Movie Man Darian Watching All Night Long

Once Upon A Time In Hollywood 

This film is a freaking masterpiece! Quentin Tarantino crafts a mesmerizing film with incredibly rich and layered performances with a outstandingly intriguing story that grabs you the second it starts and is truly one of the years best pictures. The film is very different stylistically then most of his films as this doesn’t use massive amounts of violence or nudity to the story he goes in a unusual direction here and brings the story in very much a day in the life of these characters and it’s so wonderfully done not just by his direction but by his incredible compelling writing. He hasn’t really done a modern setting for his films since Jackie Brown and some people may not like that he doesn’t use a lot of violence or sexual content which he usually does as that for a lot of the films he’s done is his style of showing his narrative and here he pulls back on a lot of that here and I thought it was a breath of fresh air. As it’s something we’re not used to seeing Quentin do and I loved it. He was able to showcase this story of these characters and their many interactions with the people they come across and how they all connect by the end of it as well it’s perfectly woven from a narrative stand point. Quinten takes all of his film knowledge he’s shown in his many films and splashed it all over this film showing such stylistic fun of old Hollywood and he was able to transform the film into the 1960’s in such a beautiful way that made the film breath such life with its incredible environment that was shown with amazing detail that really felt like you transformed back to the 1960’s. 

Secondly, The performances in this film was spectacular. Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio and Margot Robbie all deliver phenomenal performances that are truly outstanding And each performance is special in its own way. Leonardo after 4 years of a break he’s back and delivers one of his most comedic and dramatic performances that is truly masterfully acted. As Leonardo is shown by the marketing as the big role of the film this is very much Brad Pitt’s film he is in a lot of respects the centre of this film and really gives a subtle but incredible performance that is unlike anything Brad has done before. And lastly their was Margot who brought such grace and innocence to Sharon Tate and really approaches the role with such respect and gives her great justice onscreen she isn’t in the film that much but when she is she shines and she shines bright Robbie delivers a great supporting turn as Sharon Tate. The performances from everyone in the film even the supporting cast from Al Pacino and the great late Luke Perry who also gives a great performance too they all give great performances that elevate the film to such great heights. 

Lastly, Quinten shows his most personal film to date as this is a love letter to filmmaking and old Hollywood and the glitz and glamour and everything in between. He brings his style into new territory that is so fantastically done he directs the film beautifully capturing the highs and lows of tinsel town with amazing performances from the whole cast this is another masterpiece by Quentin that is without a doubt one of the years best films that deserves all the awards Once Upon A Time In Hollywood is a masterpiece that will have you having a great time in great Tarantino style I can’t recommend this film enough everyone go see this film. 

Rated R : for language throughout, some strong graphic violence, drug use, and sexual references

This film centres around a washed up tv actor and his stuntman and the highs and lows of 1969 Hollywood 

Leonardo DiCaprio : Leonardo gives another perfect performance! Leonardo is going to go down in history as one of the greatest actors of all time he’s always amazing in everything and this is once again another fantastic performance from mr DiCaprio who shows lengths and layers of him he hasn’t explored before emotionally onscreen. In the film he plays a role he hasn’t ever done before which in many ways is the loser and what I mean is he plays this has been actor who’s not wanting to evolve with the new wave of Hollywood as 1969 was a big turning point for the industry and he gets left behind as he just wants to stick with the same formula that he’s been doing for many years and Leonardo captures that persona so well onscreen. As right in the beginning he’s told the harsh truth and you can see the denial and anger wash over his face and that’s also what I love about his performance he’s so emotive with his face and can convey such heavy emotions without needing to say anything which is amazing but also when he does speak that beautiful Tarantino dialogue he brings such a richness and realness to it as he makes you feel like he’s lived in this character for years and he was able to also switch his emotions up within a single scene and make it so effortless. He explored some comedic depths that worked so well for the character as he brings this sense of dry humour to his performance and it isn’t out of place or over the top he brings the right amount and it just was also perfect comedic timing as well when he did choose to use and inject humour to the scene. And then he would know when to mix it up and show some very emotionally raw moments that were also equally brilliant Leonardo shows a vulnerability to him we haven’t seen before and he shows it brilliantly with once again another amazing performance that is one of his absolute best. 

