“Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood” is the 9th film from the genius filmmaker that is Quentin Tarantino. The film was originally released on July 26, 2019 and has grossed over 300 million dollars. It has secured 2 Oscar Wins for best supporting actor (Brad Pitt) and best production design (Nancy Heigh and Barbara Ling). 

The story follows a faded television actor and his stunt double as they strive to achieve fame and success in the film industry during the final years of Hollywood’s Golden Age in 1969 Los Angeles. While it is simplistic in it’s story, there are many interconnecting pieces. 

The cinematography in the film was very different than anything I’ve ever seen. This was my first Tarantino film I’ve seen and I could tell something was different. He really takes his time with the shots, and one of the first scenes lingers on for a long time. Tarantino is not here to do quick flashy shots. He wants the audience to be really invested and take in all of the information so that way if something happens later on, they’ll appreciate it since they know and aren’t questioning what they saw. Some people might not enjoy these “draggy” shots but I’m able to appreciate it for what it is.

All of the characters in the film are written so well that they feel believable. A lot of the characters are actually based on real life people. Bruce Lee (Mike Moh) and Sharon Tate (Margot Robbie) are just a few people to name. The interesting thing that Tarantino does with these characters is there’s a twist involved. For example, Bruce Lee is portrayed as an arrogant person trading insults with Brad Pitt’s character Cliff Booth. The one I found the most interesting was Margot Robbie and her portrayal of Sharon Tate. 

Spoiler Alert: The Sharon Tate in this film doesn’t die to members of the Manson family. In this film we see her do various things and I’m glad Tarantino did this because she gets to live a happy life. It’s a tough challenge when films take that creative control and change our expectations. In this day and age of remakes and reboots, there aren’t many original ideas, so it’s nice when films like these release onto the scene and amaze us. Hopefully this film doesn’t get that same treatment down the line.