Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is Tarantino's fun, haunting homage to the summer of '69

Rating: 7/10 (10 March 2020)

Quentin Tarantino's ninth feature film features a large ensemble cast led by Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, and Margot Robbie. It is set in 1969 and is a fun, haunting homage to the Hollywood of the time. Invented characters rub shoulders with people who really lived (and live), non existent movies and genuine TV shows co-exist, and real life history swerves off into an entirely fantastical alternative universe. The movie caused controversy by portraying Bruce Lee (played by Mike Moh) in a negative light. Other cast members include Damian Lewis playing Steve McQueen, Rafal Zowierucha as Roman Polanski, and Damon Herriman appears briefly as Charles Manson, a role he reprises from the second season of David Fischer's Netflix series Mindhunter. Look out too for Al Pacino, Kurt Russell, Luke Perry, and Bruce Dern. It was the first Tarantino film not to involve Bob and Harvey Weinstein following the sexual abuse allegations against the latter, and was a worldwide hit grossing $374 million at the Box Office, with critics praising its screenplay,direction, acting, cinematography, costume design, production values and soundtrack. Too bad it's overlong running time and lack of proper narrative make it feel like an over indulgent exercise in self-gratification at times.