C'era una volta... a Hollywood

Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood is maybe proof that Quentin Tarantino ranks alongside Stanley Kubrick. Both started to make overlong movies and were lionised by critics, many who were afraid to be critical of them.

This might be Tarantino's most self indulgent film so far despite being a glorious period piece.

Set in Los Angeles 1969. The film is an alternate history as it focuses on Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio) who was once a star of the hit television show Bounty Law. Now Dalton's career is fading. He drinks too much, he does not remember his lines and his regular work is guest starring as the villain of the week.

Accompanying Dalton is his stunt double Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt) who acts as his driver and gofer. Booth is also short of work as he has a bad reputation in the stunt industry.

Living next door to Dalton in LA is actress Sharon Tate (Margot Robbie) who has just moved in with her director husband Roman Polanski. Life for her is attending parties and going to the cinema to see her latest movie.

Dalton wonders if he should take up a suggestion to go and work in Italy and make spaghetti westerns which could kick start his career. Booth gave a pretty hippy a lift to a ranch which is full of strange people belonging to a cult. Booth seemed to have rubbed them up the wrong way.

Eventually the various people cross paths in this reimagining of what might have happened on a fateful night in 1969.

There is no doubt that that DiCaprio and Pitt give their all in this film as two middle aged men fading away at an uncertain time. Tarantino seems to have given this film a conservative hue, he really dislikes the counterculture. I wonder if he is angry with the #metoo movement which destroyed his friend Harvey Weinstein and raised questions over his own conduct in the past.

Clocking in at under 3 hours this film meanders until it reaches its explosive climax. Until then you wonder what exactly is the story. The movie is a series of vignettes that hints at a director/screenwriter who is past his prime and seems to be obsessed with bare feet.