“Once Upon A Time In Hollywood” Review
(From Left) Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio and Margot Robbie star in “Once Upon A Time In Hollywood” as stuntman Cliff Booth, down-on-his-luck actor Rick Dalton and rising star Sharon Tate in 1969 Los Angeles.
Note: I first reviewed this film when it came out in July, 2019. To read it, click here.
Last July, I had the pleasure of seeing Quentin Tarantino’s “Once Upon A Time In Hollywood.” It was one of those films that transformed my perception of the art form and made me appreciate Quentin Tarantino more than I already did, if such a thing is possible. With fantastic characters, humor-filled dialogue and an immersive look at the 1960s, “Once Upon A Time In Hollywood” remains, apart from “Pulp Fiction,” my favorite Tarantino film.
Taking place in 1969, the film tells two separate stories. The first revolves around actor Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio) and stuntman Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt) as they try to stay relevant in an ever changing Hollywood. The other focuses on real-life actress Sharon Tate (Margot Robbie) as she lives her life as an upcoming actress fresh off of several hit films. While these stories seem distant, they eventually intertwine on Aug. 8, 1969 when significant events take place on a hot summer night at Cielo Drive.
If you have any love for film, Golden Age Hollywood in particular, then this film will satisfy you. The costumes, soundtrack and Oscar-winning production design add so much to the film by making the viewer feel transported back to 1969.
According to the short documentary “A Love Letter to Making Movies,” which can be found on YouTube and in the extras of the Blu-Ray release, Tarantino and production designer Barbara Ling shut down Hollywood Blvd. for several blocks and completely restored the many movie theater marquees, complete with replaced neon and signage, that have since become stores or other establishments.
Seeing these once booming theaters come back to life is beautiful to a cinephile. One of my favorite scenes doesn’t have any dialogue or action, it’s just a montage of neon signs lighting up as day turns to night. When it comes to Tarantino, nothing gets in his films by accident and this was a conscious effort to display the fantastic production design.
The costuming by Arianne Phillips is another triumph with so many brilliant costumes. Tarantino’s characters have several distinct looks like the matching suits for Winston and Jules in “Pulp Fiction,” The Bride’s yellow jumpsuit in “Kill Bill” and Aldo Raine’s theater tuxedo from “Inglorious Basterds.”
Here, the film glorifies the fashions of the 60s. Cliff’s Champion t-shirt/Hawaiin shirt combo is so ridiculous that it’s cool, Sharon Tate screams starlet with a lovely black dress with white go-go boots and Rick has so many looks, given his profession. My personal favorite has to be his yellow turtleneck with a brown leather jacket. It just screams suave.
(Left) Cliff Booth and Rick Dalton, played by Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio, sit in a Los Angeles Bar awaiting Marvin Schwarz, played by Al Pacino. DiCaprio and Pitt were nominated for Best Actor and Best Supporting Actor at the Academy Awards, Golden Globe Awards, Screen Actors Guild Awards and BAFTA Awards. Pitt won all four awards for his role as Cliff Booth.
With the exception of “The Hateful 8,” which was magnificently scored by Ennio Morricone, Tarantino has opted to use pre-existing songs for his soundtrack and “Once Upon A Time In Hollywood” is no different. The film utilizes the biggest hits of 1969 including songs by Neil Diamond, Paul Revere and the Raiders, The Mamas and the Papas, Simon & Garfunkel and Deep Purple.
The soundtrack also features several vintage radio advertisements from the KHJ radio station and sound clips by legendary disc jockey “The Real Don Steele.” Not only do these advertisements and clips further immerse the viewer into the atmosphere of the film, they also add a sense of legitimacy which makes the walls of fiction fade away.
When you go to a Tarantino film, there will always be a strong script written by him and, while not his strongest work, the screenplay for “Once Upon A TIme In Hollywood” is certainly his funniest. This is a hilarious film with well written humor that isn’t afraid to go all out. One scene sees Cliff have a flashback to when he got into a friendly martial arts fight with Bruce Lee (Mike Moh). This scene is pure magic and the idea of Brad Pitt and Mike Moh fighting each other in martial arts is as awesome as it sounds.
Tarantino’s characterization never disappoints as Rick and Cliff have a compelling friendship. Brad Pitt won an Oscar for his work and it clearly shows although he is certainly a static character. Even though he meets the Manson family and goes through incredible circumstances, he never changes and always is a loyal friend to Rick.
Rick, on the other hand, goes through a metamorphosis. I remember watching this film a few days ago with my mom and, at the beginning, she said “He [Rick] is kind of a dick to Cliff.” It hit me that she was correct and that Rick is somewhat unappreciative of what Cliff does for him. As I watched the film, I began to realize that the film isn’t about two men trying to stay relevant. It’s about the friendship between the pair and Rick realizing that, while his career might not be the best, he does have things to be thankful for.
Cliff’s first and last lines are both to the same remark. Someone says that he is a good friend to Rick and Cliff responds with “I try.” At the beginning the line is said by casting agent Marvin Schwarz (Al Pacino) and Rick hardly notices the statement. However, at the end, when Cliff and Rick fight off the Manson family and Cliff saves the life of Rick’s wife, Rick understands what a true friend he has in Cliff and when he says to Cliff “You’re a good friend,” he truly means it.
In my original review, while I loved Robbie’s performance, I said that “many of her scenes, at times, feel like distractions from the main plot.” Upon further viewings, I realized that seeing Sharon Tate just live her life was enough especially considering what happened to her that night of Aug. 8, 1969.
This information also makes the ending that much more satisfying when the Manson family, instead of killing Tate and her friends, get brutally taken out by Cliff, Rick and Cliff’s pit bull Brandy. While this film has very little violence compared to other Tarantino films like “Django Unchained” or “Kill Bill,” when it does appear, it is brutal but enjoyable. Tarantino shoots graphic violence in a way that makes you cringe and clap at the exact same time. It also doesn’t hurt that the violence is happening to members of the Manson family.
This is a gorgeous film to watch. Cinematographer Robert Richardson, a collaborator of Tarantino’s since “Kill Bill,” brings an Classical Hollywood aesthetic to the film with sweeping takes and wide shots that display Tarantino’s world. The collaboration between Richardson and Tarantino perfectly displays the latter’s influence by 60s and 70s films.
Quentin Tarantino wrote and directed “Once Upon A Time In Hollywood” and won two Golden Globe awards for Best Screenplay and Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy.
In a Sight and Sound poll, Quentin Tarantino said his 12 favorite films were “Apocalypse Now,” “The Bad News Bears,” “Carrie,” “Dazed and Confused,” “The Great Escape,” “His Girl Friday,” “Jaws,” “Pretty Maids All in a Row,” “Rolling Thunder,” “Sorcerer,” “Taxi Driver” and “The Good, The Bad and The Ugly.”
In this film, the influence of most of these films can be seen throughout. The sweeping desert shots of Spahn Ranch are reminiscent of the films of Sergio Leone, Tarantino’s brutal depiction of violence matches the destruction of Travis Bickle and a good portion of “Once Upon A Time In Hollywood” features characters driving around, listening to music. At any point, I expected Matthew McConaughey to start saying “Alright, Alright, Alright.”
Tarantino has created his own style of originality throughout his career with a lot of profanity, violence, pop culture references and fun stories. He is, without a doubt, a modern-day auteur filmmaker and “Once Upon A Time In Hollywood” might just be his masterwork.
