In his ninth film, Quentin Tarantino used "Once Upon a Time...", a phrase often used in fairy tales, also used in spaghetti western films in the past like
Once Upon a Time in America, Anatolia, etc. a genre Rick Dalton, his main character in this film, dubbed as a genre for washed-up actors. For his version, he used 1960s Hollywood as his backdrop.
On one hand,
Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood's narrative feels like Tarantino is purely reminiscing on the golden era of Hollywood, where hippies are everywhere, cinema is alive, Bruce Lee is alive, and feet can be placed on top of theater seats. On the other, it also tells us that Hollywood as media, teaches us of violence and killings, save for
I Love Lucy.
 |
| Photo Credit: Columbia Pictures |
On the surface, this feels like an episodic stories of three characters living in this era: a has-been actor Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio), star of "Bounty Law", a hit TV series in the 50s and early 60s, whose transition from TV to movies never materialized; a stunt-man double slash best friend of Dalton, Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt), who also serves as Dalton's driver and confidant; and Sharon Tate (Margot Robbie), the admirable actress who just happens to be Rick's neighbor in Cielo Drive. Surrounding these characters are a mix of real and fictional personas ranging from Roman Polanski, Steve McQueen, the Manson family, and others Tarantino chose to integrate into his oeuvre.
Like any other Quarantino film, it’s grand and cinematic. Barbara Ling's production design of old Hollywood matched Robert Richardson's illustrative cinematography is divine. But
Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood is also quite a bit of a mess, a signature Quarantino mess that is. Some of his choices for this film, might not be surprising considering his past choices in his previous films but questionable nevertheless--inconsistent labeling of 60s celebrities that I see as lazy storytelling, sudden editing shifts that don't make sense particularly with Dalton and his director in the trailer park for the film "Lancer", and other substories and additional characters that don’t necessarily add up to the plot or resolution, but only exists for Tarantino's drama. I imagine these are all essential in Quarantino’s world, but not necessarily appealing to some viewers.
OUATIH might be criticized as a film that requires research before actually seeing it, or else, one might find oneself asking questions. Intentional? Maybe.
 |
| Margot Robbie as Sharon Tate | Columbia Pictures |
The good side is the trio of Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie is extremely likable and compelling. DiCaprio's Rick Dalton might be one of my favorite performances from him. He's committed but less serious, and he brought both humanity and caricature to his character that most of the time doesn't work for other actors. Pitt is as usual, reliable. There's not enough meaty scenes from him except for his fight with the real but very fictional Bruce Lee, where we once again witness his signature
Fight Club fist-fight moves, this time under the direction of Tarantino. Margot Robbie is the most interesting one. Her characterization of Sharon Tate based on Tarantino's world could be seen as a filler. But she's a much-needed presence in the man-filled world of 60s Hollywood. The ensemble as a whole is quite good. Tarantino is known to work with a lot of actors in his films, but there's always a true standout among his sea of talents, and in this film, it's Margaret Qualley, the young actress who held her own while acting with Pitt. And how can I forget Brandy? Cliff's adorable pitbull who also had a pivotal scene at the end.
In the end,
Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood might be difficult to grasp because of its setting and its lack of structure. Quarantino has no motive to teach us about it. Instead, he wants to reminisce the good old times of what may be considered as Hollywood's Golden era, where dreams are made of and actors truly care about their careers, somewhere Tarantino would probably want to be in right now.
No comments:
Post a Comment