Christopher Long Show Biz Guru: MOVIE REVIEW: Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019)

MOVIE REVIEW

Once Upon a

Time in Hollywood

2019 / 2hrs 41min

(Columbia Pictures)

__________

This is the film I have been
waiting months to see. And
while I realize that Tarantino
could probably have knocked
an hour or so off the running
time without compromising
any of the story's cred, I'm
certainly glad that he didn't.

__________

As a feeble little old man who grew up during the groovy, shag-carpeted era of the late 1960s and early '70s, I find myself now navigating desperately through a super-sophisticated iWorld. Hence, I was intrigued instantly by the premise and nostalgia-factor of director Quentin Tarantino’s latest big-screen epic. Sexy-looking, action-packed pre-release trailers promised a fast-paced film based on semi-factual accounts of shocking historical events of the time — pinned to a glitzy fictional backdrop — starring today's hottest and hunkiest A-list talent. Squeezing into my favorite faded bell bottoms and heading out to my local cineplex to see this one on opening weekend was a bona fide no-brainer. The only question was whether or not it would live up to the hype. One senior's matinee ticket to Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, please!

The new Redford and Newman.

Hollywood — 1969. TV / movie star, Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio), and his longtime compadre / stunt double, Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt), are struggling to salvage their careers. The fictional Dalton character soon finds himself cast in the actual 1960s Western TV drama, Lancer. It's a bit of a stretch, but it works. At the same time, Dalton and Booth's fictional personal stories are woven into semi-factual real-life accounts of the notorious Manson Family and their 1969 murders of actress Sharon Tate and several others. This too is a bit of a stretch. But doggonit, it works, really well.

The film's all-star cast is incredible. DiCaprio and Pitt both deliver in fashions reflective of their distinguished reputations — a modern-day Redford / Newman-caliber combo with legs. Margot Robbie becomes Sharon Tate. Although Robbie's talent demands co-pilot status, maintaining the authenticity of her character requires a seat in first-class. Emile Hirsch drops an impressive performance as Tate's ex-boyfriend, Jay Sebring, while Margaret Qualley is simply irresistible as spirited Manson Family member, Pussycat. Dakota Fanning is a legit Lynette "Squeaky" Fromme and ten-year-old Julia Butters is a scene-stealer as precocious child "actor," Trudi Fraser.

Margot Robbie is superb as Sharon Tate.

Although Tarantino’s choice of ending has been criticized, it's important to realize that despite leaning on certain historical events, this film is a "fantasy." Plus, it's a Tarantino "fantasy." So, to expect anything other than a disturbing, blood-spewing ending would be as ridiculous as the film's actual disturbing, blood-spewing ending.

In sum, believe the hype. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood delivers maximum bang for the movie buck — an absurd, yet thrilling tale — an authentic-looking period piece bursting with heart-stopping tension, excessive violence, offensive language and oodles of hard bodies and pretty faces.

-Christopher Long
(July 2019)

__________