Once Upon a Time in… Hollywood
Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood (2019)
Whether he’s your cup of tea or not it’s never a dull night in with Quentin Tarantino. The dialogue is guaranteed to amuse and you know there will be some form of horrific, albeit humorous, physical abuse. This does not disappoint.
This is probably the director’s most conventional story to date with only the final ten minutes falling into traditional QT territory.
Set in the late 1960s we join a once great television star (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his best friend/stunt double/steward (Brad Pitt) as they navigate through a changing company town. And that sentence is why I enjoyed this film. What a whimsical treat for the retinas. Two charismatic actors comfortably doing what they do best; Pitt being cool and DiCaprio panicking and hoping not to get caught. The latter is a real untapped comedic source but QT does bring it out in him. Similar to his scamp performance in Catch Me if You Can he nails portraying someone out of his depth and drowning (that was genuinely an unintentional Titanic pun).
The scene where the child actress gives him a lesson in screen acting is dynamite. Talk about scene stealing. Julia Butters deserves all the plaudits. But BAFTA thought Margot Robbie was the standout. She’s a gorgeous woman who showed up to work. And that’s it. Even Margaret Qualley, as one of Charles Manson’s “family” was by far more interesting. But BAFTA... let it go Barlow.
The cinematography is a free holiday; Hazy Hollywood where people wear little, drive cool cars and always have a refreshing fizzy drink to hand. There’s horse riding, swimming pools and martial arts. It’s a real cure for the winter blues.
Having heaped all of this praise on it I don’t think it would’ve been considered a snub had it failed to get a Best Picture nomination. It’s fun and all, but ‘tis no game changer like Pulp Fiction or Kill Bill. I’m happy for Pitt to win Best Support though. His category isn’t too exciting, plus his stablemates already have their acting Oscars. So good for him!
Watch this on a Saturday evening with some chilled bottled beers as a precursor to going to a house party.
8 Imaginary Thumbs Up!
