Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood

Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie, Emile Hirsch, Margaret Qualley, Timothy Olyphant, Julia Butters, Austin Butler, Dakota Fanning, Bruce Dern, Mike Moh, Luke Perry, Damian Lewis, Al Pacino, Nicholas Hammond, Lena Dunham, Maya Hawke, Scoot McNairy, Clifton Collins Jr., Rumer Willis, Rebecca Gayheart, Kurt Russell, Zoe Bell, Michael Madsen, Tim Roth, James Remar
Directed by: Quentin Tarantino
Rating: R
Genre: Comedy, Drama
2019

Times Seen:
Tim: 1


Summary: A television star (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his stunt double (Brad Pitt) navigate Hollywood in 1969 as they contemplate the past and future of their careers.

Review:

Tim: I really believe Quentin Tarantino is an overrated director. He's really good, but he's certainly not as great as everyone makes him out to be. Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood is the latest film of his that critics are falling over themselves to praise. It's one of the critical darlings of 2019 and it will undoubtedly score a number of Academy Awards- the Academy loves movies about itself. This movie was nominated for 10 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, and it'll win several for sure. And to be honest, I really liked this movie. It's a solid, entertaining, quirky film. But for it to be labeled one of the best movies of the year? That's just too much.

This movie has a ton of strengths and I'll get to those in a minute. But, here's the biggest issue with Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood. It's a narrative mess. Tarantino tried to do too much and this 2 hour, 41 minute film is too long, too all-over-the-place. It detracts from the story he is trying to tell. Tarantino is one of the all-time greats at creating incredible moments and occasionally, incredible scenes. He's one of the best ever. However, stringing those together in a focused, logical narrative isn't his strong suit. This movie contains some of the best scenes I've seen in a long time. But, taken as a whole, this film's flaws prevent it from achieving greatness.

The biggest issue I had is that Tarantino tries to tell two different stories and combining them together doesn't work. The main story is that of Rick Dalton and Cliff Booth. That story is incredible and there was a great movie there- following these two men in Hollywood in the late 1960s. It was completely uncalled for to also weave in this alternate history version of the Manson killings. We spend some of the movie with Sharon Tate, but Tarantino does this character and Margot Robbie a disservice. She's an afterthought in this movie. She's a distraction from the main storyline and Robbie gets almost nothing interesting to do. And, the climax of the film about the night of the Manson killings is sloppy and just shoehorned into the main story. It gives a chance for Tarantino to flex his violence, gory muscles. That's it. It is a lackluster, unsatisfying conclusion to the Rick Dalton/Cliff Booth story. It makes no logical sense and doesn't hold up under a microscope. Tarantino tried to tell two different stories and they both suffer from the lack of focus. There was a great movie here, no doubt. Tarantino just doesn't have the narrative abilities to tell it. For that reason, I'm slightly frustrated with this movie and a bit bewildered that so many critics loved it and ignored these obvious flaws.

Okay, I don't want you to think I disliked this movie, because I really enjoyed it. That's chiefly because of the performances of Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt. It feels like the larger movie lets these two down, because they both give career-defining performances. It's amazing that they've already given career-defining performances throughout their careers. I'm not sure if these don't rank near the very top. Both of them were nominated for Academy Awards- Best Actor and Best Supporting. As of this writing, we're waiting on the ceremony to see who wins. I think Pitt has a real chance, but both of them are deserving. DiCaprio is one of the all-time great actors, there's no doubt in my mind. Some of the things he does in this movie are truly jaw-dropping. His talent is nearly indescribable. The emotional range he shows is stunning. I loved everything about his performance. Pitt is an underrated actor. When I think of great actors, I rarely think of him. But he shows again how incredible he can be. I absolutely loved his performance. Every second of screen time is fantastic. He's such a likeable, complex, cool character. The delivery of the line about "manslaughter" is absolutely perfect. His comedic timing, the delivery is remarkable. I could watch him say that line a hundred times and not get bored. It felt like a cinematic gift from the gods to be able to see DiCaprio and Pitt together in these roles. I adored them, their characters, and felt so thankful for them here.

I really like Margot Robbie and I feel so frustrated that Tarantino didn't give her nearly enough to do. The film is happy following her legs as she walks around, but she has almost nothing interesting to do. Perhaps her best scene is in front of the cinema, and there's really nothing important that happens there. Robbie is perfectly cast as Sharon Tate and Tarantino just lets her down. The rest of the supporting cast is massive. I wish they each had more to do, but their presence was welcome. Kurt Russell had some great moments. I enjoyed seeing Maya Hawke in her small role. Al Pacino was great, but it was frustrating he didn't have more to do. It was great seeing Emile Hirsch- I've missed seeing him on the screen. Timothy Olyphant does some effective things. Bruce Dern had a great scene. Mike Moh was quite memorable as Bruce Lee.The rest of the cast worked fine, but their roles were too small to make all that much impact.

There's so many great moments throughout this film. The scene with Cliff and Bruce Lee is appropriately controversial, but damn, it's entertaining. The scene with DiCaprio and the young actress- their initial meeting, their scene together, and the feedback she gives him- are all outstanding. The scene with Pitt at the Manson compound was brilliantly executed. The climax was unnecessary, but Tarantino reminds us he's a master of mayhem when he wants to be. This movie contains so many great moments, it's just a shame the narrative lets it all down.

Once Upon a Time...in Hollywood has a lot going for it. I didn't even mind the unnecessary historical revision that Tarantino delivers. That really bothered me in Inglourious Basterds, but I was okay with it here. It was cathartic and entertaining. And yet, to sound like a broken record, Tarantino's penchant for excess ultimately pulls this movie away from greatness. That's a shame, because it's still a very entertaining film.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend: Inglourious Basterds, Django Unchained