'Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood' Review

I finally got around to seeing the newest from Quentin Tarantino this past weekend. It has everything a Tarantino fan wants from his films, and gives an interesting spin to a historical event. I’ll warn you now, there will be spoilers. The last 20 minutes are a rollercoaster in the best way possible, and I really want to talk about it.

Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood is about washed up western actor Rick Dalton, played by Leonardo DiCaprio, and his stuntman Cliff Booth, played by Brad Pitt. It’s hard to really describe what happens, because there isn’t much of a plot. To put it loosely, this is a romantic retelling of the events leading up to the murder of actress Sharon Tate and her friends at the hands of members of the Manson family cult. The real murders in 1969 were brutal and violent. In doing a little bit of research, it was a huge tragedy for Hollywood, snuffing out the life of an up-and-coming actress. The huge change made by Tarantino is that his new characters, Dalton and Booth, totally disrupt the murderers and instead end up as the targets for the night. I’ll come back to the ending at—well the end.

To discuss the movie as a whole, I thought it was super well done. Tarantino is a man of aesthetics, and he doesn’t disappoint. You really feel the vibes of 1969 Hollywood from the cars, the signs, the songs. I love the songs, I always do in Tarantino’s work. I thought the pacing was good, too. It follows our individual characters going about their lives: Rick struggles to maintain relevance in the Hollywood scene, Cliff inadvertently meets the Manson cult at an old film ranch, and Sharon Tate goes and sees her own movie at the cinema. They cut between the characters at great points, so you feel like you’re getting a good dose of each of them.

Of course, Rick and Cliff are the most developed. They are the created characters and can get their own arcs made up for them. Rick is hilarious and also kind of sad. Leo does a great job of randomly breaking down and losing it. When he forgets his lines, he throws a fit and then has to quickly pull himself together to give a threatening performance when he goes back on set. At this point, we all know Leo is a great actor, so this was another strong outing for him. My favorite in the movie was Brad Pitt’s character. Cliff is a hilarious character, but with somewhat of a scary background. It’s rumored he killed his wife (I mean… yeah, we all know he did), and he’s capable of frightening violence. When he punches someone, you cringe in your seat a bit. But then again, he has a dog! A cute dog! And he’s super chill and hot! How can you not love Cliff Booth? What I think was great about him was the dopey optimism he had the whole time. The end of Rick’s career means the end of his own, but he’s not stressing. He’s just living life in a trailer with the cutest pit bull in the world, Brandy.

I do want to give a special shout out to Brandy, played by a pup named Sayuri. Pit bulls and similar breeds don't get too much love, especially the super tough-looking ones. Brandy is one of those tough, scary looking dogs, but she's so cute and loyal, the audience just falls in love with her.

The rest of the characters are pretty much caricatures of themselves, or not as developed. For example, Margot Robbie is great as Sharon Tate. She was a basic character, sweet and kind to everyone. This works, since this is a real person who was murdered. It would feel inappropriate to make her a Tarantino character, for lack of a better description. That being said, Robbie really did a great job. She brings the prettiness to the role, as everyone expects of her at this point, but I never felt like I was watching Margot Robbie. I don't know if it was the makeup of styling, but sometimes I didn't even recognize her. I loved that. I feel like she gets pigeonholed as an actress based solely on her looks at times, but this is another performance that shows the talent she has. Tarantino isn’t going for in-depth character profiles of these real-life people, but having them play their characteristics just enough that you can see who they are.

This brings me to the Bruce Lee controversy. Yes, that was a little cringe-worthy to see him played to be super arrogant and full of himself. The movie somewhat helps out by having him teach two of the characters some moves throughout the movie with some smiles, but I totally see where the anger comes from. I’m happy they switched up his scene; he was originally planned to lose a fight to Cliff. Instead, the fight is interrupted. Mike Moh did a great job as Bruce. He was happy with his portrayal, and that's good enough for me. I will say, probably one of my favorite lines comes from the fight scene. Bruce says that his hands are registered as lethal weapons, so if he accidentally kills Cliff, he’ll go to jail. Cliff’s hilarious response, that was in the trailer but still got me in the theater, is, “Anybody accidentally kills anybody in a fight, they go to jail. It’s called manslaughter.” The quick camera pan to Cliff from Bruce coupled with his on-point delivery was so funny.

To bring up the dialogue, it’s sharp and hilarious, as usual. Tarantino’s movies are always clever with the quips, and this was no different. One of my other favorites comes from the moment history is changed; when the Manson cult members arrive and plan on going up to Sharon Tate’s house, Rick Dalton comes out of his house to yell at them because their car is loud. Throughout the movie, he’d be throwing little lines about how he hates hippies, so when they show up on his own driveway, he flips out and it's gold. Picture Leonardo DiCaprio in a colorful robe with a frozen margarita in a blender chaotically stopping the notorious Manson murders. I laughed so damn hard.

This brings us to the ending. The Manson murderers come back, walking, this time, with their weapons, and decide to go for Rick instead. Rick is in his pool with headphones in, his wife is sleeping, and Cliff and Brandy are hanging out in the living room. Cliff and Brandy are the dream team. When the three Mansons break in, the movie officially goes insane. Oh yes, Cliff is also high from an acid cigarette. This is important for the comedy of the scene. He’s like his usual, relaxed self, only times 100. He has some banter with the would-be murderers ,which is some of the funniest stuff in the movie, before the signature Tarantino violence erupts. This scene is fascinating for many reasons. It’s hilarious in how wild it is. Cliff throws an open can of dog food at one of the girls’ faces, and though it’s graphic and gross, it’s so funny in its absurdity. Brandy also bites the male intruder to death and goes after the dog-can lady next. We even get Rick’s wife slapping the other girl before locking herself in a bedroom to hide.

Though there’s humor, there’s also brutality. When Cliff finally gets stabbed in the hip by the last surviving Manson, he goes crazy, slamming her head into every surface in the house. It stopped all the laughter and I covered my eyes when he started hitting her against the fireplace. His backstory came into play, and it was insane. The violence is so graphic, but it’s also supposed to be, especially for people familiar with how awful the real murders were. Tate and friends were stabbed multiple times. Tarantino’s alternate story pays back those responsible in a strange, cathartic way. This is encapsulated in how Rick kills the dog-can girl (I don’t remember her name) with a flamethrower from an old movie once she stumbles into his pool. His shock is hysterical, and just the ludicrous nature pf pulling a flamethrower out of a shed and burning her alive made it funny, as well as appropriate; the flamethrower is one thing he actually did without a stunt double, and he gets to use it to actually make a difference in history. What’s more, this kickstarts his career again, as Tate and co catch wind of what happened when police and paramedics arrive, and invite him over. It’s clear a relationship of sorts has formed, and the older Hollywood actor is implied to have opportunity again in allying himself with the younger up-and coming-Hollywood generation.

This is why the title is so clever. It’s a fairytale-esque ending that Tarantino thought up for his movie. Once upon a time, the only people who died that night were those who were out to kill in the first place. It was really a fun movie to watch, and I enjoyed every minute of it. It’s easily my favorite since Inglorious Basterds, which is my favorite Tarantino movie, if that gives you an indication. If you’re a Tarantino fan of any degree, this one is a must-see.