A ninth opus distinctly different

Rating: 9/10 (15 August 2019)

Even if the context and the script are fundamentally different, Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood (2019) is inherently alike Hail, Caesar! (2016) directed by the Coen brothers and lovingly dedicated to the cinematographic world of the 50's and more precisely to the Hollywood gossips. Thus, with his ninth opus, Quentin Tarantino plunges us with delightful and nostalgia into the Hollywood atmosphere of 1969 with two main characters: Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio) is a has-been actor and Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt) is his personal stuntman. And during the first two hours, we bump with pleasure into major figures of the seventh art such as Steve McQueen (I'm an indefectible fan!), Roman Polanski or Bruce Lee. Quentin Tarantino was 6 years old in 1969. This film is an avalanche of cult references of his childhood with implicit or explicit allusions to Wanted: Dead or Alive (1958), The Green Hornet (1966), The Great Escape (1963), Dixie Dynamite (1976), the Western Spaghetti, a well-known subgenre of Western films that emerged in the mid-60s, ... And the barbaric murder of Sharon Tate is unfortunately a nightmarish Proust's madeleine.
For sure, the atmosphere of 1969 is perfectly transcribed with a strong focus on the two fictive fellows, Rick Dalton and Cliff Booth. Thus, Brad Pitt interprets a guy without particular ambition, fulfilled, living from day to day without worrying about tomorrow and endowed with an exceptionally mesmerizing aura; in the audience, women were obviously under his spell. Leonardo DiCaprio impersonates a more complex individual who is no more than the shadow of himself, inexorably sliding towards the abysses of oblivion. They are both awesome! And Margot Robbie? Well, well, well, she sublimely shines. I truly behaved like the Tex Avery's howling wolf in each of her scenes!
If you are a film buff, you will probably enjoy Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood (2019). If you are a fan of Quentin Tarantino as I am, you may be surprised or even frustrated by the contemplative narration and the deliberately slow pace. Actually, with a recipe including 2 major ingredients such as 1) Sharon Tate in August 1969 and 2) Quentin Tarantino, we may say that the cooking is over a sloooooow heat until the long-awaited final denouement, and the prepared dish is undoubtedly lacking of bloody red chili.
PS: There are rumors that Quentin Tarantino will bow out after his tenth opus. It can't be! No way!! I want 10 more masterpieces such as Pulp Fiction (1994) or Reservoir Dogs (1992), during the next three decades, please!