Book Review: Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood (2019)

[Dean Baxter]

Title: Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood

Tagline: In this town, it can all change… like that

Genre: Drama, Comedy, Thriller

Director: Quentin Tarantino

Cast: 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, Samantha Robinson, Rafał Zawierucha, Lorenza Izzo, Costa Ronin, Damon Herriman, Lena Dunham, Madisen Beaty, Mikey Madison, James Landry Hébert, Maya Hawke, Victoria Pedretti, Sydney Sweeney, Harley Quinn Smith, Dallas Jay Hunter, Kansas Bowling, Parker Love Bowling, Cassidy Vick Hice, Ruby Rose Skotchdopole, Danielle Harris, Josephine Valentina Clark, Scoot McNairy, Clifton Collins Jr., Marco Rodríguez, Ramón Franco, Raúl Cardona, Courtney Hoffman, Dreama Walker, Rachel Redleaf, Rebecca Rittenhouse, Rumer Willis, Spencer Garrett, Clu Gulager, Martin Kove, Rebecca Gayheart, Kurt Russell, Zoë Bell, Michael Madsen, Tim Roth, Perla Haney-Jardine, James Remar, Monica Staggs, Craig Stark, Keith Jefferson, Omar Doom, Kate Berlant, Victoria Truscott, Allison Yaple, Bruce Del Castillo, Brenda Vaccaro, Lew Temple, Daniella Pick, David Steen, Mark Warrack, Gabriela Flores, Heba Thorisdottir, Breanna Wing, Kenneth Sonny Donato, Sergio Gonzalez, Casey O'Neill, Michael Graham, Emile Williams, Vincent Laresca, JLouis Mills, Gilbert Saldivar, Maurice Compte, Eddie Perez, Hugh McCallum, Zander Grable, Ed Regine, Michael Bissett, Lenny Langley Jr., Gillian M. Berrow, Chad Ridgely, Chic Daniel, Corey Burton, Michaela Sprague, Ryan Ramirez, Kayla Jenee Radomski, Kerry Westcott

Release: 2019-07-25

Runtime: 162

Plot: Los Angeles, 1969. TV star Rick Dalton, a struggling actor specializing in westerns, and stuntman Cliff Booth, his best friend, try to survive in a constantly changing movie industry. Dalton is the neighbor of the young and promising actress and model Sharon Tate, who has just married the prestigious Polish director Roman Polanski…

 

[Andy D]

It was easy to knock this film, and I was quite often at the start (thinking it was, like a lot of QTs recent work, very self indulgent, and how many shots do you need of Brad Pitt driving a car????) and then there was a moment when I was almost reaching the tip of my frustration... and suddenly the acting, the writing, the direction was JUST SO GOOD! After that I just relaxed into it, got drawn in, and loved it.

The clue is, ultimately, in the title but for me it was one of my best films of last year, and his best since Pulp Fiction.

 

[RK Wallis]

It was easy to knock this film, and I was quite often at the start (thinking it was, like a lot of QTs recent work, very self indulgent, and how many shots do you need of Brad Pitt driving a car????) and then there was a moment when I was almost reaching the tip of my frustration... and suddenly the acting, the writing, the direction was JUST SO GOOD! After that I just relaxed into it, got drawn in, and loved it.

The clue is, ultimately, in the title but for me it was one of my best films of last year, and his best since Pulp Fiction.

You had me at "Pulp Fiction"!

 

[DavidM]

Agree with your initial reaction and did not have the revelation you had. One of your typical, self-referential film industry movies. And, I'm sorry, but the way they used the audience's knowledge of the Tate murders to build suspense just felt so exploitative of an incredibly horrific event.