I'm as real as a donut

Rating: 7/10 (22 September 2019)

First off, I'd like to address that I understand why some people didn't like this movie and were pretty bored with it, I think they misunderstood it. Regardless if they were a Tarantino fan or not, this movie isn't for everyone. This is due to the fact that it's basically a love letter to 60s Hollywood and only people that know of that era's background would get who any of these characters are and what they do, if not then you'd be pretty lost on it. I also believe that most people went into this expecting this to be another crazy Tarantino movie, I was one of these people. but by the first hour I came to realize that this wasn't one of those, this is probably Tarantino's most mature film and I appreciate the standard he's set himself in and improving on his work.
The acting from Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio is nothing short of astonishing, the chemistry between these two is one of the best I've seen in a while. Not only them but Margot Robbie as well (although underutilized) and pretty much every other character in the movie is interesting to watch and I never felt bored when switching to any of them.
The screenplay was great as always, hearing these characters interact with each other was definitely a treat and you can't help but admire how Tarantino can keep the consistency in his films with his quirky dialogue choices and make them sound so natural in them. Although I have to admit, it's one of his weaker scripts. Yes, the quirkiness is there but it's not as sharp as some of his previous films. Nevertheless, it worked all the way through.
Now for the story, I can see why people say that there was no point in the whole film and that nothing really happened, and I can see that. But, I believe that this was intentional, the ultimate proof of this is that the whole film concentrates solely on it's characters and only in it's characters. Rick Dalton's (DiCaprio) struggle as a movie star as times change and the trends move on with the latest hot thing and him coming to grips with it. Cliff's (Pitt) in a bigger hole than Rick since he's basically jobless due to this ongoing rumor of him murdering his wife and getting away with it (they never confirm if this was true or not) and his struggles with that. So again, the movie concentrates a lot on it's characters and there's no real driving plot in the film. Things just happen and I'm completely fine with that, it was definitely weird at first but I got accustomed to it pretty fast and just accepted the movie for what it was as a laidback film to just sit back and enjoy it.
In the end, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is an obvious love letter to 60s Hollywood and the events taken during that era while intersecting in the lives of these two men, if you don't mind a slow burn, laidback film, or if you're just a Tarantino fan then I recommend you watch it with open arms.