Right, well as the Oscars took place earlier this week, I figured it would be a good time to revisit one of my reviews from last year and the review is of Quentin Tarantino's latest film, Once upon a time in Hollywood.
So, I will do the usual expanding on the sections with bits of quoted dialogue and also add a bit more to the flaws and any additional thoughts etc.
So, with that said let's take another look at this film...
And the usual warning is coming up...
PLOT SPOILERS AHEAD!!!
STORY
So, the story follows two fictional characters, Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio) a Hollywood actor, who was formerly the star of a 1950's TV show, Bounty Law and his good friend and stunt double, Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt). Dalton at this stage in his career has reached the realisation that things are on a downward turn after a meeting with a casting agent (Al Pacino) who advises him to make Spaghetti westerns, which Dalton thinks are beneath his abilities. Dalton also by this time has become something of an alcoholic and Booth as it turns out is his personal driver after Dalton has been subjected to a number of DUI's. Booth on the other hand has also had struggles to find stunt double work after rumours involving the death of his wife (which he was alleged to have killed).
We also find out early in the film that Dalton just so happens to be neighbours to Sharon Tate (Margot Robbie) and director, Roman Polanski (Rafal Zawierucha) as the film is also set loosely around the Manson murders and indeed there is a scene where Manson makes an appearance looking for a record producer. Dalton realising how ailing his career is also longs to befriend Tate and Polanski to get his career back up and running again.
However, Dalton's luck appears to take a turn for the better after he lands the role of a villain in a western TV show called Lancer where after a breakdown during his performance, he soon recovers himself and goes onto impress the director, Sam Wanamaker (Nicholas Hammond) and his co-star, the 8 year old, Trudi Fraser (Julia Butters).
Meanwhile, Booth picks up a young female hippie hitch-hiker named "Pussycat" (Margaret Qualley) and takes her out to a ranch farm where she says the rest of her family are. It soon becomes apparent that the family are indeed members of the Charles Manson family and Booth is curious to chat to the ranch owner, George Spahn (Bruce Dern) as he once worked there on Dalton's former series, Bounty Law but Spahn doesn't recognise him. As Booth leaves, he finds one of his car's wheels has a knife in it and he beats up the man responsible, "Clem" Crogan (James Landry Hebert) and forces him to change the wheel.
And from here things take a series of twists and turns for Dalton and Booth as things are set to change for both men's careers while the ever looming threat of the Manson killings are due to rear their heads...
THOUGHTS
It has to be said that I enjoyed Once upon a time in Hollywood when it first came out but I did find it a bit slow-paced at times and felt it was not one of Tarantino's better films. However on repeated viewing I really have changed my mind and enjoy the film more every time I watch it.
And after its admittedly slow start it does pick up its pacing as it goes in and Tarantino also builds on the uncomfortable troubling times of the period with the Manson murders but of course without giving anything way, Quentin certainly has his own unique take on those proceedings. The two leads characters are also somewhat likeable and have certain amount of charm even if Dalton still has a buzz of arrogance to him and Booth is a pretty impetuous guy where his bolshy attitude get's him into trouble on Hollywood film sets.
The film of course was also notable as being controversial on different fronts, particularly regarding its portrayal of the real life celebrities, Bruce Lee and Sharon Tate. Bruce Lee's portrayal in particular took heavy flak from many including Bruce's daughter, Shannon, who saw Bruce being depicted as an arrogant guy when she said he was nothing like that. Sharon Tate's portrayal was also given criticism by Sharon Tate's sister, Deborah, who saw the film as being exploitative and told lies about the real-life events.
PERFORMANCES AND NOTABLE SCENES (Warning: this section may contain spoilers and strong language!)
As for the performances, well this is of course where the film does excel as the cast are all on top form here.
Starting with Leonardo DiCaprio who is great in his role as Rick Dalton, an ailing Hollwood actor, who is worried his career might soon be over. This is Leo's second collab with Tarantino and again here he produces a great performance only this time, Dalton is a more likeable if egotistical character than his unpleasant slave owner in Django Unchained.
