Once Upon A Time In Hollywood Review: DiCaprio and Pitt shine in Tarantino's Love-letter to the 60's

Rating: 9/10 (17 August 2019)

The trailers for this film got me incredibly excited as I felt like it gave me a glimpse into Tarantino's mind. This feels like his version of the 1960's - and it's stunning in its visuals alone. No CGI of any sort, just classic practical effects. Going back to basics some might say. That's not exactly a bad thing, in fact it's the opposite. I loved this film from beginning to end. The long run-time might put off some viewers but to me it's a glorious tribute to cinema, Tarantino-style.
The performances from DiCaprio, Pitt and Robbie are all great - they complement each other very well. DiCaprio and Pitt are unabashedly charming. Brad Pitt's character, Cliff Booth, is especially bombastic and head-strong, while DiCaprio exudes a bitter-sweet Big Lebowski vibe - I loved them equally. Robbie's performance is great as well. Despite not having as much screen time as Pitt and DiCaprio, she is very able to hold her own.
The music in this film is fantastic. Tarantino's love for the 60's shines through here even more and the soundtrack just adds to the atmosphere with tracks from artists like: Paul Reeves and The Raiders and Roy Head & the Traits. In addition to the wonderful tracks that play throughout the film there are also fascinating radio snippets before and after some of the songs played. This again all adds to a soundtrack that has become one of my favourites already.
The streets of Los Angeles are a wonder to view and they all look recreated rather than using a green screen. This only piles on the amount of clear and evident effort that Tarantino has put into this movie. He is one of the only directors around that still uses film to shoot his scenes, rather than falling back on digital like everyone else.
All this culminates in one of the craziest finales that I've seen. The contents of which I will not spoil. All I will say, it's one of my favourite sequences seen in a long while.
In conclusion, I cannot express how close this got to overthrowing The Favourite as my best film of the year. It sits at 2nd place - which isn't exactly a bad place to be.
5/5 Thumbs
Highly recommended!!