A Bonkers Tarantino Fairy-Tale with Golden-Age Hollywood Nostalgia

Rating: 10/10 (28 July 2019)

A bonkers fairy tale in classically-Tarantino fashion with pure nostalgia-hued Golden Age-Hollywood homages, soundtrack as provocative as its brilliant screenplay, star-studded cast of stellar performances, & wild final act. 9.4/10.
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Review: 1960's: Manson x Golden-Age (leading into Renaissance/New Age) Hollywood. That was the tall order we were promised by legendary filmmaker Quentin Tarantino for his 9th outing, one made even more tantalizing by the trailer & announcement of a once-in-a-lifetime cast from Leonardo DiCaprio to Brad Pitt to Margot Robbie. After such inimitable masterpieces as Django Unchained, The Hateful Eight, Kill Bill Vols. 1/2, Inglorious Basterds, Reservoir Dogs, and Pulp Fiction, the film world's eyes were all on July 25th like the premiere of any blockbuster film in its namesake ritzy town's backdrop, and Tarantino delivered yet again - Oh *boy*, did he deliver. A bonkers fairy tale in classically-Tarantino fashion with pure nostalgia-hued Golden-Age Hollywood homages, soundtrack as provocative as its brilliant screenplay, star-studded cast of sensational performances, & wild final act, Once Upon A Time in Hollywood is one of Tarantino's greatest films ever.
Nostalgia to Hollywood's Golden Age with plenty of Easter Eggs and eulogies to filmmaking. What's easily the highlight of OUATIH is its golden paean esteems and invocation of the best of Hollywood's history through every sensory way imaginable. It's truly like taking a joyride through the annals of film archives and will smack a goofy grin on any cinephile's face for its ~3 hour time period that flickers by in a flash. More classic film posters, TV serial snippets, lunchboxes, vinyl-pop, and radio-ads than can possibly be mentioned with meticulous attention to detail and period-authenticity make for a sensational trip through the escapist fare of moviemaking's best era. It even features clever fourth-wall-breaking/meta references to the artform showing (with classic Tarantino whim, wry humor, and unmistakeable energy) the process of filmmaking with everything from messed-up lines, cuts, shot-reversals, and replays of scenes as people come together across specialties to try to create filmic products that stand the test of the time.
The cinematography to soundtrack to location settings majestically paint the glamour and ritzy lives of the rich and famous in Hollywood Hills' idyllic settings as promised - only to be shaken up by the events of its equally-brilliant screenplay. Paralleling all this settings-glamour is an equally dazzling display of storytelling with rich characters who make the film. The screenplay is masterful - this is pantheon-level filmmaking here - juggling 3-4+ storylines simultaneously with ease before uniting them all for the wild signature final act as promised by QT's filmography. We are taken through Hollywood studio backlots with insecure has-been movie star Rick Dalton trying desparately to save his career, a juxtaposed-rougher lifestyle for his sacrificial stunt-double Cliff Booth, trophy wife/model Sharon Tate jumping between romances in LA-superficiality fashion, and a Manson cult arc creeping under the surface like a serial killer slipping between the cracks.
The performances. Leonardo DiCaprio absolutely (predictively) steals the show as lead with one of his most hilarious and out-there performances to date; Pitt is equally as infectious in personality as support with an intriguing exposure of the double-standard in film treatment between the people just "reading lines other people wrote for them" and those doing the dangerous stuntwork behind-the-scenes (also makes an iconic buddy-duo that needs its own couple of films with these two legendary actors tossed together for an extremely unique, refreshing mix!), Margot is a nice soothing juxtaposition storyline undeniably a treat for the eyes while also given a mini-romance arc with potentially-catastrophic results, and there is not a weak link to be found in the rest of the cast/cameos as the story escalates and twists until the final act as bravato-filled, wild, and bonkers as could only be found in a Tarantino film.
The final act. One of the craziest final acts I can remember of late - only really rivalled by other Tarantino films as a signature big boom ending characteristic of his filmography, Once Upon A Time In Hollywood ends with a tremendous bang that adds triumphant final punctuation to this bonkers fairy tale set in the nightlit views of the motion picture capital. Immaculately tying all story threads together while also leaning heavy into its Manson arc with his cult trying to break in and kill some socialites in the Hollywood Hills on beckon-command, they meet a much different ending than they anticipated for MAXIMUM drink-spitting entertainment value - with everything from flamethrowers to butcher knives to dog-attacks to sleeping pills to incessant yells. What's even more impressive in the finale and throughout the film is that Tarantino absolutely silences any of his (imbecilic) critics/detractors claiming his films have "too much gore/cussing" (he's stayed true to his promised style of brazen irreverency since PULP FICTION, fools) by shockingly having almost none of what was perfectly licenseable to have given it's a film set around the events of the Manson murders: gore and violence. Instead we are just taken on a ~3-hour road trip amenable to all discernible tastes through masterful characteristic Old-World storytelling any real film aficionado can bask in the glory of for hours.
Minor flaws in Once Upon A Time in Hollywood include a comparatively-smaller role for Margot Robbie than was expected and Manson arc I wish was a little more pronounced/fleshed-out. Margot is only really shown in glimpses and not utilized nearly to the full of her considerable acting talents, and we only get one actual glimpse of Charlie Manson (a perfect look-alike as well nonetheless) and few glimpses of his cult until the spectacularly-entertaining ending I really wish had gotten more screentime for its massive EV-value. Even a couple of slasher scenes or teases placed throughout would've done the trick, perhaps in place of some of the nostalgia-leaning in the first act that's undeniably enchanting but might've been better served for a bit more balance.
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Overall, Once Upon A Time In Hollywood is a masterpiece and one of Tarantino's best films to date - an incredible feat given his already-illustrious filmography that keeps getting one-upped every outing he gives. A bonkers fairy tale in classically-Tarantino fashion with pure nostalgia-hued Golden-Age Hollywood homages, soundtrack as provocative as its brilliant screenplay, star-studded cast of sensational performances, & wild final act, OUATIH cements Tarantino as easily one of the Top 3 Directors of All-Time in my book, as well as one of the greatest auteurs and most influential/inimitable masterminds the medium has ever seen.
Overall Score: 9.4/10