The more you appreciate cinema as an art, the more you will like this film

Rating: 9/10 (30 July 2019)

I would like to preface this review by expressing that I didn't particularly love this film as much as I expected to. Like many others, Tarantino is one of my favorite directors. I respect his fundamental consistency and his creative license above all else, and he lets both of those aspects shine through brightly in his 9th undertaking. It was this particular flavor of storytelling that he used this time around that I wasn't fond of. There was nothing difficult to follow about it, but it just didn't want to piece itself together into any coherent arcs. I can certainly appreciate that this was the feel Tarantino was going for, but it was not one I could appreciate during my viewing. With that being said, the story wraps up into a bizarre, unique, and satisfying conclusion that reminded me why I will always be in theaters for this director. What makes Tarantino so great is that he maintains such sound film fundamentals when taking on these strange and creative projects. His actors blew their roles out of the water, his cinematographer enhanced their potent performances further, and his set/costume decorators crafted a world of immersion. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is not a film everyone will love, but it is a film everyone should see.