HELL. YES. Anyone that knows my movie interests personally will know that I’m a huge fan of Quentin Tarantino movies. The guy is one of my favorite directors around today, and I own every one of his movies, all of which I’ve seen multiple times. While his movies are of some varying quality, I feel like even his worst movies (Jackie Brown is my personal least favorite) are still pretty decent. Regardless, what I’ve always respected about Tarantino is that he has a signature style, and so when I watch his movies I feel like I’m getting an experience that I don’t get from any other movies. I know I’m always in for one hell of a ride, and his newest movie, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, is no exception. This movie is a blend of Tarantino’s best qualities, and so the result is yet another remarkable movie.

When the movie was first announced, it was advertised as being about the Charles Manson murders of Sharon Tate and her friends. However, as trailers started to come out, it soon became apparent that this isn’t really what it’s all about. Don’t get me wrong, Sharon Tate and the Manson family are definitely characters in this movie, but they’re actually used as more of a backdrop to tell a different story. What Once Upon a Time in Hollywood really does is show the culture of Hollywood back in 1969, by focusing on the fictional character of Rick Dalton. Rick was a big star of Westerns back in the 50s, but now he’s having trouble figuring out where his career is going next, and without sugarcoating it, he’s frankly a has-been now. Nowadays, he has his stunt double/best friend Cliff Booth drive him around and try to find gigs. 

What does this have to do with Sharon Tate, you might ask? Well, nothing initially, but things inevitably play into that story. For starters, director Roman Polanski has moved in next door to Rick. At the time, Sharon Tate was married to Polanski, so it’s soon realized by viewers that the house next door to Rick’s is where Sharon will eventually be murdered. Also, Cliff encounters a hippie girl on a drive one day, and ends up giving her a lift back home. This is soon realized to be the home of the Manson family, and so things start to unfold in interesting ways there as well. Also, we DO get Sharon Tate as a character here, she just isn’t the focus of the story. However, we get to see what her life was like in the months leading up to her eventual murder.

This is about all I can say about the story, because the movie actually takes a really surprising turn in the third act that I don’t want to spoil. You may think that you know how this story ends, but if you’ve seen Tarantino’s World War II movie Inglourious Basterds, you may know that he likes to take some…shall we say, “creative liberties,” with the historical events he depicts. The third act of this movie has become very controversial, so I only bring this up to warn you about what you’re getting into. If you can go into Once Upon a Time in Hollywood as a creative escapist fantasy giving a different take on a historical event, then you may enjoy this. However, if you were thinking that this movie was going to be a straight-up biopic or retelling of the Tate murder (which you shouldn’t, because the two main characters Rick and Cliff aren’t real people), then this movie might not be for you.

The other trigger warning I feel I need to give is to know what type of movie this is. I feel like I have seen some of Tarantino’s movies feel like straightforward narratives (like Django Unchained), but movies like Pulp Fiction feel more like “slice of life” movies, where the focus really isn’t on the plot, but on the lifestyle/time period being portrayed. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is definitely more like the latter. For a lot of the first half of the movie, nothing is really happening. We’re kind of just seeing a day in the life of our main characters. The movie is much more character-focused than plot-focused, and I know this can turn some people off. However, I personally love this sort of thing, and I’m only going to judge it on its intention. For this, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is amazing at what it sets out to do, but you have to be on board with what it is. It’s a great snapshot into the Hollywood culture and 60s time period, and we get to see it all through the lens of some really great characters.

I don’t really have much to say about Once Upon a Time in Hollywood beyond that, so I’ll close with an assortment of random thoughts. I think it’s Tarantino at his finest in terms of directing (although not necessarily writing). The cast is nothing short of fantastic, with Leonardo DiCaprio and Margot Robbie giving great performances as Rick and Sharon, and Brad Pitt stealing the show as Cliff, one of my new favorite movie badasses. The world of the movie feels rich and authentic. I also just think that the movie is so great at playing with your expectations. There were so many points where I thought I knew where the movie was going, and felt some real tension in some scenes, only to have it play out completely differently. I think that this is one of those movies where you as the viewer need to understand what you’re getting into before you watch it, but that if you do know what it is and are still on board, you’re likely going to love it. This is an amazing movie, and one of my favorites of 2019 so far.

4.5/5