At a fated point in cinema history, namely his birthday, Quentin Tarantino has been sent by Hollywood God to exact vengeance from the tragic night of Sharon Tate's demise at the hands of the Manson Family. "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" is Tarantino's revenge story cloaked in retrospective glamour. The writer-director masks his darkly funny ploy in an epic bloodshed courtesy of the subtle thunder coursing inside the cool Cliff Booth, portrayed with fastidious mood by Brad Pitt. Booth is the ever loyal stuntman and best friend of submerging TV star Rick Dalton who carries his own eager pizzazz from Leonardo DiCaprio's armory of composed razzle-dazzle. Dalton is dealing with a career crisis although living in a lavish Los Angeles residence beside the home of then-Hollywood starlet Sharon Tate and her husband, the famed director Roman Polanski (Rafał Zawierucha). An earthquake of a movie, "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" rattles paradigm and threatens to shift it. Such happens only if the viewer's lens are not blurred from the moist of Tarantino's slow burning pace. However, "Hollywood" quakes on its aching fault. Tarantino is known for his dagger of a script although the plot of “Hollywood” is a painful drag if only to sculpt his characters with carpentry efforts. He hammers DiCaprio's Dalton with abundant minutes of acting in an acting role — as if he is in a meta-Inception state of mind. Pitt as Booth is dedicated a wallop of "Hollywood's" runtime to convince audiences that he is a real life badass who can whoop any fool in his sights including Bruce Lee (depicted by Mike Moh with polarizing detail). Thanks to Tarantino’s script, “Hollywood” channels retro swagger with contemporary flash. After recalling a work on set that lead to a sparring session with Bruce Lee and eventually being sent out for his slackness, Booth chaffs, “Fair enough,” then the movie’s thunder rambles like Dalton’s angry-calm acting. The pacing of "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" detonates like a powder keg in the final act where Dalton and Booth are vindicated upon tying the ends of their specific arcs into a brutal loop. Still, Robbie being a spectacle in her sequences evokes a waste of her boundlessly glittering star. Regardless, she swings a cogent force plus her fluttering stares are a humming wonder. "Hollywood" is a scenic addition to her filmography though. With Tarantino's shots ever catchy, he finds a swooping angle to clasp his frames with tedious measurements. Overhead stills, tracking to the next frame barring a break of scene is technical smoothness hinging on geeked precision. The director wants pupils to roll with his film, hovering their gaze to follow the setting while using the scene’s outlook to power the airy movement. Because in this cruel world, there is no pause. Just a progressive play of ultraviolence. But in Tarantino’s alternate universe, he uses cruelty as a time bomb that winds ploddingly then pummels viewers with bloodthirsty comedy. Since the world is an animal, “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” is the gutsy meat fed to the beasts. It is hilarious that way.
Director: Quentin Tarantino
Trailer © YouTube.com; Sony Pictures Entertainment
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