It boils down to cowboys versus hippies in Quentin Tarantino’s ninth directorial feature, ‘Once Upon
a Time in Hollywood,’ a dramedy set in 1969 tinseltown that’s simply a
delicious slice of cinematic heaven.
Yeah, I know there is no such thing as a bad Tarantino film (even
‘Death Proof’ was pretty good, admit it), but it is no stretch for me to say
that OUaTiH may well be my favorite from the video store clerk-turned-filmmaker next to ‘Pulp Fiction.’ That's
how good this movie is.
OUaTiH
once again demonstrates that Tarantino is on top of his game, a tribute to the
classic B&W westerns of the 1950’s he grew up watching as well as providing
a glimpse of the shifting cultural climate of 1960's Los Angeles. At its core, it is a bromance between a waning
western star (Rick Dalton portrayed by Leo DiCaprio) and his "load
carrying" best friend, All-American tough guy stuntman Cliff Booth (Brad
Pitt), but it’s also a bloody humorous revisionist fantasy re-imagining of one of Hollywood’s
most notorious crimes, the brutal slaying of actress and model Sharon Tate
(Margot Robbie) by murderous followers of cult figure Charles
Manson. It would be quite an understatement
for me to say that things didn’t end up the way it was supposed to.
I
try not to bandy the cliché “tour de force” around too much in describing films for
fear of diminishing its significance, but Tarantino's latest is sheer
brilliance and definitely qualifies as one.
OUaTiH is fascinating, engrossing, funny, masterfully crafted, well-acted
and smartly written with the great storytelling and snappy dialogue we’ve come to
expect and take for granted from the filmmaker.
About the only thing I didn’t expect was its stupendous and cheer worthy
final act. I'll have to see it again soon.
Grade: A+
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