Poorly scripted

Rating: 6/10 (9 February 2020)

As enjoyable as any individual portion of this film may be, the very fact that we have to digest it in "portions" points to the ineluctable fact that it is poorly scripted.
The first half or so is a feast for '60s nostalgia fans, who will get some enjoyment from trying to name all the brands and trends, as well as film trivia, mixed in with enough portent in the names and settings that we all know - or think we know - what is about to happen next. Fun enough, but just as this starts to get old, it breaks off into a European foray, fast-forwarded through by an omniscient "narrator", though no previous or subsequent portion of the film was to use narration. Then, as if all of that had never happened, we are returned pretty much to where we left off to witness the slam-bang ending and surrealist outcome. This disjointed artifice notwithstanding, the writers and editors were still unable to keep it at less than 2 hours 40 minutes.
The film abounds with talent, from great acting to splendid cinematography, dazzling costumes and props; almost enough to save it. But when all this dazzle is in service to such a disjointed, rambling and uneven script, one is left wondering what about it was worth spending the last two and a half hours upon.