And Leo has his share of good scenes that include the one where near the start after Rick has his meeting with the casting agent, Marvin Schwarz and he realises his career is ailing. So, after the meeting, Rick emotionally shares his new with Cliff and he tells him "Its official, old buddy. I'm a has-been!" and he starts to cry on Cliff's shoulder, who quickly pushes him back and gives Rick his shades to put on.
So, Cliff asks Rick "So, what's got you all upset?" and Rick tearfully says "Well, if coming face-to-face with the failure that is your career ain't worth crying about, then I don't know what the fuck is!". Cliff then asks Rick "That guy turn you down?" and Rick says "No, he wants to help me get into Italian moves". So, Cliff a little puzzled asks "So, what's the problem?" and Rick yells "BECAUSE I'VE GOTTA DO GODDAM ITALIAN MOVIES! THAT'S THE FUCKING PROBLEM!" and they both get into Rick's car with Rick berating himself as they drive off.
Then there is the scene where Rick during a break in filming the TV show, Lancer, sits and reads a book sitting next to the young child actress, Trudi who appears in the show with him and he becomes emotional as the books reflects where he is at in his acting career.
So, in the scene Rick tells Trudi about the main character, Breezy, who in his day was a great bronco buster (i.e. breaking in horses) but half-way into the book he has become a former shadow of himself. So, Trudi asks him "What's happening to Breezy now?" and Rick awkwardly tells her "He's not his best anymore, in fact far from it. And he's coming to terms with what it feels like to..." and Rick holds back his tears and says "...to feel slightly more useless each day!". So, Trudi comes over and reassuringly pats Rick on the knee and tells him "Its OK, Caleb. Its OK. It sounds like a really sad book. I'm practically crying and I haven't even read it" and Rick tearfully says "In about 15 years, you'll be living it". Trudi then asks "What?" and Rick recovers himself and says "Nothing, pumpkin puss. I'm just...just teasing you". Rick then wipes away his tears and holds up the book and says to Trudi "You know something? You might be right about this book. It hits harder than I gave it credit for".
Another good scene is when after Rick forgets his line while filming on the set of the Western TV show, Lancer, he storms back to his trailer and berates himself, yelling and crying at the same time. So, after he calms a little, he looks himself dead in the mirror and says "You show that little fucking girl. You're gonna show that goddamn Jim Stacy! You're gonna show them on that goddamn fucking set who the fuck Rick Dalton is, all right?! Let me tell you something. You don't get these lines right, I'm gonna blow your fucking brains out tonight! All right? Your brains are gonna be splattered all over your goddamn poo! I mean it, motherfucker! Get your shit together" and he steadies himself and leaves.
WARNING: BIG SPOILER COMING UP IN THE NEXT PARAGRAPH!
Then later there is the scene where the Manson family members turn up to carry out their murders in an old smoking banger of a car, which grabs the attention of Rick, who storms out onto the street and right up to the driver, Tex.
So, Rick storms over to the car and yells at Tex "Hey you! Yeah, asshole! I'm talking to you! What the hell do you think you're doing bringing that noisy hunk of shit around here at midnight?! This is a private road, all right?!". So, Tex who is on the verge of taking out his gun and shooting Rick, restrains himself and says "I'm really sorry we disturbed you" but Rick yells back "Look, chief, you don't belong here. Now, take this mechanical asshole and get it off MY FUCKING STREET!".
