Movie Review: Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood
(Fictional) TV star Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio) is feeling like a washed-up has-been. He used to be a pretty famous TV star, but now he's struggling to get work. His former stunt double, Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt), is now his driver and valet, since Dalton lost his license due to a DUI, and Booth drives him around town and to auditions. Dalton owns his own home, and notices that movie star Sharon Tate (Margot Robbie) has moved in up the road; he doesn't actually know her, and he's a little starstruck by this. Dalton eventually finds work as the villain - his specialty - on another Western, and meanwhile, Booth has a little too much time on his hands; he ends up in a bit of a pickle, which he must somehow get out of.
To say any more about this movie would be to spoil it, but I will tell you that the ending was crazy and not what I was expecting. I wouldn't be surprised if Leo gets an Oscar nomination for this role, also; both he and Brad Pitt were very good in their roles, as was Margot Robbie. Be on the lookout for cameos from Kurt Russell and Timothy Olyphant, too, as well as Austin Butler and Dakota Fanning, in small roles, and Al Pacino.
Yes, see this film. I only checked my watch a few times during it, and it was mostly to gauge if I could wait until the end of the movie to use the restroom. Although the ending of the film is a bit bonkers and not what I was expecting, if you google Sharon Tate, that might give you a little bit of insight into why Tarantino chose to end it the way he did; she's a real person and was a real film actress (I had heard of her before, but only in connection with one specific event, which you will read about on her Wiki page). The character of Rick Dalton, however, was fictional, and so Tarantino was able to twist certain events to his liking. Overall, I'd recommend this film for anyone who likes Tarantino's movies, as well as anyone who likes a good story with music of a certain era, as the film takes place in 1969.
Once Upon a Time ... in Hollywood is currently playing in theaters, and is rated R with a runtime of 161 minutes. 4 stars out of 5.
