarantino avoids making judgement on their motivations and actions thus the film functions more as a well-crafted snapshot of old Hollywood and is less a story about characters or theme.
The film will not be to everyone's taste, it is long and slow paced, it doesn't have a typical protagonist versus antagonist dynamic, and it doesn't offer satisfying character arcs. There is also the trade-mark Tarantino violence which is always a point of contention for audiences. But it is a highly entertaining, expertly crafted unique film that draws you into its world with a great sense of atmosphere and attitude.