With his latest film, Tarantino pays homage to the changing film industry

Rating: 7/10 (13 August 2019)

Once Upon a Time .. in Hollywood a new drama comedy is directed, written and partly produced by Quentin Tarantino, the director of Pulp Fiction, Inglourious Basterds and Django Unchained.
The film is set in 1969 in Los Angeles where the film and television world are changing considerably. TV star Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his stunt double Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt) try to keep working in the changing film industry, but due to all the changes, this world is no longer the way it used to be. For example, they begin to wonder whether they might be getting too old to work in the film industry.
With this film, it seems that Quentin Tarantino made the film as a tribute to the former film industry and how it is changing, and is still changing now. For example, he shows images with events that were possible in the past, but nowadays are soon found to be politically incorrect.
With this film, Tarantino also shows how film making has changed over time. For example, he actually made a film in which a film is made. In this way you get to see scenes where the characters in a film act, but then, for example, are stopped by the director or a mistake made by you and then the scenes have to be repeated.
Tarantino is also familiar with using moments or characters that actually exist or have existed and to use these in a fictional way in his own films. He often does this in order to convey dark moments in a respectful way, lighter and with more comedy. In this film, for example, Tarantino uses the characters Bruce Lee, an action actor who really existed in Hollywood, who is played in this film by Mike Moh. Bruce Lee's daughter Shannon Lee thinks they have made her father appear in the film too arrogantly.
The film also responds somewhat to the truly happening Manson Murders events where the Manson Family cult committed murders that have made some famous Hollywood people victims. Tarantino uses this in a playful way, which for people who are familiar with the history of the Manson Murders, may seem disrespectful. Actress Sharon Tate has really been a victim of the Manson Family, but Debra Tate has given the sister of Sharon Tate Margot Robbie who plays Sharon Tate in this film jewels that were really worn by Sharon. She has also helped Tarantino with how her sister comes across in this film and has given her further approval.
Due to the many events and characters in the film, the pace of the film can sometimes seem a bit slow or the actions and events of some characters as somewhat unnecessary. Margot Robbie as Sharon Tate is really only needed for the construction of certain upcoming scenes, but due to the adjustments Tarantino has made, her character is often used unnecessarily in the film.
The film sets and the clothing of the cast do help with the realistic transfer of the times in which the film takes place. Tarantino's changes in film sets and clothing also show how the film industry has changed over time.
The acting is also well done by the cast. For Leonardo DiCaprio, this is his return as an actor. Since he won the Oscar for best actor in 2015 with his acting in the film The Revenant, he has not played in films for a while. Despite this temporary stop, he still delivers good acting in this film as an actor trying to keep his head above water in the changing film industry.
The best acting is provided by Brad Pitt, who as a stuntman is taken less seriously in the changing film industry. In this way, he creates comic moments where his character walks around behind the scenes on film sets and provides a lot of comic comments about how films are now being made in this changing film industry.
Other major actors from the cast such as Margot Robbie, Kurt Russell and Al Pacino play more supporting roles. Their characters try to help Rick Dalton and Cliff Booth or criticize the two with the actions they make.