JOIN OUR WHATSAPP CHANNEL
Once Upon A Time In Hollywood Review: Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt add colour to Quentin Tarantino's dark tale
Once Upon A Time In Hollywood Review: Quentin Tarantino welcomes us to his feverish Hollywood state of mind in the '60s and uses Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt's star quality to weave a tale, you don't want to miss.
Once Upon A Time In Hollywood
Once Upon A Time In Hollywood Cast: Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio, Margot Robbie
Once Upon A Time In Hollywood Director: Quentin Tarantino
Once Upon A Time In Hollywood Stars: 4/5
There's a state of fervour you immerse yourself in whilst watching a Quentin Tarantino movie. When you enter his world, you feel the same sense of recklessness with which Cliff Booth and Roman Polanski treat their vintage cars. Did Once Upon A Time In Hollywood live up to the giant expectations that Tarantino has set for himself? Read below to find out.
Once Upon A Time In Hollywood can be divided into two chapters; on one hand we have washed-up actor Rick Dalton and his stunt double cum driver and gofer Cliff Booth and on the other hand, we have up-and-coming Hollywood actress Sharon Tate. While the Manson Family Murders forms the crux of this Hollywood flick, at the core is a buddy bromance comedy set in the heart of Los Angeles.
Leonardo DiCaprio sinks his teeth into Rick Dalton and makes pretend bad-acting, stuff for the legends. At the prime of his career, Rick becomes a household name starring in Bounty Law, but Hollywood aspirations prove fatal, and he ends being the scapegoat for young stars to tramp all over. The sequence where Rick gives himself a suicidal pep talk after he forgets and fumbles his lines is a scene-stealing moment for the Oscar winner. The western accent on point, Leo amps up the brooding personality with his own essence attached and shows us that men crying, is okay! On the other hand, we have Brad Pitt, who has an absolute ball playing Cliff Booth. One could even say that the personality of Cliff is the heightened version of Pitt himself. Seeing him in action mode, in the 1969's, with the extreme close-ups is easy and visually pleasing on the eyes. And yes, he made beating up Bruce Lee look cool! Words I never thought would be strung in one sentence. Also watch out for his dog Brandy! Leo and Brad play off of each other's personalities and gives us a bromance, we can get behind. Margot Robbie's Sharon will not go down in history as one of Quentin's bad*** female characters but Margot makes the most of the limited screen time. Robbie played plenty with the physical movements to nurture Sharon's frivolous and carefree personality on-screen. A paticular scene to watch out for is a barefoot Sharon watching herself on screen playing a clutz in The Wrecking Crew.
Another show-stealer in Once Upon A Time In Hollywood was Julia Butters, who plays Leo's co-star in a Western. Julia appears in one scene only and manages to leave eve DiCaprio stunned as she helps Rick get out of his slump. Quentin makes sure to use actors to their full advantage, even when they aren't the main leads. He carries forward his storyline through these characters and helps the big guns twist and turn in his big, bad world. Whether it be Al Pacino ad Martin Schwarz (Not Schwartz) or even Austin Butler and Dakota Fanning, as members of the Manson family. Every character has a part to play in Tarantino's chessboard.
When it comes to the actual storyline, Tarantino feverishly lets his dream Hollywood splash across the silver screen and uses Hollywood's stalwarts - Leo and Brad as his poster boys. The names attached to Once Upon A Time In Hollywood seems like a far-fetched dream which is why you'll enjoy this ride. Once Upon A Time In Hollywood is not just Tarantino's love letter to Hollywood but to LA as well. The attention to detailing of bringing Hollywood is the 60s is evident in the cinematography by Robert Richardson, the editing by Fred Raskin, the bizzing soundtrack curated by Holly Adams, the KSG radio station clippings, the Taco Bell and drive-in theatres. "My idea is to kill the people who taught us to kill," are just some of the quote-worthy lines that could make for some killer posters in the near future, courtesy of Tarantino. Quentin, through his lens, shows us the frivolous nature of old town Hollywood and how it shaped the present.
If you're going to the theatres expecting to venture into the Manson Family Murders, don't expect way too much. Because after all, this is Tarantino's Hollywood La La Land. Enjoy it for the acting, enjoy it for LA, enjoy it for the love of movies, enjoy it for the genius that is Quentin Tarantino. Is Once Upon A Time In Hollywood revolutionary like Quentin's prior releases? No. But, it's a wild crazy ride, nonetheless.
Latest Articles
