Literally everyone and their dog is in this movie. I think before we start this review, I need to say something. Disclaimer: I haven't always been the biggest fan of Tarantino's work. With that said, I went in with an open mind to see maybe if that could change with this movie. Well... Once Upon a Time in Hollywood takes place in 1969 in the glamorous city of Los Angelos, the height of what many consider the Golden Age of movies. The film follows Rick Dalton, played by Leonardo DiCaprio, and his stunt double best friend Cliff Booth, played by Brad Pitt. Both are trying to navigate the new Hollywood scene and how it seems to be changing rapidly into an unfamiliar landscape. Things start to get interesting for both men when Dalton gets a new famous neighbor: Sharon Tate, played by Margot Robbie. I had so many questions flying in my head as I was watching this. Probably the biggest one being how did Tarantino get so many famous people in this movie? But that's not really relevent so let's get back to the review. I'll try to keep this as nice as possible, but I can't help but wonder why this movie was nominated for Best Picture. I'm not sure if the Academy watched the same movie that I did and agreed on its nomination because I simply don't agree with it. In my personal opinion, it doesn't stack up with any of the other nominees I've seen so far. (I haven't seen Parasite yet, but I already know it doesn't stack up to that one either.) Maybe I just don't understand what Tarantino was supposed to be going for in OUATIH but I felt almost... bored the entire time. I know part of that annoying boredom was because I felt like there was really no central plot to focus on. The film focused on its characters, not the plot which is where it truly suffered. OUATIH felt weirdly akin to a very long Seinfeld episode. I am generally not a fan of such artistic choices (and, gasp, this does include Seinfeld). If I had to put it in a context, watching OUATIH was like putting together a puzzle just to find out at the end there's a piece missing. A very big let-down. Maybe I'm not "deep" enough to understand, but it always seems that Tarantino rides on nostalgia to get away with terrible directing choices. He's able to do films like OUATIH and Django Unchained where no one notices that ignorance and racism are worked in, while dialogue and action severely lack. I can't tell if the high acclaim from Pulp Fiction is what causes us to ignore this aspect of Tarantino's work this way but I need us to stop that. I can't help but think he knows this very thing - Nostalgia Overtakes Everything, Even The Nasty Bits - and works it to his advantage. It makes watching any of his work uncomfortable and unbearable to watch. (This is before we dive into his obsession with including his foot fetish in his films, but we're going to keep that packed up in a suitcase at the back of the closet.) I think what makes this movie so frustrating is some moments are brilliant. I can't argue this isn't some of DiCaprio's and Pitt's finest work to date. Yet there are instances of not utilizing every character the same way. Margot Robbie shined as Sharon Tate, but you wouldn't know because it seems like she wasn't used for anything other than to look good and a plot filler.
I guess nothing that glitters is actually Golden Hollywood.
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