Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
2019
**½
Director: Quentin Tarantino
Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie, Emile Hirsch, Margaret Qualley, Timothy Olyphant, Austin Butler, Dakota Fanning, Bruce Dern, Al Pacino
Quentin Tarantino's ninth film is an homage to Hollywood of the late 1960s. Rick Dalton is a washed-up TV actor whose career is at a crossroads. His driver and best friend Cliff Booth is a former stunt man with a shady past. It's clear that Tarantino is a fan of every little detail about the movies and TV shows from this period (except the way a show like Lancer would have been shot and acted), but his script is unfocused and meandering, and the film seems to go on forever. For every 10-second shot, he gives us a full minute, and for every 2-minute scene, he gives us at least 10 minutes. About 15 minutes of the running time is dedicated just on people driving around in cars. Like all his works, this one includes some memorable scenes, which includes an extremely violent Hollywood ending. The film looks and sounds terrific, and Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt have wonderful chemistry together. Margot Robbie, on the other hand, has a thankless role as Sharon Tate, who drives to the cinema to watch herself in The Wrecking Crew in the film's most pointless scene. An Academy Award winner for best supporting actor (Pitt) and production design.
