I have seen this film twice in the last two days, I probably will see it many more times.Tarantino has shocked and surprised me before, but this was the biggest shock of all. The movie is set in the Hollywood of 1969, just before the brutal Manson family murders.
Leonard Dicaprio and Brad Pitt give career high performances. Dicaprio is Rick Dalton, a TV cowboy actor who longs for movie stardom but has now hit the skids. Pitt plays Cliff Booth his stunt double/driver and all around best bud. They also represent doubles of each other in real life, though Dalton is angry and frustrated at his failings in life while Booth is perfectly happy to be his pal's gopher and handyman. There is good recreations of TV westerns of the time, Dalton had been the star of "Bounty Law" a show that never existed but is clearly based on Steve McQueen's "Wanted Dead Or Alive" series. Dalton is now playing guest role villains on TV. An actual series "Lancer" is recreated here, I never saw this show when it aired since it was on up against "The Mod Squad" in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Dalton has some funny and touching scenes opposite a precocious 8 year old actress while doing the "Lancer" episode. The late Luke Perry has his final film appearance in these scenes also.
Margot Robbie has an almost magical presence playing actress Sharon Tate. Tate unfortunately is best known today as the most famous of the Manson family murder victims. We see not only how beautiful she was but also how good and kind she was as well. One of my favorite scenes is when she goes to a movie theater to watch "The Wrecking Crew" a film she made in 1968 with Dean Martin. We see actual clips of the movie, (with the real Sharon Tate) and cuts back to her reactions, she becomes delighted when the audience laughs at her comedy bits and applauds at her fight scene with Nancy Kwan.
The film starts to turn dark when Cliff picks up a teenage girl hitchhiker who wants to be taken to Spahn Ranch, a run down movie set where he once worked. I have read nearly everything about the Manson case, so I knew where it was going now. Cliff sees a bunch of mostly hippie girls hanging around and asks if George Spahn the original owner of the ranch still lives there. The scenes at the ranch are quietly disturbing. Dakota Fanning (I did not recognize her) plays Squeaky, one of the real life Manson girls. Her vacant eyes and cold manner make for some suspenseful moments. Cliff is concerned about his old friend George and demands to see him. He finds him now old and blind (Bruce Dern in a great cameo) but at least alive. Cliff is still suspicious but leaves the ranch.
The final act comes up for the biggest shock of all. Rick has returned from several months filming some spaghetti westerns in Italy.He has also gotten married to an Italian actress. It is now August 8 1969. Cliff and his faithful pit bull Brandy are staying the night at Rick's house. Sharon Tate and some of her friends arrive at her home (which is right next door to Rick) to spend the evening together. Then Manson followers Charles "Tex" Watson, Patricia "Katie" Krenwinkel, Susan "Sadie" Atkins and Linda Kasabian are driving up the road. I knew what was coming and was dreading this moment, I was hoping that Tarantino would not show the gruesome murders but I was preparing myself. Then Rick hears them driving up and has an angry altercation with them, then I was a bit surprised that real life characters were suddenly intermingling with fictional characters on a night when a horrible historic moment happened. When Rick goes into the house, the killers suddenly realize that he was the star of the TV show "Bounty Law". Then psycho Sadie goes on a rant about how TV showed her generation how to kill by showing murders every week on the small screen. I had heard some Manson followers had actually said this. Linda is too scared to go with the other three and takes the car keys and drives off leaving them. Another change in the real story, Linda did not participate in the murders but did stay with them, so once again I am getting bewildered. Tex, Sadie and Katie than decide to go to Rick's house rather than Sharon's. I am wondering are they now going to kill them also? Then the most surprising thing happens, Cliff, his pit bull and Rick decide to fight back against these scummy creeps leaving them to be battered and massacred. Brandy has some great scenes as one of the most heroic dogs I have seen in film. My head was reeling by this time, I kept thinking "Are they really doing this?" Then came the ending, Rick is now safe, Cliff injured but alive. And now Rick gets to meet his next door neighbor Sharon and her friends. I am still in shock but then for the first time we see the title on screen "Once Upon A Time... In Hollywood" and then I finally get it, this is a Hollywood story not real life, this is what we wish would have happened.