Brad Pitt : Pitt is the heart of the film! It was great fun to see Hollywood’s heartthrob back as he hasn’t been in a film in a good while and also he worked with Quentin before for Inglorious Basterds and so I was so thrilled to see what he would bring to this film. Here he brings a very different side to him that I haven’t seen him show in any of his previous work. He plays the stuntman for Leonardo’s character and he has his old gunslinger look about him. As he has this really dark past with his character and in a lot of ways is very mysterious we find out a bit about his past but not a lot and I liked that as it made him very interesting to try to figure out. Brad was able to be very charming and then be intimidating in the snap of a finger. I loved that tho as he brought this light and darkness to him that he emotionally hasn’t shown before where he can be brutally violent and beat someone to a pulp and then be the most calm person in the room and it’s all due to Brads great versatility and range as an actor to be able to channel such lengths and do them so well as this is very much his story in a lot of ways. Brad was committed every frame of the film giving such authentic and genuine emotional moments that really shine through the film he’s hilarious as well too and his comedic timing is perfect he wraps so many complex layers to this very interesting character and breaths it to such life with his great charisma and energy brought to the role it is definitely one of my favourite performances I’ve seen from Brad as he steals the show in many ways with his amazing performance that will have you mesmerized by his performance Brad delivers a top notch performance. 

Margot Robbie : Robbie gives one of her best performances in this film. Yes I still think I Tonya is her best work but this one is a close second as she is the only person to play a real person from the main cast. And she’s playing an actress that is universally known for the unfortunate tragedy that befell her from the hands of the Manson family. But that isn’t what Margot  wants to show she shows the free spirit that Sharon was and the friendly and kind human being she was for the short time she had on this earth. What was so special about what Robbie brought to the role was her ability not to imitate her but to show the human element of who she was as a person and the fun she had and the great joys she had of being alive and being an actress and that tone she brought is shown magnificently through her performance as Margot really transforms into Sharon with her small little mannerisms and inhabiting her spirit from the ground up and she plays it so respectfully and has this great warm quality that was perfectly shown. Margot is not in the film that much but when she is she is truly outstanding as she brings great emotional depth to the performance that makes you sad because we know what happened to Sharon and it shows what a positive light she was and Robbie brings the charisma needed to portray her as authentic as possible. Robbie gives a emotionally genuine and scene stealing performance that is one of her best to date. 

Quentin Tarantino : Tarantino gives of his best directed films yet! I think we can all agree That Quentin is one of the greatest directional visionary’s to ever work in film ever. His style is very specific and that’s also what makes it so special as well is that it’s only something Quentin does and here he like I said before brings his style into a new place and try’s new things as he pulls back on the big theatrics of blood and gore and nudity and just tells this simple story of old Hollywood I loved the simplicity brought to the film it was very straight forward and so engaging to watch as hooks you the minute it starts with he central characters and the great premises surrounding the film and it’s essentially three separate story’s merged into one by the end of the film and here he captures what he remembers of old Hollywood from the 60’s and brings it to life in such a incredible way that dazzles you as he shows the highs and lows of being in the film industry and what it was like in that time he doesn’t stereotype it he shows it as authentic as possible which was amazing. On top of the fact he has this pressure cooker premises what I mean is we know Sharon Tate got murdered and that’s the year the film takes place is the year she died and us the audience knows the outcome but the characters don’t but he pulls some surprises and twist you don’t see coming and really is able to create a sense of tension that builds up over the course of the film that eventually explodes by the final act of the film and it’s so well executed. He had such diverse amount of personalities in this film all with very detailed backstory which made it so easy to get invested right away which I loved and he has one of the best duo’s in recent memory Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio are the modern day Paul Newman and Robert Redford. Their dynamic and chemistry explodes onscreen and their ability to have this great back and forth banter and sense of brotherhood was amazingly well captured onscreen. Quentin also gives some of the best dialogue he’s ever written in this film as it’s sharp like a blade and all the dialogue fits the characters so well and he captured this portrait of Old Hollywood and its many sides to it so beautifully Quentin deserves a best director Oscar for this film and best original screenplay and even best Picture he truly has captured something special that is one of my favourites of his and one of his very best Quentin delivers the goods and goes well over above and beyond the master filmmaker once again has given us another masterpiece thank you Quentin.