There is some great filmmaking on display in Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, and there are a few great scenes where Tarantino’s trademark dialogue are at it’s finest. That’s it.
Here’s what bothered me the most. If Tarantino wanted to make a film about the Manson murders, he should’ve made a documentary. The alterartions of historical events in this film are putrid. Sharon Tate was brutally murdered during her pregnancy. And this film just pretends that didn’t happen, and that everything was fine. The Manson murders didn’t get away with their deeds. Why are the Manson murders even depicted in this movie? How does that relate to what is seemingly the main story here; Rick Dalton and Cliff’s decent into irrelevance? And what does changing the course of history add to this? Tarantino so desperately wants this to be okay; in an interview he said that because it’s technically a historical event, it’s okay to depict it. Sure, that’s true. But he’s not depicting it. He’s depicting a falsified version of historical events; a falsified version where a real pregnant woman wasn’t brutally murdered in her own home. For entertainment.
- I AM AWARE Tarantino has altered history in the past and it’s nothing new. However, it all depends on context. Killing Hitler in Inglorious Bastards is much different than pretending that a murder at the hands of a vicious cult that still holds personal effects for people living today didn’t happen. It feels handled poorly, here.
161 minutes of Tarantino giving Margot Robbie’s feet more character development than Sharon Tate. OK.
I feel very alone on this one, seeing everybody’s reviews and scores, but I have to be honest, I was sadly underwhelmed with Tarantino’s new project.
To conclude, I will add some positives of the film. Brad Pitt and Leo obviously steal the show and each have some really memorable moments. Their mannerisms, accents and dialogue are really great and there is a lot to admire and be entertained by in their performances. The soundtrack is expectedly really groovy and it does a good job of selling the setting. The costuming and production design are all admirable.
Overall, I thought Once Upon A Time In Hollywood was weak, dull, and overlong. It had great atmosphere for sure, but the story was a complete dud. There were stretches where it felt like it was going nowhere at all. There’s a lot of watching other people watch tv.
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