Strictly on the Q.T.

Rating: 7/10 (3 September 2019)

Quentin Tarantino movies are one of the few releases that still feel like "events" and if this is to be the penultimate film, whilst I enjoyed it - I can't help but feel that there was a better film in this material that this version just didn't quite get too.
Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio) is a Hollywood actor for whom film parts are drying up and TV guest roles are taking their place. His stunt double, Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt) has morphed into more of a gopher role as rumours about his past circulate Hollywood. As Rick struggles with his future, his neighbour Roman Polanski (Rafal Zawierucha) is on top of the world, a successful director with a beautiful wife, Sharon Tate (Margot Robbie) but it is 1969 and Los Angeles's most disturbing family has plans...
I liked the film fine. I want to say that up front because I think the rest of this is going to sound like criticisms only but no, it's good. I don't think it's up there with Tarantino's classics, the dialogue is not as snappy, the musical choices are plentiful, but not as iconic. The historical recreation is excellently done, it's all good - but I didn't feel it was great. I could necessarily quantify why until I sat down to think about it once the film was over. Spoilers from here, but I'm going to try and not be that specific. Once the film was finished, I felt that I would have preferred to leave out the Tate/Manson aspect altogether - or at the very least, relegate it to a background event and focus more on a fake biopic of Rick Dalton. He was the character I was interested in. I've seen some criticism that Pitt's Booth is the most engaging character (and there's a chance he murdered his wife) but I felt he had a dog instead of a personality. Dalton though was expertly played by DiCaprio. His career is struggling, and despite his demons, he doesn't take it out on the people he meets - he has time for everyone, tries to help his friends and is a talented actor. I would have preferred the film take me on the rest of his journey - was there a career renaissance or was it back to TV?
Alternatively, I'd have like the film to expand another story - Maybe Bruce Lee's - and tell a wider variety of Hollywood stories, taking time from the others.
I was disappointed by the ending. Whereas the alternate history was somewhat amusing, it felt like a cheap "get out" to end the picture, whereas, though not exactly "Boogie Nights" it did flirt with more serious themes. I appreciate it's not the first time that Tarantino has changed history, but with "Inglorious Basterds" I never felt there was a thoughtful film there in the first instance.
I appreciate that I am nobody to tell Tarantino how to improve his pictures, if nothing else, these are totally his choices as he's one of the few who studios dare not interfere with. I await QT's 10th still