Hello, hello!
My darling readers, today I’ll be reviewing one of my most anticipated releases of 2019. I am beyond excited that Quentin Tarantino’s latest picture finally hit cinemas and I already went to see it multiple times.
The Plot:
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is set in 1969 following the lives of actor Rick Dalton and his stunt double Cliff Booth. They are both struggling in a changing world.
In the meantime, Rick’s neighbor Sharon Tate is on her way to success in Hollywood…
The Rating:
Okay, so here’s the deal. I, for my part, really enjoyed this film. However, it is obvious to me, why many people didn’t.
First of all, there isn’t all that much of a story going on. I think Tarantino was more trying to capture the vibe of the 1960s, the zeitgeist and getting that feeling across. If you aren’t into the 1960s aesthetic, this might not be for you.
I absolutely love the 1960s and could watch the film for the clothes and music alone. However, I am also quite familiar with the movies of that time. So for me, the not really existing story about Sharon Tate was interesting. But if the only thing you know about her is that she was a Manson family victim, you’ll be bored with her scenes.
Unless you have some background knowledge, you won’t get why many of the scenes are in this film as several of them don’t seem to contribute pretty much anything to the story. Let me give you an example. In one scene, Sharon goes to a bookshop to buy a copy of Tess D’Urberville for her husband. This scene is not particularly interesting nor has it any relevance for the rest of the picture. However, the scene gets interesting if you know that Sharon had read that precise book, loved it and wanted to get her husband Polanski to make a film of it. She would have played the leading character. The day she gave him the book was actually the last time Polanski would see his wife before she was murdered. He did end up making the film about ten years after her passing and dedicated it to her. The movie title Tess was a huge success and nominated for six Academy Awards.
There are several instances in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood where scenes will be lost on you without at least a bit of background knowledge. Tarantino included so many details, every time I re-watched the film I discovered something I had missed before.
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