Excellent

Rating: 9/10 (31 July 2019)

Quentin Tarantino's supposed ninth film (Not separately counting the two volumes of Kill Bill) shows that there's plenty of stories yet to be told, in some of the most surprisingly simple places. Whether it be a journey to space to stop baddies from destroying the good guys, or a crew of strong folk stopping a purple alien from using a MacGuffin to destroy the universe, I find myself instead more interested in whatever that new film from that weird guy who does things just because "they're so much fun." Certainly there's an important place for routine and predictable in any business model, but so long as I have my small selection of "nuanced, yet anything but pompous" products to flap my lips about I'll continue to enjoy my pursuit of creative works.
Once Upon a Time... In Hollywood is certainly not Tarantino's best film, but that's merely a testament to how talented the man truly is to produce such reliably fantastic products seemingly effortlessly. Tarantino's certainly flexing his knowledge of classic films and television in this feature in particular, and as such I could only imagine my enjoyment of this film growing in the future with consumption of such products myself. While the film-within-the-film gimmick is anything but new, its execution in this film feels exceptionally genuine and offers much insight into the goings-on of filmmaking and more than ever before allows me to understand the problems and the struggles of those in the entertainment industry, be they of varying degrees of success. What results is essentially Quentin Tarantino's BoJack Horseman. There's a riffing segment akin to something out of Mystery Science Theater 3000 and though it's brief, it feels like Tarantino's got a vast understanding as to successful formulas and why they were proven successful as well as how to implement them into his projects if only to pay homage and show he's incredibly versatile.
This may not be the most dramatic film of the year, but it could very well be the funniest and the most suspenseful. While horror films typically struggle making superpowered and supernatural monsters scary, Tarantino manages to make simple human beings intimidating and terrifying simply through his vision and direction. While horror films rely on scare chords and cliché violins, Tarantino's audio tracks build tension within the scene to sell the brilliant performances from his peculiar, yet perfectly fitting casts. The film also manages to nearly constantly subvert expectations in the most cleverly excusable of ways. While Rian Johnson will stop at nothing to surprise the audience and M. Night Shyamalan gives out the surprises that everyone has come to expect, Tarantino's films are truly exciting unlike any others. Watching many films, and all Tarantino films, there are many expectations that come with each setup in this film given the often eerie music and the suspicious framing at times, and it always comes as a surprise, even in the rare chance that the film does exactly what you had predicted, and I find myself shocked to realize that I didn't lose immersion once, like a magician pulling off a stunning misdirection. Say what you will about Tarantino as a person, but when it comes to making a film the man's a brilliant magician. To then work back through the film in my head, I would find the real magic is that it all makes sense, and the resulting product feels organically unpredictable, like a particularly crazy day in anyone's life. I'm further impressed to find myself unable to recall a decision that was made reminiscent to any silly moments present in several of Tarantino's previous films. This feature is decidedly more careful and subdued than previous ventures, and while Tarantino's staples are not absent they serve more as a garnish rather than a main course in and of themselves this time around. Once Upon a Time... may not be exciting like Django or Kill Bill, or as impactful as Pulp Fiction, but it has a surprising maturity to it that, while not paving much new ground, can set it alongside some of the great classics of the era it is set in.
