At last a return to true form

Rating: 10/10 (26 November 2019)

I finally got around to watching Once Upon a Time...in Hollywood, and was richly rewarded.
Tarantino is an odd fellow, from my perspective, he entered the world of film with such a bang, and initially could seem to do no wrong with his unique brand of ultra-violence, whip-smart dialogue, great ensemble casts (often resurrecting floundering careers of formerly popular actors) cool nostalgic soundtracks, and mastery of post-modern intertextual references to pop culture that often became pop culture themselves. His first three films were as near to provocative perfection and for me as it is possible to be, culminated in his best film to date, in my humble opinion, Jackie Brown.
Tarantino then took self-reflective, introspective self-indulgence to the ultimate extreme in the utterly ridiculous Kill Bill Vol 1 and 2. To many it was a bridge too far, to me it was one of the funniest things I had seen at the cinema. Still, even though I enjoyed it at the cinema, unlike his other previous work I rarely watched it again even though I bought it on DVD.
Then, with Grindhouse, although enjoyable, the fake trailers were the best thing about the whole project. Inglorious Basterds was hit and miss, some great sequences, some that I cannot even remember now, and once again, even though I own a copy, I have never rewatched it.
Django Unchained was excellent, and I was really glad I went to see it at the cinema, but once again I have not rewatched it since the first time, and for me, although it had some bright points, the Hateful Eight seemed like one long in-joke that I didn't get, and especially a waste of 70mm print given that most of it happens in a cabin.
So, to be honest, I have been underwhelmed with most of Tarantino's output since Jackie Brown. Perhaps this is unfair, none of the films I have mentioned are bad, in any way, but given I know just how good Tarantino can be (as proved by his first three films) I couldn't help but feel disappointed each time I watched one.
So, to be honest, I was not expecting much of this. I was totally blown away. Other reviewers who saw it earlier than I did have outlined much of the details about plot and post-modern references to film and TV cultural products, so I won't dwell too much on that stuff.
For me this is a film about what Hollywood was originally famed for being; a factory of dream and fantasy. That this is set at the true end of the Hollywood studio system and the beginning of a time when most of the big Hollywood studios started to be owned by other much bigger multi-national conglomerates whose primary source of income might be selling tires, or soft drinks or insurance etc, and therefore the importance of Hollywood film production to those companies was significantly less than it had ever been. 1969 was a time when that original dream was being carved up and sold to the highest bidder.
It was a perfect fertile ground for rebels of all sorts; directors, producers, owners of pornographic magazines, actors, musicians, artists and cult leaders...
Every significant character in this film is most typified by their dreams, fantasies and hopes. Rick Dalton (DiCapprio) dreams of recapturing his faded star-status, and of giving a good performance (as well as dreaming about what might have been had he got his big break instead of Steve McQueen). Cliff Booth (Pitt, with a name that is perhaps partly a reference to the terrifying villain in David Lynch's neo-noir masterpiece Blue Velvet, especially given the rumours of how he might have killed his wife and gotten away with it) dreams of actually being significant in some way (fantasising about handing Bruce Lee his own arse in a fight during down-time on a shoot; yeah, right!) Sharon Tate (Robbie) dreams of living the dream of Hollywood, of truly making it and being famous and adored (her disappointment at not being recognised at the theatre when she goes to see her own film, and her delight at the audience reacting to her on screen) her star is rising as Dalton's fades. The Manson 'family' dream of changing the world.
In reality, maybe all of their dreams are facile, without hope of coming true, and ultimately unsatisfying if they did...but then again, this is a fairy tale. They all get a (kinda) happy ending.
As pointed out by other reviewers on here, this film works best if you know about the violence and murders committed by the Manson 'family' that lead to the death of the heavily pregnant Sharon Tate.
It makes the final section incredibly and uncomfortably tense, in a masterful demonstration of Tarantino's power as a director. I was becoming so tense watching the end of the film, that I felt compelled to jabber nervously at my wife the sequence of events of that fateful night before we see them happen on screen (even though she is fully aware of them). When suddenly Tarantino starts altering history, it comes as such a relief to the tension built up that the violence Pitt and his Bull dish out comes as a glorious, euphoric release, I laughed so hard I think those around me thought I had lost my mind. It was such a lifting of the anticipation of knowing what is about to happen, that the otherwise horrific ultra-violence seen in graphic detail on screen becomes almost hilarious...and I think that is entirely the point. For a split second Tarantino allows us, in revelling in the fantasy punishment of Manson's puppets, to share a small sense of what they might have been feeling in their twisted acts that fateful night, whilst at the same time allowing us to metaphorically wash our hands of the guilt of exalting in such violence because, after all, the bad guys are getting punished here and the good guys are given a fantasy second chance at continued existence.
That it is the same trick he used in Ingloious Basterds is entirely the point, it is signposted to us massively in the clip from Rick Dalton's trashy film shown earlier which replicates the use of a flame thrower to kill Nazis, the fact he still has the flamethrower in his tool shed which we also see earlier, and the fact that Brad Pitt was in both history-bending films.
One of the things that I couldn't stop thinking about is the notable absences from this film. Firstly, Charlie Manson, although he is seen very briefly, is conspicuous by his absence, but his imprint is very definitely felt (once again especially if you know some of the background of his cult) and so too is Tarantino, not popping up in his usual cameo role, and also not stamping this film with his usual brand of razor-sharp dialogue, constant ultra-violence etc.
It occurs to me that Tarantino could be drawing a comparison between himself and Manson, Manson famed for manipulating and controlling others, and directing them from a distance to take part in acts of horrendous violence and torture, and so too, as a film director, does Tarantino. Their purposes might be different, and their canvas might be different, Tarantino uses the artistic expression of film making, Manson used people in an evil and warped perversion of artistic expression. Here his ludicrous motivation to his followers 'do something witchy' is given the derision it deserves, and burned at the stake...well, pool.
And if the Manson 'family' dreamed of changing the course of history, well, in this film they got that wish, although perhaps not in the way they intended. And in the end this film has the ultimate fairy tale ending, a happy dream that everything ended okay, and that the '70s wasn't born in quite the same violent and horrible way it was in reality. Instead Tate gets to carry on her career, presumably saving Polanski from his own self-destructive sexual exploits (some sort of hidden message for Weinstein there, perhaps?), Dalton gets to be the star of his own story, use his skill set (limited though it is) and make friends with his neighbours and Pitt gets to finally be someone worth talking about, and proves his value as a man, a human, a friend.
I will, as I have done with everything else he has made, be purchasing this (albeit on Blu Ray this time) and this time, I will definitely be watching it again and again.