A Bittersweet Fairytale

Rating: 10/10 (31 August 2019)

Once Upon a Time In Hollywood is Quentin Tarantino's 9th film, and the standard he set himself with his previous work and without a doubt this movie has lived up to it. The characters are well-written and explored in great detail and acted amazingly, especially by Margot Robbie and Brad Pitt.
The movie has a very distinct tone. It's a mood-film that serves as an experience to drop into. Setting a tone and exploring the scenery, period and characters seems to be primary next to Story and I love that. Whereas I think some people may have a problem with the scenes playing more to developing a world rather than telling a story, I loved each set-piece and small story that took place.
There's definitely some pacing issues with the beginning but the way the third act is written and the tone of the middle section makes up for it. I especially love how fairytale the movie is, everything is very perfect and intentionally cheesy which fits in with the title beginning with "Once Upon a Time,". This is a movie that takes place in its own movie world, where everything plays out like movies do but in reference to a real life event, something horrible and completely unfairytale, since movies, especially ones from the 60s, are meant to be, distractions from the horrific reality. This movie takes something horrible and inserts two cheesy action heroes into it, mocking the escapism found in classic cinema.
The movie has beautiful cinematography and editing choices and a very neatly-chosen soundtrack. It may be too slow-paced in certain parts but that's something I can get behind
9/10