Well crafted film, but the proof of the pudding proves pointless

Rating: 8/10 (17 August 2019)

Tarantino has never done a better job of directing; Brad Pitt has never attained this quality of acting; di Caprio is very good portraying a loser who bears proof of the saying that "it is not what you know, it is who you know"; beautiful Margot Robbie is excellent conveying Tate as a bubblehead who loves to watch herself in forgettable parts in incipient flicks; Maggie Qualley is so incredibly sexy even with hair in her armpits; and, albeit brief, it has been some time since I have seen Pacino and Dern in such strong performances. Pacino, in particular, is always better when he does not raise his voice.
The script is a bit meandering, but interesting nonetheless, and cinematography is first rate. Another plus is that Once Upon a Time in Hollywood carries less gore than most Tarantino efforts.
Yet, despite all these positives, I came away feeling cheated. This was about a serious incident, which saw Sharon Tate Polanski, Folger, Sebring, Woyzeck, and Parent murdered in horrendous and evil circumstances by the Charles Manson gang, and while not ever expecting a documentary from a director as wayward as Tarantino, he uses enough real people like Tate, Polanski, Steve McQueen, Sergio Corbucci, Bruce Lee, George Spahn, for me to reasonably expect some contact with the tragic events of 9 August 2019.
Was the whole film a joke? Certainly, Bruce Lee's family are not best pleased with the way he was portrayed in the movie.