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Film

Film review: Once Upon A Time In Hollywood

Tarantino gives us one of his most inspired, complex and decidedly bonkers films to date, says Linda Marric

August 14, 2019 11:23
Once Upon A Time In Hollywood
1 min read

The ninth film in Quentin Tarantino’s glorious, unapologetic and often controversial career is nothing short of a masterpiece. Set in Los Angeles in 1969, Once Upon A Time In Hollywood is a stylish, intoxicating and hilariously funny buddy movie which acts as a tribute to Hollywood’s golden age of film and TV.

Starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt, the film takes on the infamous Manson murders as seen through the eyes of a down-on-his-luck TV actor and his stunt double, attempting to make sense of an industry that has moved on without them.

As the former star of popular TV Western series Bounty Law (think Maverick or Bonanza), Rick Dalton (DiCaprio) was once the pride and joy of his Network, that is until the show was cancelled and the roles started to dry up. Nowadays, Rick has only his long-time stunt double Cliff Booth (Pitt), a man with a seemingly dark and murky past, to help him through a daily routine of excessive drinking and wallowing in self-pity.

Advised by talent agent Marvin Schwarz (Al Pacino) against his many typecast walk-on TV parts alongside every young and hip up-and-comer, Rick must decide what to do next to save his career. With Hollywood invaded by hippies and art-house European filmmakers, things take on a surreal turn when Roman Polanski (Rafal Zawierucha) and girlfriend Sharon Tate (Margot Robbie) move in next door to Rick’s humble Hollywood Hills condo.