Skeptics may be pleasantly surprised by the acting performances. While this certainly is an all-star cast, others may find Pitt or DiCaprio to be over-rated pretty boys with limited acting ranges, which may be somewhat true, but I might question how much of this is due to talent and how much is due to typecasting and direction. From watching numerous films, I find direction to be much more important than innate acting talent, as one might say Margot Robbie stands out in comparison to her costars in Suicide Squad, but such a statement isn't enough to make a respectable performance, otherwise she might have been considered for such an award. I've never seen this vulnerable side of DiCaprio until Tarantino brought it out in this film, because this is really the first time a DiCaprio role has demanded it, and it's truly welcome and though DiCaprio isn't the most fantastic dramatic actor, he certainly provided more compelling melodrama than I would have expected going in. I would still pit Will Arnett's performance as BoJack Horseman much higher for such a similar character, but for someone who has made a career in a very different department, DiCaprio certainly does better than "good enough." Brad Pitt's performance, while being somewhat one-note, plays off of DiCaprio's very well. Pitt's character, Cliff, while being twisted and somewhat pathetic is an oddly intriguing sidekick, giving the pessimistic yet thoroughly better off Rick Dalton some much needed support while allowing two completely different yet similar characters for the audience to latch onto while maintaining their individual personalities throughout the film almost to a fault, where character development feels much more like a slight adjustment rather than a Hollywood-style epiphany.
The tie-ins with real-life events and people are somewhat surreal and intriguing in a way only Tarantino could pull off, much like he managed with Hitler in Inglorious Basterds. Being one who wasn't too familiar with the details of the Manson Family murders, I found myself fascinated with the characters' appearance in the film and importance in the main story. There are certainly many creative liberties taken as the main duo manage to kill three of these maniacs towards the climax of the film in a hilariously grotesque sequence akin to the most graphic moments of John Wick: Chapter 3. There's another scene in which Cliff kicks Bruce Lee's ass for running his mouth about being able to beat Ali in a fight, and though the many impersonations are somewhat unprofessional, they are incredibly charming and fit with the comedy-drama tone of the film. Tarantino has a knack for making twisted comedy out of real life tragedies without it coming off as terribly tasteless as the material is taken very seriously when it needs to be, even if it manages to be awkwardly funny or silly with some alternate reality stuff thrown in the mix at times.
I can understand that this is not a film for everyone. Casual moviegoers and perhaps teenagers might be bored by the subject matter and slow, methodical pacing of this film, but I found it to be thoroughly engaging and fascinating. As I've said before, it's similar to BoJack Horseman with a twist of Tarantino (who was parodied in the show, oddly enough. Perhaps he caught wind of the series this way.). If you go into this without the expectation of a Tarantino film you'll perhaps be more likely to enjoy this film for what it is, but it's certainly more of a substance over style film. There are few special effects compared to today's blockbusters, and much of the story is about the nuanced elements rather than a complex web of plotlines. The lives of celebrities are explored in ways that I haven't seen explored in film, but given the beefy 161 minute runtime, Tarantino finds the time to explore these aspects from several people's perspectives without any of it feeling glossed over or useless. One might not get the point of the focus on Sharon Tate's self-obsession in a ten minute sequence focused on her going to see a film she starred in to garner approval from a movie-going audience, but the narcissistic aspect of stardom is certainly an aspect which is at least touched on even though Dalton's ultimately the main focus of the story and Sharon's quite literally a background character up until the conclusion of the film. If it were notably botched at any point, I might see her character as extraneous, but she ultimately added to the experience.
The setting is beautiful and this may be one of my favorite throwback type films. From the retro Taco Bell to the 60s fashions and automobiles, it's all incredibly immersive. There was what appeared to be a single exterior shot of a CGI airplane at one point, but outside of that the film successfully brought me into the world as it was when the story is meant to take place. The acting outside of the acting-within-acting at times felt silly, but the acting-within-acting was so on-the-nose cliché for the most part that it seemed that Tarantino truly understood the reality of the matter. The fake scenes you are shown within the film feel authentic to classic television and film and they all have a similar disingenuity to them that we have grown to love from cheesy action films. Certainly, the acting is obviously acting, but were it realistic, it might come off as lazy, which at times it does in this film, which makes it feel more authentic. In other words, sometimes thinking too hard and trying too hard negatively impacts films, especially nowadays where we've come to shut our brains off at cliches lest they be shown in a context where they make sense, as they are in this film.
All in all, I adore this film and would recommend it to most people, more so than perhaps older Tarantino flicks as this one is a bit more relaxed and careful than prior films. In other words, grandma [...]