DELICIOUS

Rating: 10/10 (9 September 2019)

I'll start by saying that I'm a true Tarantino fangirl. I even have a Hanzo tattoo. Even so, a couple of his movies have left me feeling out of sorts, not because of the campy violence, but because of certain depictions of cruelty. I don't like mean. So, along comes 'HOLLYWOOD' and I know very well that if ever a story had cause to be mean as hell, it's this one. Still, I was stupid excited, as I am before every new Tarantino flick. As is my habit, I avoided all trailers and commercials; I wanted to be surprised, even though I was anxious about how Quentin would handle the tragic ending (don't worry - no spoilers in this review!).
As we all know, QT's ego is the size of a planet, so I was concerned that he might botch this heart-breaking historic tale. What if he made light of a very real tragedy? What if he turned a sobering true crime into a cartoon? I mentally and emotionally prepared myself for the potentiality of an epic disappointment. But I needn't have worried. Thank you, Quentin.
It's difficult to write about this film without pointing out every. lovely. thing. The streets, the cars, the marquees, the clothes, even the dirt, as a tire rolls to a stop. Chapped lips. Scars. The texture of hair as it moves on the breeze. Dirty feet. The plink of a maraschino cherry in a cocktail. How does QT do it? It's beautiful, this movie. He works his magic with the actors, too. They are transcendent (who is this fascinating man and what has he done with the real Brad Pitt?). In a word, this movie is.. MATURE. Quentin is finally growing up.
The film is a meal. Some have described the pace as boring, but I would describe it as delicious. The story takes its sweet-ass time to simmer, then invites the audience to savor every bite, to relish each complex flavor. After seeing it, I couldn't stop thinking about it for days. Bits of dialogue and snapshot images kept floating through my mind, as if they were distant memories from my own life.. maybe because I was born in '65 and the sounds and images from that era so easily transported me back to my childhood. No, it was more than that.. there was a FEELING.. it was a sense memory, a thing indescribable.
Remember when you were a kid, when 'going to the movies' was magical? The smell of the theater, the strangers in the surrounding seats, that feeling of excitement about the whole experience. It was like that. I haven't felt that way about a movie since I was a kid. God, it was GREAT. What a ride! Two weeks later, I went back to see it again and it was even better, because I knew what to expect and I wasn't distracted by my own anxiety. Instead, I was able to completely suspend my disbelief and in so doing, I caught a million beautiful details that I'd missed the first time. I'm going back again, before it leaves the theater.