Review: Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood (2019)

Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood (2019)

DISCLAIMER - FULL SPOILERS AHEAD - do not read on if you have yet to see the film and plan on doing so

Damn, did that ending pack a punch! I am just going to go out and say that had that ending not unfolded in the way that it does, the film likely would not have worked for me. Like all of Tarantino's films the hype train leading up to Once Upon a Time's release was over the moon, no less this time because it the director's 'so-called' penultimate film. Unlike many of his previous outings however One Upon a Time is less about the plot and more about an overarching feeling, sentiment, or nostalgia of the bygone era it pays tribute to. Tarantino, as many of us know, is a walking, breathing encyclopedia of pop culture history and in this film he willfully unleashes his love for all things Hollywood onto us, the audience. The kicker here is that, as the public learned early on, he bases this film around the true and infamously horrific massacre by the Manson family of up-and-coming actress, Sharon Tate, and the other occupants at her and Roman Polanski's home in 1969.

Ahead of my viewing I had no idea how the massacre would be depicted in the film but I had read and heard that the ending was gruesome, to say the least. Knowing this while watching the film created an uneasy suspense and feeling for me as the film itself is actually rather light and often comedic (though darkly) as with many of Tarantino's. For this reason the idea began to prematurely settle in my mind that the film was ultimately not going to work for me - 'how could this film possibly work when the light bulk of the film is inevitably leading to such a dark and horrifying ending...'. And then it was that the ending came and the jigsaw pieces of the film that had been laying around for two-plus hours all swiftly fell into place. I could now see the complete image and I had a smile on my face.

Now, to take a few steps back. As stated earlier, this film is a nostalgic look back at a classic era of Hollywood - though the 60's were marred with controversy and war like most others, it was an optimistic decade where many of the social shackles in America finally began to give way to new ways of thinking and new social rights. As with many trends, much of these sentiments were reflected in the pop culture of the time. However, the decade would end on a terrifying note with the Manson massacre, ending the fairy tale of the 60's on a horrible note. This dichotomy is what Once Upon a Time is all about. It is Tarantino looking back on a decade he clearly has great affection for and it is him coming to terms with the violence that marred the end of the decade and also Hollywood for a long while afterwards. It is here that Tarantino's fictitious, romanticized and 'highly-Tarantino' ending works so well. The ending is him gifting us with an alternative fairy-tale ending of the Tate murders that he, us, and the world would have wanted, bypassing the true nightmare of events and letting the fairy-tale of Hollywood to continue indefinitely.

All of this is only discussing the ending of Once Upon a Time when there is an entire film that precedes it. This is where some of the film struggles. The film is centred around DiCaprio's, Rick Dalton, Pitt's, Cliff Booth, and Robbie's, Sharon Tate. Both DiCaprio and Pitt are powerhouses here - the film is arguably worth seeing solely for their captivating and entertaining performances and this film marks high points in both actor's already famed-careers. Both characters are well-fleshed out, though Dalton's actual arch isn't very complete and doesn't connect to the overall film that well. Booth, however, is more integral to the story and his pathway melds more naturally into the ending and narrative. Robbie's Tate has been discussed much since the film's release. For a leading character she has an objectively low line count and, in my opinion, this is because the film is not actually about Sharon Tate the person but about Sharon Tate the character - a personification of the American Dream in Hollywood, notably the enthusiasm, optimism and innocence found in the 60's. Her (true) story was the vehicle Tarantino needed to tell his story and, unfortunately, this meant that he didn't require her as much on a personal level. Regardless of that point, all three leads give strong performances, along with the rest of the remarkably large supporting cast (I do not have enough space here to list all of the other famous faces in the film). It is a testament to the acclaim of Tarantino that he can assemble a cast such as found here - there are many faces you will recognize who have less than one minute of screen time or no lines of dialogue at all.

It is interesting to ponder whether the final form of Once Upon a Time is how Tarantino originally perceived it. The film often doesn't flow well - its myriad and prolonged flashbacks and detours, though entertaining, halt the films momentum and pacing over and over again. I believe there is a shortened cut of the film that exists somewhere in there but, of course, that would not be in the Tarantino style to make. Like all of the director's filmography, Once Upon a Time will remain a controversial film and one rife as a conversation-starter for film enthusiasts and non alike. Overall, it is a success and leaves more than a little to think about after its conclusion. Though it may not be one of the best instalments in Tarantino's own catalogue it still remains well-above the average for the overall outcrop of cinema out there and is one to be seen by everyone.