And last of all is the final scene of the film where after Rick and Cliff have survived their ordeal with the hippies, Rick's neighbour, Jay Sebring finally says hello to Rick and asks him if everything is OK. So, Rick, still a little shaken tells him "Oh, th-these fucking hippie weirdos, they-they-they broke into my house. What do you mean, like, trying to rob you? We don't know what the fuck they wanted. Were they robbing me? I don't know. Were they freaking out on some bummer trip? Who knows? But they tried to kill my wife and my buddy". Jay totally shocked asks "Are you serious?" and Rick says "Yeah I'm fucking serious. Now my buddy...killed two of them and then...well I torched the last one" and Jay asks "Torched?" and Ricky tells him "Yeah, I burned her ass to a crisp!". Jay then asks "So, is everyone OK?" and Rick responds with one of the film's best lines "Well, the fucking hippie aren't! That's for goddamn sure! But I'm fine. My wife's fine. We're all just a little shook up is all".
Brad Pitt next up is also excellent in his role as Cliff Boothe, Rick's good friend and stunt double to Rick throughout his career. Brad recently won the academy award for best supporting actor in the film and it certainly is a pretty good performance in his career although I would argue he has given even better performances in the past.
As for Brad's best scenes, well he has a few worth a mention starting with the one where Cliff has a flashback to when he was once on the set of a film where Bruce Lee is giving a speech about how felt martial arts is a dumbed down version of true combat and that he could make Muhammad Ali into a "cripple" if they ever fought, much to the amusement of Cliff.
So, in the scene as Bruce says the line re: Ali "I'd make him a cripple" Bruce, annoyed asks Cliff "Did I say something funny?" and Cliff with a smile says "Yeah, you kinda did!". So, Bruce pushes Cliff to answer "So, what's so funny?!" and Cliff sighs and says "Look man, I don't want any trouble, I'm just here to do a job". Bruce now really annoyed asks him again "But I'm not saying anything funny. So, what is so funny?" and Cliff finally says "What I think is...you're a little man with a big mouth and a big chip, and I think you should be embarrassed to suggest you'd be anything more than a stain on the seat of Cassius Clay's trunks!".
Bruce defensively then says to Cliff that if they were to get into a fight then he would kill Cliff as his hands are registered as "lethal weapons" to which Cliff replies "Anybody accidentally kills anybody in a fight, they go to jail. It's called manslaughter. And I think all that "lethal weapon" horseshit
is just an excuse so you dancers never have to get in a real fight!". So, Bruce then challenges Cliff to a friendly contest and no punching in the face to which Cliff accepts and says "That sounds like a great idea, Kato!".
Another good scene for Brad is when after Cliff eyes up Pussycat on the freeway a couple of times, trying to hitch a lift, he finally gives her a ride but she comes onto him pretty strong, something which he is suspicious of giving her young age.
So, as the two drive together, Pussycat bluntly asks him "Do you want me to suck your cock while you drive?" and Cliff smiles and looks at her for a moment and asks her "How old are you?" which provokes surprise from Pussycat who says "Wow, that's the first time anybody's asked me that in a long time!". Cliff then asks "So, what's the answer?" and Pussycat answers "OK. We gonna play kiddies games? Eighteen. Feel better?" and Cliff asks "You got a driver's licence? You got some ID, you know?". Pussycat laughs and says "Are you joking?!" and Cliff says "No, I'm not! I need to see something officials that verifies that your 18, which you don't have because you're not".
So, Pussycat changes tack and moves her to sit in Cliff's lap an she tells him "Yeah. Obviously,
I'm not too young to fuck you. But obviously, you are too old to fuck me" and Cliff tells her "What I'm too old to do is to go to jail for poontang! Prison's been trying to get me my whole life. It ain't got me yet and when it does, it won't be cos of you. No offense" .
Then there is the scene where after Cliff drops off Pussycat at the ranch she stays at, he effectively barges his way into the house to chat with the owner, George Spahn, who is blind and is asleep only for Cliff to wake him up. So, after Cliff is brushed off by George he heads back out and he sees Pussycat angrily standing infront of him and he says to himself "Goddamn it!".
