Meditation On The End Of An Era.

Rating: 9/10 (20 August 2019)

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood: There are elements of this film which could be described as fantasy, alternate history or even Forteana but I'll settle for Action/Comedy/Drama, with an emphasis on dark comedy. It's the end of an era in 1969, Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio) is pushing 40, a former film and TV star with his own show, Bounty Killer, he now depends on guest-starring roles in TV Series' and Pilots. Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt) is Dalton's friend and stunt double. Booth now mainly works as a gopher and driver for Rick. Film Agent Marvin Schwarz (Al Pacino) tries to convince Dalton to go to Italy to make Spaghetti Westerns. In the background is the Manson Family, we see the girls dumpster diving and one of them, Pussycat ( Margaret Qualley) catches Cliff's eye. Sharon Tate (Margot Robbie) and Roman Polanski are Rick's neighbours so a collision between these three groups seems inevitable.

Tarantino captures what seems to be a pastiche of the late 60s, people dance in the bar of a 747, everyone (even the Manson Family) watch Mannix and The FBI Files on TV. Tate goes to watch her own film, thrilling to the audience reactions. She was trained in martial arts by Bruce Lee (Mike Moh) whose run in with Booth resulted in Booth being blacklisted for stunt work. The film within in a film (Lancer pilot show) is hilarious as Dalton plays a villain, when he is reading from a Western novel to precocious child actor Trudi (Julia Butters)about an ageing cowboy he breaks down but goes on to have an inspired scene in the show when he is her kidnapper.
Some great scenes at the Spahn Ranch, a former filming set for Westerns, where the Manson Family now reside. Booth gives Pussycat a ride to the ranch where he meets Squeaky Fromme (Dakota Fanning), Manson's lieutenant, who later tried to assassinate President Ford. Cliff is worried about Spahn (Bruce Dern) but finds that he is having a good time with Squeaky. An ever increasing number of Family members watch Booth as he enters Spahn's shack but only Pussycat is outside as he exits. The rest are in a line on a porch barracking him as he departs resulting in brilliant shots.
There are a few surprises and some savage violence as the film heads towards it's seemingly inevitable conclusion but the antics of Dalton and Booth provide laughs and entertainment along the way. Especially the sequences from Bounty Killer and Dalton's films. Writer/Director Tarantino delivers a meditation on the end of a Hollywood era. 8.5/10.