Once Upon a Time… In Hollywood (2019)

Dec 13

When the supporting lead steals the show.

Presentation:

A film that grows on you over time. Shot on film and anamorphic in typical style, Tarantino goes back to his signature historical revisionist script, this time on the Manson murders. The film has a lot more drama and dialogue than his other films, which end up making the experience less sexy and exciting as his more action packed films. There are deep lulls throughout the 2h40m movie with a lot of seemingly redundant relationships and character arcs. It’s not that they don’t serve a purpose, but they spent a bit too much time on the little child, DiCaprio’s irrelevance and Margot Robbie’s character when it’s very clear that the best parts of the film are Brad Pitt’s character arc. For such a long movie, it begins to feel like an epic, but the only characters that leave an impression are Brad Pitt and Margaret Qualley. Normally Brad Pitt has a reputation as a supporting lead. And because he is also a side character in this film, him stealing the spotlight feels somewhat metaphorical as DiCaprio ends up having invisible presence. Brad Pitt is deceptively the main character. It’s a fascinating dynamic what Tarantino accomplishes with this, which is also very symbolic of the struggle for relevancy in show business. Normally Tarantino films will take a jab at other films as he does with this one, but he opens himself up to some criticism for this one. This movie takes itself a bit more seriously than his other films, but it’s still jam packed with a lot of fun moments.

Conclusion:

This is Quentin Tarantino’s most recent film with declaratively only one film remaining. He claims that all director’s movies wane over time, which is why he imposes this limit upon himself for perhaps motivational reasons. After watching this film in the theatre, I was inclined to agree with his assessment as I left feeling disappointed. It’s not bad by any means, but it was less explosive and satisfying as his other films. But years after I watched it, the climax and Bruce Lee scene would resurface in my memory on more than one occasion. Sometimes a film is more than the sum of its parts, even if it is slightly boring. They are emotional experiences and the only thing that matters is how they make you feel. And sometimes it only takes one scene for it to leave an impact on you and that is often enough to make you cherish a movie. This isn’t Tarantino’s best film, but it has 2 really memorable scenes that have such a great payoff that they make up for the rest of the low points in the experience.

more rotten chilis