So, Pussycat angrily says to Cliff "You embarrassed me" and Cliff says to her "Yeah, sorry about that" and Pussycat asks him "How did your little talk with George go? Are we kidnapping him?!" and Cliff walks past her and says "Not the word I'd use". So, Pussycat asks Cliff "Now that you've talked to him, do you believe everything is all right?" and Cliff tells her "Not exactly" and Pussycat angrily tells him "This is a mistake! You should leave!" and Cliff says "Way ahead of you!".
And this is followed by the moment where Cliff finds that Rick's car tyres has a knife in it and one of the Manson family, Clem is nearby grinning at Cliff, who approaches him. So, Cliff asks "You do that?" and Clem laughs and Cliff tells him "You know that isn't my car. This is my boss's car! And if something were to happen to my boss's car, I'd get in trouble. Lucky for you I got a spare". So, Cliff opens the boot of the car and takes out a spare as well as the tools to replace it and he drops them on the ground and bluntly tells Clem "Fix it!". Clem, bemused laughs and says "Fuck you!" which prompts Cliff to deck him with a single punch and he grabs Clem by his hair and punches him again. So, the girls in the ranch move to run forward and Cliff shouts at them "Come one step closer and I will knock his teeth out!!". Cliff turns back to Clem and firmly says again "Fix it!" and Clem, gasping and with blood all over his mouth asks "Can I at least get a rag to wipe my face first?" and Cliff says "Nope! Tyre first!".
Margot Robbie is also very good in her role as Sharon Tate, who was noted as something of a B-movie actress in her Hollywood career and married Roman Polanski, who around this time had great success with his horror film, Rosemary's Baby.
And Margot plays the part very well and with a kind of youthful innocence although I do kind of feel her role was somewhat marginalised a little next to the roles of the Leo and Brad's.
Margot however still does have some good moments in the film that include the scene where Sharon has wander around the town (in LA of course!) and she happens to see a cinema showing a film she is in, so she goes over to the girl at the box office.
So, Sharon says to person "How much?" and the girl says "75 cent" and Sharon has a thought and asks "What if I'm in the movie?" and the girl asks "What do you mean?" and Sharon replies "I mean I'm in the movie. I'm Sharon Tate". The girl seems a little surprised and asks "You're in this?" and Sharon nods and says "I play Miss Carlson, the klutz" and the girl looks at the film poster and says "But that's the girl from Valley of the Dolls" and Sharon smiles awkwardly says "Well, that's me! The girl from Valley of the Dolls".
Of course the film has a pretty big cast, so it would be difficult to describe all the players in the movie, so I will mention just a few below for the supporting cast.
Margaret Qualley does pretty well in her role as the young hippie, "Pussycat" which Booth briefly befriends and turns out to be a member of the Manson family and she definitely portrays her character as a bit of an airhead but with a great deal of unpredictability about her. Qualley herself is infact the daughter of the actress, Andie MacDowell.
And Qualley has some good moments herself such as the one where Cliff gives Pussycat a lift to the ranch where she stays however she does try to come onto him during the drive.
So, as the two drive together, Pussycat bluntly asks him "Do you want me to suck your cock while you drive?" and Cliff smiles and looks at her for a moment and asks her "How old are you?" which provokes surprise from Pussycat who says "Wow, that's the first time anybody's asked me that in a long time!". Cliff then asks "So, what's the answer?" and Pussycat answers "OK. We gonna play kiddies games? Eighteen. Feel better?" and Cliff asks "You got a driver's licence? You got some ID, you know?". Pussycat laughs and says "Are you joking?!" and Cliff says "No, I'm not! I need to see something officials that verifies that your 18, which you don't have because you're not".
So, Pussycat changes tack and moves her to sit in Cliff's lap an she tells him "Yeah. Obviously,
I'm not too young to fuck you. But obviously, you are too old to fuck me" and Cliff tells her "What I'm too old to do is to go to jail for poontang!".
