REVIEW: Once Upon A Time In Hollywood (2019)

Rated R for language throughout, some strong graphic violence, drug use, and sexual references

What to expect: A cool flick with several layers of understanding.

Hard to describe this movie, it’s a kinda a bittersweet slice of life during the late sixties, you’re following the rise and of fall of a popular western actor Rick Dalton,sensitive and alcoholic and his pal/stuntman/errand boy Cliff Booth, an ex green beret who killed his wife and got away with it.The thing they have in common : They seem to despise Hippies, like any manly man should.  Cliff is more tolerant though… They both share that 60’s male toughness and roughness.

People who grew up at the time or western buffs will be the happiest part of the audience, as the sets, music and details were utterly respected, like that fictional western movie Dalton is not starring
in (just playing the bad guy).This western is cool and I would like to see the full movie if it existed. Jack Slater III anyone?

Margot Robbie as Tate has just a very few lines, which triggered the feminazis, but her character is there I think to represent Tarantino’s passion for movies, that scene where shes watching a movie in which she has a part, in a small cinema, and also watching the audience’s reaction, says it all. Tarantino is missing old school filmmaking in its entirety, he misses the people in the industry who want to make profit but at the same time have a genuine passion for movies. Al Pacino’s producer character displays his passion for movies like Joel Silver and many other used to, but no longer.

There is no action before the very end, but it was intense and I was delighted and laughing in the theater, not only it was brutal but it also had an extra flavour too, you’ll get it when you’ll see it.  I’ve got the same sensation in the ancient western setting where the Manson family hippies live,that great scene where Pitt visits the place represented the new era of American cinema replacing the old one especially the western genre. You will fall in love with Pitt in that scene.And you’ll remember that Peckinpah’s style rocked.

Tons of small characters, played by Madsen, Remar, Olyphant, Luke Perry,Kurt Russel to name a few. Acting, music, photography, editing, all of this was top notch.  The Bruce Lee scene was hilarious as the Bruce Dern scene, this guy is always fucking great.

The Netflix version will get more runtime, Tim Roth’S character for example was totally cut.Keep an eye on it.

-Frenchie