A Stylish, Highly Entertaining Slow-Burn Played Out Over 2 Days at the Sunset of Hollywood's "Golden Age"

Rating: 8/10 (28 July 2019)

The stories of a young, radiant up-and-coming starlet, a fading old Western actor, and his cool, loyal, and regretless stunt double intertwine on a fateful summer night in 1969 at the dusk of Hollywood's "Golden Age" when a rabid bunch of hippy-cultists at the orders of Charlie Manson go out to seek violent revenge.
For those who aren't familiar with the backstory, Charlie Manson was an aspiring musician, who had become friends with the main drummer bandmember of the legendary group, "The Beach Boys", Dennis Wilson, and after crashing at Wilson's pad for a while and gaining some interest from him, Wilson set up a meeting with Terry Melcher, Doris Day's son, who was a successful music producer in Hollywood. Manson got the meeting with Melcher at his home on Cielo drive, but Melcher decided not to sign Manson after having some unsettling encounters with him at the Spahn ranch, where Manson eventually moved to and organize his infamous cult full of young girls and runaways, whom he would brainwash and take advantage of. A young Roman Polanski and Sharon Tate eventually began renting out Melcher's home where Manson thought Melcher was still living, and Manson and his girls were angry at Melcher for not giving him his record deal he wanted. The rest is pretty much history.
The event was important because it basically was symbolic of the end of the Golden Age of Hollywood, when all innocence was finally lost once and for all.
Tarantino captures the final days of the Golden Age through the eyes of fading Western actor Rick Dalton (Leo DiCaprio), his stunt double Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt), and Sharon Tate (Margot Robbie) and how they experience this shiny world of big dreams, fading careers, and at the time, an influx of "hippies".
About 80% of the movie captures the lives of each of these characters over the course of 2 days in February of 1969, as DiCaprio struggles to accept his fading star, Robbie happily enjoys her rising star, and Pitt is stuck in a business-as-usual mode where he has accepted that his career will never be anything more than a stunt double for Dalton, but he's okay with that.
This is a very good film, but for those who are expecting anything similar to Tarantino's most recent movies like Django Unchained, Inglourious Basterds, or Hateful Eight, they may be disappointed at this one because for a large majority of the movie, Tarantino is relatively reserved, and that includes the very ending. There is very little over-the-top style Tarantino dialogue; rather, the film is subdued and the dialogue may be the most realistic Tarantino has ever had in his films. This is not a bad thing, and it's a refreshing break from what is expected.
For Tarantino fans who prefer Pulp Fiction, Jackie Brown, or even Kill Bill Volume I as his best thus far, this may also land among your top 3 in his film catalogue. Expectations should be checked, however; although it is a very good movie and very enjoyable, calling it a masterpiece would probably be going too far. This is really just pure movie entertainment that is extremely well-constructed and well acted.
DiCaprio gives one of his best acting performances ever, Margot Robbie is excellent as Tate (it will be interesting to see how many awards nominations she gets since her screentime and lines were limited, but when she is on screen, she is captivating and plays the role to perfection), and Pitt is solid as well.
There is very little action or violence relative to what one would expect (again, a good thing), no sex or nudity, and the movie is grounded and humble overall. As meticulous and detailed as each scene is, there isn't anything overly embellished. Instead, the majority of the movie is a look at the fading career of DiCaprio's Rick Dalton, who is still landing roles in Western TV shows, but has now gone from the leading man to the bad guy, a sign that he is no longer as valued compared to new actors.
There is plenty of humor and laugh out loud, quirky moments, and the overall feel of the movie is usually comedic. This is a movie for people who really like time pieces, historical events/nostalgia, the behind-the-scenes reality of acting and filmmaking, and for people who like more realism to their movies, as well as people who like movies with great acting in it.
It is a slow burn and takes its time in building the suspense, as it meditates on DiCaprio's acting roles, Pitt's part in helping his career, and the earlier days of Hollywood glamour and nightlife.
If you are just looking for a fun, entertaining, realistic, and well made movie with a good story and great acting, then you will enjoy what Tarantino has put together with Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.