And lastly there is the scene where Pussycat angrily confronts Cliff after he barges into the ranch owner's home to speak to him (as he knew him years back when filming Bounty Law). So, in the scene Pussycat angrily says to Cliff "You embarrassed me" and Cliff says to her "Yeah, sorry about that" and Pussycat asks him "How did your little talk with George go? Are we kidnapping him?!" and Cliff walks past her and says "Not the word I'd use". So, Pussycat asks Cliff "Now that you've talked to him, do you believe everything is all right?" and Cliff tells her "Not exactly" and Pussycat angrily tells him "This is a mistake! You should leave!" and Cliff says "Way ahead of you!". So, as Cliff walks off, Pussycat shouts after him "GEORGE ISN'T BLIND! YOU'RE THE BLIND ONE!!!".
Julie Butters also provides a nice little performance as the child actress, Trudi Fraser, who acts belong side Dalton in the TV show, Lancer. And Leo and Julie both share a charming scene together while both Dalton and Trudi are on their lunch break together and Dalton reflects on his failing career.
And I will mention some of the dialogue from this scene where Rick becomes emotional while telling Trudi about the book. So, she goes over and tries to comfort him and reassuringly pats Rick on the knee and tells him "Its OK, Caleb. Its OK. It sounds like a really sad book. I'm practically crying and I haven't even read it" and Rick tearfully says "In about 15 years, you'll be living it". Trudi then asks "What?" and Rick recovers himself and says "Nothing, pumpkin puss. I'm just...just teasing you". Trudi however appears a little annoyed by the nickname and tells Rick "I don't like names like "pumpkin puss," but since you're upset, we'll talk about that some other time".
And last of all is the scene where just after Rick finishes giving an impressive performance on the set of Lancer. So, in the scene Rick is supposed to throw Trudi to the floor and after the scene is finished he get's praise from the director, Sam Wanamaker and also from Trudi.
So, the scene sees Rick ask Trudi if she is ok after he pushed her to the floor and she tells him "Oh, I'm fine. I practice throwing myself to the floor all the time" and she points to her arms and says "I wear pads". So, after Sam finishes praising Rick for his performance, Trudi walks up to Rick and pays him a great compliment and whispers in his ear "That was the best acting I have ever seen" and she leaves Rick, who is moved by Trudi's words and says to himself "Rick fucking Dalton!".
Mike Moh despite the controversy he faced with his performance, also does very well in his role as Bruce Lee and he even manages to sound almost exactly like Bruce, if not entirely look like him. It would be fair to say though that Moh does play Bruce somewhat arrogantly here and I can see why his portrayal might have offend some people, most notably actors and people that worked with Bruce back when he was alive.
Despite this though, Moh does a pretty good job with his main scene here as Bruce speaks to a film crew on a set that includes Cliff, who is dressed up for a stunt job and is amused by Bruce's arrogant claims.
So, Bruce starts his speech to the crew by saying "When Cassius Clay meets Sonny Liston in the ring, that's not two athletes posturing.That's combat. Two men trying to kill each other right now. If you don't beat him... he kills you. That's beyond athletics. That's beyond Wide World of Sports, you know? That's two warriors engaged in combat. That's what I admire". So, one of the crew asks Bruce "So, if you fought Cassius Clay, who would win?" and Bruce says "Well, that would never happen" and the crew person asks "But if you did, what do you think would happen?" and Bruce says "I would make him a cripple" which prompts Cliff to laugh.
So, as Bruce pushes Cliff to answer what he is saying is so funny to him, Cliff tells Bruce "I think you're a little man with a big mouth and a big chip and I think you should be embarrassed to say you would be anything other than a stain on Cassius Clay's trunks". Bruce angrily then tells Cliff "You're the one with the big mouth, and I would really enjoy closing it, especially in front of all my friends. But my hands are registered as lethal weapons. That means, we get into a fight, I accidentally kill you? I go to jail".
So, as Cliff tells Bruce he thinks all martial arts is just dancing around so you don't need to get into a proper fight, Bruce says "How about a friendly contest? No punching in the face. Two out of three. Who puts who on the ground first?Nobody tries to hurt nobody, just who ends up on their butt?" Cliff stands up and smiles saying "That's a great idea, Kato!".