I finally had to see the film again for a second time so I could actually enjoy that climatic scene, without the dread and confusion I had the first time. This is a phenomenal work, like nothing I have ever seen and probably never will again.
Leonard Dicaprio and Brad Pitt give career high performances. Dicaprio is Rick Dalton, a TV cowboy actor who longs for movie stardom but has now hit the skids. Pitt plays Cliff Booth his stunt double/driver and all around best bud. They also represent doubles of each other in real life, though Dalton is angry and frustrated at his failings in life while Booth is perfectly happy to be his pal's gopher and handyman. There is good recreations of TV westerns of the time, Dalton had been the star of "Bounty Law" a show that never existed but is clearly based on Steve McQueen's "Wanted Dead Or Alive" series. Dalton is now playing guest role villains on TV. An actual series "Lancer" is recreated here, I never saw this show when it aired since it was on up against "The Mod Squad" in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Dalton has some funny and touching scenes opposite a precocious 8 year old actress while doing the "Lancer" episode. The late Luke Perry has his final film appearance in these scenes also.
Margot Robbie has an almost magical presence playing actress Sharon Tate. Tate unfortunately is best known today as the most famous of the Manson family murder victims. We see not only how beautiful she was but also how good and kind she was as well. One of my favorite scenes is when she goes to a movie theater to watch "The Wrecking Crew" a film she made in 1968 with Dean Martin. We see actual clips of the movie, (with the real Sharon Tate) and cuts back to her reactions, she becomes delighted when the audience laughs at her comedy bits and applauds at her fight scene with Nancy Kwan.
The film starts to turn dark when Cliff picks up a teenage girl hitchhiker who wants to be taken to Spahn Ranch, a run down movie set where he once worked. I have read nearly everything about the Manson case, so I knew where it was going now. Cliff sees a bunch of mostly hippie girls hanging around and asks if George Spahn the original owner of the ranch still lives there. The scenes at the ranch are quietly disturbing. Dakota Fanning (I did not recognize her) plays Squeaky, one of the real life Manson girls. Her vacant eyes and cold manner make for some suspenseful moments. Cliff is concerned about his old friend George and demands to see him. He finds him now old and blind (Bruce Dern in a great cameo) but at least alive. Cliff is still suspicious but leaves the ranch.
The final act comes up for the biggest shock of all. Rick has returned from several months filming some spaghetti westerns in Italy.He has also gotten married to an Italian actress. It is now August 8 1969. Cliff and his faithful pit bull Brandy are staying the night at Rick's house. Sharon Tate and some of her friends arrive at her home (which is right next door to Rick) to spend the evening together. Then Manson followers Charles "Tex" Watson, Patricia "Katie" Krenwinkel, Susan "Sadie" Atkins and Linda Kasabian are driving up the road. I knew what was coming and was dreading this moment, I was hoping that Tarantino would not show the gruesome murders but I was preparing myself. Then Rick hears them driving up and has an angry altercation with them, then I was a bit surprised that real life characters were suddenly intermingling with fictional characters on a night when a horrible historic moment happened. When Rick goes into the house, the killers suddenly realize that he was the star of the TV show "Bounty Law". Then psycho Sadie goes on a rant about how TV showed her generation how to kill by showing murders every week on the small screen. I had heard some Manson followers had actually said this. Linda is too scared to go with the other three and takes the car keys and drives off leaving them. Another change in the real story, Linda did not participate in the murders but did stay with them, so once again I am getting bewildered. Tex, Sadie and Katie than decide to go to Rick's house rather than Sharon's. I am wondering are they now going to kill them also? Then the most surprising thing happens, Cliff, his pit bull and Rick decide to fight back against these scummy creeps leaving them to be battered and massacred. Brandy has some great scenes as one of the most heroic dogs I have seen in film. My head was reeling by this time, I kept thinking "Are they really doing this?" Then came the ending, Rick is now safe, Cliff injured but alive. And now Rick gets to meet his next door neighbor Sharon and her friends. I am still in shock but then for the first time we see the title on screen "Once Upon A Time... In Hollywood" and then I finally get it, this is a Hollywood story not real life, this is what we wish would have happened.
I finally had to see the film again for a second time so I could actually enjoy that climatic scene, without the dread and confusion I had the first time. This is a phenomenal work, like nothing I have ever seen and probably never will again.