An amazing and very personal reconstruction of the world of cinema in the sixties with the unmistakable stamp of the director
The title of the film has a double meaning. On the one hand, it is a tribute to the spaghetti western that he loves so much, in particular Once Upon a Time in the West, Sergio Leone's masterpiece, and on the other, it is the announcement that it is a fairy tale. Yes, Quentin Tarantino is capable of making one, and after seeing the film any viewer will agree with this assessment. The film is a luminous revamp from a director whose films often have disturbing and violent moments, in addition to their challenging dramatic structures with time jumps and point-of-view shifts.
Here, the two protagonists are actor Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his friend, employee, and stunt double, Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt). Although Rick has participated in several minor films, his fame is due to having been the star of a successful television show, a western called Bounty Law in which he plays Jake Cahill, a bounty-hunting cowboy. Throughout his career Cliff has been his stunt double. But his transition from television to cinema has not been as successful as he dreamed of and now he is a guest villain on different television shows.
But Once Upon a Time in Hollywood also tells the story of Sharon Tate (Margot Robbie), a rising actress in 1969, the year in which the film takes place. Sharon Tate is married to the famous director Roman Polanski with whom she lives next door to Rick Dalton. We watch the slow but sure decline of Rick Dalton at the same time we watch the rising success of Sharon Tate. But of course, there is also another story, that of the sinister clan led by Charles Manson, who appears in various scenes of the story. The Manson clan and Sharon Tate are characters taken from reality, and Dalton and Booth are characters with different inspirations but invented by Quentin Tarantino. In this game between fiction and reality, the director moves with ease and great grace.
When he started his career, Quentin Tarantino was considered a transgressor. Then it became very popular and, although it continued to arouse controversy, it became part of the world of cinema, respected and awarded everywhere. The filmmaker evolved, changed some aspects, and remained true to himself in many others. But around him, the industry entered a strange decline and a time of cheapness and a culture of cancellation that does not help cinema at all. Now Tarantino seems to be a transgressor again, although he is still the same, it was the world that changed for the worse. Perhaps this is his kindest and lightest film to date, but it does not comply with the manual of political correctness and the poor director has received increasingly frequent ideological accusations today. But when the stars agree to work with him and when the majority of the public approves, the thought police have little to add.
Freed from the excess of tricks with the timeline, the director tells in a very fluid and entertaining way all the stories that are happening in parallel. The movie is always funny, somewhat irreverent, and of course intelligent. His usual cinephilia shows through without this impeding enjoyment of the narration, the characters, and a story with a huge heart, in many ways the film that is most full of feelings from the director.
When Rick Dalton wonders all the time if his end has come, he seems to be speaking for several generations left behind, perhaps including the director himself. But there is the counterpart of his friend Cliff, relaxed, who lives in the present and sees things differently. Even though Rick's downfall could possibly spell the end of his career, too. And again Sharon Tate, who watches his career skyrocket and lives with the opposite view of Rick. She wonders if this is the great moment of her life. Tarantino is closer than Rick, but his genuine love for the actress comes through in every scene. The three protagonists are at the height of the film, which is not something to say.
Those who know cinema and know that period of Hollywood, will clearly see and read each and every one of the scenes. It is also key to know who Sharon Tate is to fully understand what Tarantino wanted to do with her film. Those who do not know about cinema will enjoy the same film but will not finish reading it in the same way. Here Tarantino does something daring: there are two films in one, and both have to satisfy their viewers, even when they end up making two very different assessments. In both cases, they will enjoy unforgettable scenes, a great sense of humor, some violent moments, and an outstanding leading trio. As if that weren't enough, Al Pacino, Bruce Dern, Timothy Olyphant, Emile Hirsch, Luke Perry, Dakota Fanning, Margaret Qualley, and Damian Lewis also work. Landing great casts has never been a problem for Tarantino. Just as it's no surprise that he made a movie as unique as Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood.