Dakota Fanning also has a notable albeit small role in the film as the real life Manson family member, "Squeaky" Fromme and she plays the part with a rather sinister and abrupt manner that makes hers one of the memorable performances in the movie. Fromme in real life as one of the Manson family, later attempted to assassinate US President, Gerald Ford in 1975 and went on to serve a life sentence and was released in 2009.
So, Fanning's main scene involves Cliff wanting to enter the house to speak to the ranch owner, George Spahn to see if he is OK. So, as Cliff stands at the closed door, Squeaky asks him "What's your name?" and Cliff says "Cliff" and Squeaky asks "How do you know George?" and Cliff tells her "I used to shoot westerns here at the ranch about eight years ago". So, Squeaky says "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't realise you and George were so close. Well, when he wakes up, I'll tell you stopped by". However Cliff insists "I'd like to say hello now. Came a long way out here and don't know when I'll be back out this way again". Squeaky however insists "Oh, I understand but I'm afraid that's impossible" and Cliff asks "Why is that impossible?" and Squeaky tells him rather firmly "Me and George liketo watch TV on Sunday night F.B.I. and Bonanza. But George finds it hard to keep awake, so I make him nap so I don't get gypped out of my TV time!".
However, Cliff insists that he is coming in to see George and the door screen with a latch on it isn't going to stop him, so Squeaky finally gives in and says "Fine. Suit yourself!" and she opens the latch to let Cliff in. So, Cliff enters slowly as Squeaky returns to her seat to watch TV and Cliff asks her "He back there?" and Squeaky indicates with her leg "Door at the end of the hallway. You might have to shake him awake, I fucked his brains out this morning! He might be tired".
Austin Butler does very well also in his part as the real life Manson family member, "Tex" who was one of the killers involved in the Manson murders and Butler certainly shows Tex to be a very unsettling character as the film becomes pretty intense toward the end.
And this is one of two scenes I will mention for Austin and after Tex is scolded by Rick for arriving on his street in a loud old banger of a car, Tex and his three other family member decide what to do but one of them recognises who Rick was and how he was once the star of "Bounty Law".
So, in this scene, Tex grins and says "I can't believe that asshole in the robe was Jake Cahill. When I was a kid, I had a Bounty Law lunch box! That was my favorite of all my lunch boxes!". And one of the family members comes up with the idea to kill Rick and whoever is in his house instead as a way of teaching a lesson to actors like Rick for creating shows that taught them how to kill growing up. So, Tex is impressed by the idea and he says to the others "That's a great idea, Sadie!" and to the other two girls "You two ready to kill some piggies?!" and they get out the car and head on foot towards Rick's house.
However one of the family members chickens out and flees in the car leaving Tex and the others stranded without means to get back home. So, one of the members asks Tex "What do we do now?!" and Tex says "We do what we came to do! And when we're done, we split up and hitch home. Any more questions? Hm? Okay, pig killers, let's kill some piggies!".
So, in the second scene, Tex and the others break into Rick's house and find a spaced out Cliff, who had not long ago smoked a cigarette laced with LSD and as Tex points his gun at him, Cliff says slowly "Can I help you?". And as Cliff asks a crazed looking Tex "Are you real?" Tex replies "I'm as real as a doughnut, motherfucker!" which prompts Cliff to give a crazed laugh himself and Tex laughs along with him. And Cliff asks Tex what his name and Tex crazily answers "I am the devil and I'm here to do the devil's business!".
WARNING: BIG SPOILER COMING UP IN THE NEXT PARAGRAPHS!
Emile Hirsch also provides a good performance in the film as Jay Sebring, who was the former boyfriend of Sharon Tate and was also one of the murder victims in the Manson family killings. Sebring himself was a hair stylist who had befriended Sharon Tate and went on to become good friends with both Tate after they split and Roman Polanski.
