Hey! You're Quentin freaking Tarantino, don't you forget it!

Rating: 10/10 (29 July 2019)

Wow. Where to begin. OK. I will respect QT's wishes, walk the line and not include a single spoiler here. Call it reciprocity for the respect he has shown me as an audience member. A deeply satisfied one at that. So glad I caught this in a theater, which is how a QT film should be watched, i.e. on a brodingnagian-sized screen. I remember QT's first few films. How they were informed but not overwhelmed by other filmmaker's ideas. He'd borrow a piece from this one and that one, etc. Back then he was building well-crafted dollhouses rather than motion pictures. The passion and enthusiasm were always there. You sensed his love for film, it was/is palpable and infectious. Then he found his voice, maybe found is the wrong word, cultivated a unique voice and perspective through hard work. Evident first in his writing, then in his directing. Once he found that equipoise of both, he became a force of nature. For me, this started with Django Unchained. A really exceptional and visceral piece of storytelling in the great American tradition. It continued with Hateful Eight, flaws and all. And now we have the realization and culmination of all the man's talent overflowing in wild abundance. What QT does with this latest film of his is set a new standard not just for 21st Century filmmaking, but also screenwriting. It isn't too hard to believe that he first considered Once Upon... as a novel, not a film. I'm glad he disabused himself of that initial impulse. This film is his magnum opus. A lyrical love letter not just to L.A., but also to his audience. It is clear he respects our intelligence. This film he has gifted us with is full of smart choices, artful direction, unexpected twists, and stunning surprises. You will find allusions, both obvious and oblique, to many of his other films. There's a plethora of cool references. Dazzling landmarks and haunts, resplendent in their past glory despite the smog. A sixth sense of the '69 zeitgeist. Monumental moments of well-timed, gale-force laughter inducing punchlines which serve to leaven the heavier stuff. There's also plenty of sincerity and emotional honesty abounding here. I'd say all of the actors, primary, secondary, ancillary, tertiary and even the four-legged ones all brought their A-games, just like QT. It is Leo's finest performance since Gilbert Grape. Brad's best since Kalifornia. The chemistry between the two is Siamese symbiosis at its most inspiring. Al Pacino kills it as Schwarzs. Margot Robbie was the right choice to play the angelically pulchritudinous Sharon Tate. She's like a light source. Especial shout-outs as well to Damian Lewis who becomes Steve McQueen. Scoot McNairy, brilliant as always, as Business Bob Gilbert. Julia Butters, the child actress that steals the scene that she's in with Leo. I could keep going but I'd risk sounding sycophantic. Just go and see it. This was the first film that gave me Stendhal symptoms since the Witch. I can't get it out of my head. Sincere gratitude, Q.T., for a truly immersive filmic experience. You made me a participant in the era, the scene. You are very generous with your talents. The great film poet Jodorowsky once said, "Too much perfection is a mistake." Not this time.