Con’s Score: 4 Blowtorches
Once upon a time in Hollywood, movie stars were gods, the good guys always won and the bad guys snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. A lot of that gloss was stripped away in 1969 by the murder of a pregnant Sharon Tate by Charlie Manson’s followers.
Quentin Tarantino has always pined and paid homage to those days, while twisting their conventions. In Once Upon A Time, he looks back through the symbiotic relationship between a star and his stuntman in a film in which he tries to give Hollywood its innocence back.
Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio) is a consummate villainous actor, who once started in a tv western called Bounty Hunter. He’s warned by Jewish film producer Mr Schwarz (Al Pacino playing a Jewish character?) that playing villains will end his career. He could easily be the star of westerns, if he went to Italy. (Remember Clint Eastwood, anyone?). Dalton lives next door to Roman Polanski and Sharon Tate (Margot Robbie), whose career is just taking off. (Polanski is already hot property).
His good hearted henchman and stuntman Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt) lives simply with his dog in a caravan and is happy driving him around, being his go-to buddy, while hoping for another gig.
Dalton reflects on his prospects while playing the guest villain in another western tv series. Di Caprio’s scenes with an eight-year old Trudi (Julia Batters), his improvised caravan tantrum and his ‘bad Hamlet’ scene absolutely crackle. They’re amongst his best ever.
Meanwhile, Cliff meets a disciple of Charlie’s – Pussycat (Margaret Qualley) and briefly visits their commune. Once upon a time, it was the set for Bounty Law, the western that starred Rick Dalton. It’s a tense scene which Pitt plays perfectly. (He’s so impressive, they’re already talking Best Supporting Oscars). He’s more brawn than brain, but he owns the final act, combining black humour and brutality with finesse. He’s got my vote.
The Sharon Tate storyline drifts along in the background. Margot Robbie has very little dialogue but she revels in her moments. Her scene in the cinema, watching herself in a Dean Martin film, is luminous.
Tarantino has written three very loose storylines, with two protagonists. The script disregards the very conventions its conventional title infers. He does know how to put together engrossing scenes and vignettes within the main storyline.
He also knows how to shoot a scene and his cinematography gives us some brilliant shots. He also knows how to tackle big questions like: If Bruce Lee (Mike Moh) had to fight Cassius Clay, who would win?
His faults are still there: his difficulty with female characters, his foot fetish, his leering camera angles and many unnecessary and long shots. But so are his strengths. The soundtrack is an excellent leaf through his vinyl collection, and the costumes are lush. Wardrobe had a ball.
There is the usual mix of legends and old support characters doing cameos, like Pacino, Kurt Russel, Luke Perry (in his final appearance), Brenda Vaccarro, Mike Madsen, Bruce Dern, Dakota Fanning, Damian Lewis and Nicolas Hammond, (who was in Sound of Music, once played Spider-man, and now lives in Sydney.) There are also brilliant newcomers like Margaret Qualley – who is Andie MacDowell’s daughter – and Julia Batters.
It starts to come together in the final act, as it builds towards the attack on Sharon Tate and her friends. It suddenly becomes tense, building to a very violent, almost comical, conclusion. It’s so over the top, the audience laughed, but I also had to turn away. It’s a Tarantino film. You shouldn’t expect anything less.
What we do expect from Quentin Tarantino are shocks and surprises from the most innocuous of characters and corners. We expect an exhilarating ride and a bloody resolution. This may not be his best work, but if he was to retire, this would be a fitting, and a romantic, way to end. Despite its faults, it’s still right up there. This guy has set a standard and style only he can match.
Con Nats – On The Screen