And I will mention Hirsch's last scene where after Rick and Cliff have their encounter with the hippies, Jay asks Rick if he is OK.
So, Jay asks Rick "I'm Jay Sebring. I'm a friend of the Polanskis. You're Rick Dalton, right?" and Rick says "Yeah, I'm Rick Dalton". Jay then jokes "I tease Sharon that she lives next door to Jake Cahill. If she ever wants to put a bounty on Roman, she just has to go next door, right?" and Rick smiles and says "No shit!". Jay then asks incredulously "What the fuck happened?" and Rick explains how the hippies broke into their home and Cliff killed two of them and he torched the other one with his flamethrower. So, Jay asks him "How did you do that?" and Rick says "Well, believe it or not, I've got a flamethrower in my tool shed!" and Jay clicks that Rick kept it from a movie he once did "Oh, from the Fourteen Fists of McCluskey, right?" and Rick smiles and says "Yeah, that's the one".
Al Pacino does pretty well too in his brief role as Marvin Schwarz, a casting agent who convinces Dalton to make Spaghetti westerns. Again this is no more than a cameo role with Pacino and given its a pretty big cast, I guess Pacino had to be squeezed in there somewhere even if he doesn't headline the film himself.
So, I will quickly mention Pacino's main scene at the start of the film when Schwarz meets with Rick who tells he now just plays a bunch of heavies in TV shows. And Schwarz asks Rick "So Rick, who's gonna kick the shit out of you next week? Mannix? The Man from U.N.C.L.E.? The Girl from U.N.C.L.E.? How about Batman and Robin? Ping! Pow! Choom! Zoom! Down goes you, down goes your career as a leading man".
And last of all is Kurt Russell, who plays the part of Randy, a fictional character who works at Hollywood and had a serious dispute with Cliff Booth as he suspected him of murdering his wife (i.e. Cliff's not Randy's!). Russell also acts as the film's narrator but his narration doesn't come into the film until much later on.
And I will mention Russell's main scene where Randy expresses his disapproval of Cliff to Rick of having him work on set as a stunt double due to the reputation he claimed after rumours of Cliff having killed his wife.
So, Randy says to Rick "Rick, I don't dig him and I don't dig the vibe he brings to a set" and Rick asks "Come on, what? Is there some old beef between the two of you?" and Randy bluntly says "Oh come on! The dude killed his fucking wife!". So, Rick says to Randy "Oh come on! You don't believe that old shit, do you?" and Randy tells him "Yes, Rick, I do. And I work with my wife, and she believes it. She doesn't want his creepy ass around". However Rick manages to persuade Randy to take Cliff back on as a stunt double.
So, after this Randy goes out to Cliff and says to him "Okay, you fucking horse's ass. Let's get you over to wardrobe!" and Cliff grins and get's up from the trolley he was sitting in. So, as they walk together, Randy says to Cliff "Now, I'll put you in wardrobe, but you don't stunt, I don't pay you" and Cliff thanks him for the opportunity and that he won't let him down and Randy asks him "You remember my wife, don't you?" and Cliff says wearily "Yep!" and Randy tells him "Yeah, well steer clear of her".
DIRECTOR
As for the writer/director, Quentin Tarantino does an excellent job overall although I do admit I think he has over-stuffed the film with some unnecessary moments here and there that I will mention a bit more in the flaws section. Tarantino of course isn't afraid when it comes to history to embellish on certain things, so if you think you are going into this one expecting a slice of real life then you are sure to be disappointed!
MUSIC
As for the film's soundtrack, again its a mixture of popular tracks of the time during the 60's from artists and bands such as Deep Purple's "Hush", Simon & Garfunkel's "Mrs Robinson", Vanilla Fudges's "You keep me hanging on", Neil Diamond's "Brother's Love Travling Salvation Show" and Jose Feliciano's "California Dreamin". Its pretty much what you would expect from Tarantino in his period films, so its a decent mix of tracks that fit the period.
