“Once Upon a Time in Hollywood”

After a long lay-off, I got to the show to check-out the latest from Q. This is sort of a love letter of sorts for late 60’s Hollywood. There isn’t much of story arc, per say as the film follows the long on-going partnership between the two leads, an actor and his stunt man played by Leo and Brad Pitt. They’re both at different places in their career, but have a mutual understanding with each other that seems to work and goes deep. I loved their relationship and that was my favorite part of the movie. You also get a parallel story with Sharon Tate (Margot Robbie). There is a terrific scene with her in a movie theater as she watches one of her own movies incognito. The attention to detail is incredible. The capturing of the late 60’s LA scene is down to perfection all the way to the Kraft Mac & Chez box. The performances are also great and this is probably the best thing Pitt has done in years. He plays a very interesting guy as a sort of a hapless person, but with real confidence. He carries around a dark secret, which may or not be true. We never know that, but one can assume. Q takes extreme liberties with his historical accuracy when it comes to the Tate murders. Of course I wasn’t there, but I’m pretty sure it didn’t go down as portrayed on film. That may turn some people off, but I liked what he did. The film meanders at times as it spends probably too much time on various sets, but that didn’t bother me that much. It’s not excessively violent either except for the very end which kind of bordered on cartoon. I actually thought it was pretty funny. I enjoyed it and probably will need to see it again to catch some of the things I may have missed.

Rating (****)