Tarantino Reminisces on Hollywood's Golden Age, but his Ninth Feature is More of a Slog than a Walk Down Memory Lane

When first watching Tarantino's ninth feature film, it is immediately apparent that this is his celebration of cinema, specifically the way that cinema, and Hollywood, used to be. Once Upon a Time...In Hollywood takes place in 1969, right at the end of what is considered Hollywood's 'Golden Age'. Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt star as Rick Dalton and Cliff Booth. Dalton is an actor famous for playing the lead in a cancelled TV Western, and Cliff is his stunt-man turned driver who also happens to be his closest friend. Rick finds himself increasingly cast in the villain roles, being beaten time and again by up-and-coming stars. Fearing irrelevance, Rick clings to his star status and desperately tries to maintain it. The film also follows young actress Sharon Tate (Margot Robbie) and explores the lives and changing careers of these individuals as the film industry changes alongside them.

Rick and Cliff may not be altogether likeable characters (Rick is full of self-pity; Cliff is rumoured to have murdered his wife) but DiCaprio and Pitt are astoundingly good in their roles. Their chemistry is excellent and they perfectly embody two down-on-their-luck buddies who are struggling against what feels like inevitable change. Early on we get a good sense of how exciting Rick's career has been. There are plenty of flashbacks to the variety of roles that he has acted in, and these prove to be fun little film scenes within the film itself where Tarantino plays around with different genres. However it feels at times like the sheer volume of flashbacks, and the length of them, slow the film down. Often the plot is lost amongst long and unwieldy scenes from the characters' pasts. The story in general tends to wander around, never staying in one place for long. And it never seems to reach a satisfactory destination either, with the film ending in an unexpected and slightly anti-climactic way. Despite the lack of a focused plot there are some truly hilarious moments. It's just a shame that they're hidden amongst so much filler.

At the start of the film, Rick and Al Pacino's character Mr Schwarz discuss what they love about the movies, the latter stating that he enjoys all of the killing and gratuitous violence. Tarantino seems to be expressing his own opinion here; he is, after all, known for his incredibly violent films. However, whatever he seems to be promising with this line never really gets delivered. In fact, this film is surprisingly tame until the closing moments. And whilst the promised violence is delivered in these scenes it feels distinctly as though Tarantino has almost withheld this most recognisable aspect of his filmmaking.

Whilst Rick and Mr Schwarz discuss their love of film, it's also clear that this is a demonstration of the director's own love of cinema. Often the film feels less about the characters as individuals, and more about their place in Hollywood and the film industry. The film opens with an old interview with Rick and Cliff and a trailer for Rick's cancelled TV show. The locations are either film sets, or houses that are riddled with movie posters, and the Hollywood streets that we see so much of seem to have a cinema on every block. Overall we get a very rose-tinted view of Hollywood at this time, and despite the fact that sleazy aspects of the industry are featured they are generally glossed over and treated with a kind of indifference. The focus instead is placed on the joys that cinema can bring and Rick and Sharon's dreams of 'making it' in Hollywood.

I haven't yet mentioned Robbie's portrayal of Sharon Tate, and that is largely because she has little to do. It's much the same with all of the women in this film. All are stereotypes, and whilst Robbie is perfectly charming as Sharon the character is vapid and lifeless. The film would greatly benefit if attention was paid to developing the female characters instead of just paying attention to their feet. The presence of Sharon in the film is questionable, as she simply provides a small link to the Manson gang who play a surprisingly and disappointingly small role in this film. You could remove almost all of Robbie's scenes and the film would be unchanged.

This is a disjointed and uneven film from Tarantino that feels somehow incomplete. But it's an optimistic look at Hollywood's Golden Age and even when the pace lags and the plot wanders, Pitt and DiCaprio's spectacular performances hold it together.