FLAWS (This section may contain spoilers!)
As for the film's flaws...well yep it does have some however I won't really go into them in any detail given that it is a new film.
So, for starters what I would say is that the film's running time at 2 hours and 40 minutes is just a bit too long and the film certainly does feel a bit flabby and on first viewing it did take me a while to get more into it. And by that I mean there are scenes such as Brad Pitt making dinner for himself and his dog and later on where he goes up onto the roof to fix Dalton's TV aerial but this scene in itself is just an excuse for Brad to take his top off, so Tarantino could presumably have Brad show off his abs for the ladies!
I also felt that the film does take quite a few liberties with the truths and facts surrounding the Manson family murders but again I don't really want to go into this one just now but suffice to say you won't walk out of the cinema thinking you saw a fully accurate account of those events! What I will say is that Tarantino is no stranger to embellishing certain things and he is certainly guilt of that here just like he did in Inglorious Basterds (that film is the truth of what happened! Really! ;-)).
I also felt that some of the film's characters were pretty annoying at times such as Pussycat, who is just an over excitable airhead for the most part, who is more than eager to try and get into Cliff's pants (almost literally at one point!). However that doesn't take away from Margaret Qualley's fine performance as Pussycat and she at times maybe unfairly got more attention in the film for showing her unshaven hairy armpits than anything else!
And further to this there are also some pretty naff exchanges going on between certain characters in the film later on that kind of made me a cringe a bit especially the exchanges between the Manson family members as they discuss their plan to kill Rick. And this is especially noted in the moment where one of the members comes up with the idea and says "Woaaa! Dig this!" as it just comes across as being really cringing and nerdy as they briefly have a fan-nerd moment over seeing Rick before deciding they should kill him instead.
I also found the film's use of narration somewhat strange as it appears closer to the end of the film as we suddenly hear Kurt Russell's voice come out of nowhere! I mean, if they wanted to include narration why not keep it a bit more consistent in the film rather than just slap it on near the end, which to me made little sense why it was even needed in this case. It also highlights the false events that took place the night of the supposed Manson murders and as the film takes liberties with what happened, the narration just feels that bit more pointless.
I also have to say I found it a bit silly how Cliff was able to go toe to toe with Bruce Lee in a martial arts contest as he expertly blocks all of Bruce's hits like he was a martial artist himself! So, yeah that part really didn't ring true to me at all however you could maybe argue that as a flashback perhaps this is how Cliff remembers events that happened than what actually happened. But then again I do also find it a bit incredible to think that Bruce Lee could possibly have made Cassius Clay a cripple!
And last of all just what is it with Tarantino and his fetish showing people's feet?! I mean the guy has quite a few of the cast members throw their feet up throughout the film such as Sharon Tate in the cinema and the Manson family at the ranch while watching TV. Hell even Squeaky indicates to Cliff where George Spahn is with her foot! So, yeah its a bit annoying the way in which Tarantino insists on keeping his foot fetish going in this film as its not like he's done it enough already!
Anyway that's it for the flaws.
SUM UP
So in summing up and on having seen the film several times since its release, Once upon a time in Hollywood for me is a real return to form for Quentin Tarantino and one of his best films in years after the somewhat lackluster Django Unchained and The Hateful Eight (well imho anyway). The cast are all on top form and the film is filled with plenty of 60's nostalgia and Quentin's love of the period obviously comes through here as well. Tarantino also expertly raises the tension throughout the storyline involving the Manson family, which gives the viewer a sense of unease over what might happen as it progresses.
And yeah OK perhaps the film is a bit overlong and slow paced in places and yes of course it does take liberties with the truth as well and yep it does make out Bruce Lee to be like an arrogant a-hole but if you can look past all that this is still a film that I would highly recommend checking out.
Right, that's it for now and I will return hopefully soon with another post.
Till then its bye fer now!
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