{"id":18802,"date":"2019-07-25T12:37:25","date_gmt":"2019-07-25T19:37:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cinemastance.com\/?p=18802"},"modified":"2019-07-25T12:37:25","modified_gmt":"2019-07-25T19:37:25","slug":"once-upon-a-time-in-hollywood-is-another-winner-from-tarantino","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/?p=18802","title":{"rendered":"ONCE UPON A TIME… IN HOLLYWOOD is Another Winner from Tarantino"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Over the years, writer\/director Quentin Tarantino made some\niconic works like Reservoir Dogs<\/em>, Pulp Fiction<\/em> and Django\nUnchained<\/em>. Even his genre film homages like the Kill Bill<\/em> movies and\nThe Hateful Eight<\/em> boast exceptional writing and elevated production\nvalue. His latest, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood<\/em>, is not only an\nexamination of show business in the 60s from the perspective of an actor but also\nincorporates a tragic part of Hollywood history. And\nwhen Tarantino decides to broach any subject, viewers know that he won’t pull\nhis punches. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio) is a TV star facing a\nmid-life crisis. He has started to lose confidence in his abilities as a\nleading man and feels that his professional livelihood may be hitting the skids.\nDalton spends his time hanging out and\ndrinking with his stunt double, Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt), a Viet\n Nam war vet with a dark past who lives in a\ntrailer. The protagonist yearns for a career resurgence, even wishing that he\nhad the opportunity to meet his successful show business neighbors, director\nRoman Polanski (Rafal Zawierucha) and his wife, actress Sharon Tate (Margot\nRobbie). As Dalton and Booth try to\ncome to terms with his career trajectory, they cross paths with members of a\ndangerous cult commune. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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While the Manson family do play a significant part in the\nproceedings, this is really a movie about Dalton’s\npersonal struggles, as well as his relationship with Booth. Early sections of\nthe movie are all about setting up the feel of the era, following routines in\nthe lives of the leads and transporting viewers into their world. This isn’t a\nfast-paced flick and it does spend a lot of time setting the stage, as well as referencing\nand occasionally providing fun recreations of the period’s entertainment. The\ntechnique results in a movie that may be a bit overlong, but one that firmly succeeds\nin creating a specific mood. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The cast are exceptional and the central connection between Dalton\nand Booth is an oddly sweet one, with the stunt man serving as a protector of\nthe struggling star, offering fresh perspective, advice and hearing out his\nfriend who continually expresses deep insecurities. Booth is also given an\nincredibly tense scene at the ranch housing many of the Manson family. Viewers\nknow during this section that violence is most certainly on the horizon, and the\nmovie expertly leaves one guessing as to what will occur and when it will\nhappen. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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And DiCaprio is excellent as Dalton,\nwith the character hiding nervousness to the point of stammering during\nconversations with agents about his career, and coming close to a breakdown on\nseveral occasions. Highlights include work on a western set that involve a\nseries of interactions with a young thespian, an effective shot that holds close\non the performers through an imperfect take, and a scene with an incredibly\nfrustrated Dalton chastising himself. The moments make the protagonist\nsympathetic and are heartfelt and funny in equal measure. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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As this is occurring, Robbie’s Tate provides a nice contrast\nto Dalton as a young and\nenthusiastic actress truly enjoying the beginnings of what she hopes will be a\nlengthy career in Hollywood. And of\ncourse, there is a lot of meta-related subtext that one can unpack, given that\nthe movie features fictional performers talking about their onscreen roles, personal\nlive, acting and art of make-believe, all the while referencing a real-life\nevent. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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As expected, the movie looks stunning too. Lensed by Robert Richardson (who has shot all of Tarantino’s films from Kill Bill<\/em> forward, as well as Platoon<\/em>, JFK<\/em>, Casino<\/em>, Snow Falling on Cedars<\/em>, The Aviator<\/em>, Hugo<\/em> and too many others to mention), the gorgeous lighting, camerawork and set are beautiful. Night scenes feature the warm glow of neon and even the streets of Hollywood have been altered to perfectly emulate the period. There are a lot of impressive long takes as well, with elaborate camera moves that follow vehicles and persons through Dalton’s Beverly Hills neighborhood. Richardson may have already won three Oscars thus far in his career, but as of this point another nomination could be in the cards. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The movie offers some unexpected elements that may bother a\nfew audience members. However, this reviewer felt transported to Hollywood\nin the 60s, and was consistently fascinated and engrossed through the entire\nrunning time. And it most assuredly features some memorable sequences that\nwon’t soon be forgotten. Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood<\/em> will reward\nfans willing to be patient, step into a time machine, and experience events\nfrom another era through the eyes of an eccentric filmmaker.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Note: Those who enjoy the film will want to stay present\nthrough the final credits, which provides a bonus clip.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Over the years, writer\/director Quentin Tarantino made some iconic works like Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction and Django Unchained. Even his genre film homages like the Kill Bill movies and The Hateful Eight boast exceptional writing and elevated production value. His latest, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, is not only an examination of show business […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":18807,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[197,323,3391,6251,9253,12256,13063,13064,13194,14413,15400,16530],"class_list":["post-18802","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-movie-reviews","tag-197","tag-60s","tag-brad-pitt","tag-drama","tag-hollywood","tag-leonardo-dicaprio","tag-manson","tag-manson-family","tag-margot-robbie","tag-murders","tag-once-upon-a-time-in-hollywood","tag-quentin-tarantino"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18802","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=18802"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18802\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=18802"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=18802"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cinemastance.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=18802"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}