Post by PG Cooper on Aug 4, 2019 13:12:25 GMT -5
Borrowed some points from Drac...
If being so far behind on Letterboxd has had any advantage, it's given me time to really reflect on Once Upon a Time in Hollywood before trying to talk about it. When I first left the theater, I knew it was one of the best movies I'd seen all year. The film was consistently entertaining, offered a great collection of characters, and some of the biggest laughs I had in a movie theater in a long time. But I also felt that the movie lacked the same level of substance as other Tarantino movies. As early as the next morning, that opinion started to shift. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is deceptively simple. Despite the leisure pace and the general lack of plot for large stretches of the film's runtime, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood has quite a bit to say about the 1960s and the death of innocence in the era.
These messages can be a bit contradictory, but what I keep coming back to is how the film reasserts Sharon Tate's humanity. She isn't a tragic cautionary tale in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, but a flesh and blood woman with her own desires and dreams, whose career is on the verge of taking of. She's also kind and warm in a way Tarantino characters rarely are, and Robbie does a fantastic job bringing her to life. If I wish she was in it more, it's only because Robbie is so great whenever she's on-screen. On the flipside, Tarantino doesn't give Manson or his follows the slightest bit of dignity. A lot of people have criticized the film for not emphasizing Charles Manson himself, but I think that's the point. In contemporary culture, Manson is something of a collective boogeyman, a historical villain who haunts our collective imagination. What Once Upon a Time in Hollywood does is rob Manson of this historical power. He isn't a powerful villain or mesmerizing figure, just a greasy scumbag. Tarantino doesn't waste time trying to understand the mind of Manson, and instead celebrates the life of Sharon Tate instead.
And this extends to the film's climax, where, spoilers, the Manson clan break into Rick's house instead of Sharon's and are promptly, and brutally, murdered by Rick and Cliff. This section has prompted a lot of debate, and I will say that Tarantino does inflict the worst of the violence on the two women. Given the historical context, I think this makes sense, but I can understand why this section has upset so many. For me though, the absurdity of the violence is part of the point. Along with Inglourious Basterds and Django Unchained, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is putting forth an alternative history which seems to be more just. In this case, Tarantino seems to be arguing that the Manson clan should never have been mythologized or turned into icons. All they were was disorganized idiots who confused their cruelty with profundity. All they should have been was a bizarre historical curiosity and not the destroyers of life and innocence.
Of course, the tone is a bit different at the end of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, in part because neither Rick or Cliff realize how profoundly they're altering history as the characters of Basterds or Django. Indeed, for as eventful as the climax of the movie is, from Rick and Cliff's perspectives, it's just some wacky shit that went down one night in the summer. But there's a certain sense of melancholy to the film's final moments, as the camera pulls back and the music is a bit more mournful, until eventually, credits roll over the picture. Perhaps this is because Tarantino realizes that while this ending feels good, it doesn't really solve anything. Charles Manson is still out there after all, and it's not clear the characters have really learned. Or maybe it's because for the first time, Tarantino is dealing with real personal tragedy, and that as nice as the alternate telling he proposes may be, we all know it's just fantasy. Sharon's really gone, and nothing can bring her back.
And that's to say nothing about Rick or Cliff. I suppose I've rambled about this movie for long enough, so I'll keep this brief. One of the things I love most about the film is how while it does laugh and Rick a fair bit, it also treats his struggles and self-doubt with sincerity. The best example of this is Rick's extended scene on the set of Lancer. Scenes like Rick's trailer meltdown are gutbustingly funny, but the film also gives him a moment where Rick's hardwork actually pays off and he delivers a great scene. The fact that Rick takes the praise of his eight-year old co-star so seriously is funny, but there's genuine pathos in seeing Rick work hard to raise himself up.
This is just a sliver of the topics worth discussing in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Despite its seemingly casual vibe, the film has proven incredibly thought-provoking, and not just for me. In the days following its release, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood has been subject to some inspired bits of film criticism, ranging from lavish praise to venomous rejection. I agree with some of these takes more than others, but any film that produces this type of discourse is worth considering. The fact that it's also extremely entertaining, slickly made, well-acted, and hysterically funny too is a pure delight. If this is truly Tarantino's penultimate movie, well, I'm gonna miss him when he's gone.
A+
If being so far behind on Letterboxd has had any advantage, it's given me time to really reflect on Once Upon a Time in Hollywood before trying to talk about it. When I first left the theater, I knew it was one of the best movies I'd seen all year. The film was consistently entertaining, offered a great collection of characters, and some of the biggest laughs I had in a movie theater in a long time. But I also felt that the movie lacked the same level of substance as other Tarantino movies. As early as the next morning, that opinion started to shift. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is deceptively simple. Despite the leisure pace and the general lack of plot for large stretches of the film's runtime, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood has quite a bit to say about the 1960s and the death of innocence in the era.
These messages can be a bit contradictory, but what I keep coming back to is how the film reasserts Sharon Tate's humanity. She isn't a tragic cautionary tale in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, but a flesh and blood woman with her own desires and dreams, whose career is on the verge of taking of. She's also kind and warm in a way Tarantino characters rarely are, and Robbie does a fantastic job bringing her to life. If I wish she was in it more, it's only because Robbie is so great whenever she's on-screen. On the flipside, Tarantino doesn't give Manson or his follows the slightest bit of dignity. A lot of people have criticized the film for not emphasizing Charles Manson himself, but I think that's the point. In contemporary culture, Manson is something of a collective boogeyman, a historical villain who haunts our collective imagination. What Once Upon a Time in Hollywood does is rob Manson of this historical power. He isn't a powerful villain or mesmerizing figure, just a greasy scumbag. Tarantino doesn't waste time trying to understand the mind of Manson, and instead celebrates the life of Sharon Tate instead.
And this extends to the film's climax, where, spoilers, the Manson clan break into Rick's house instead of Sharon's and are promptly, and brutally, murdered by Rick and Cliff. This section has prompted a lot of debate, and I will say that Tarantino does inflict the worst of the violence on the two women. Given the historical context, I think this makes sense, but I can understand why this section has upset so many. For me though, the absurdity of the violence is part of the point. Along with Inglourious Basterds and Django Unchained, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is putting forth an alternative history which seems to be more just. In this case, Tarantino seems to be arguing that the Manson clan should never have been mythologized or turned into icons. All they were was disorganized idiots who confused their cruelty with profundity. All they should have been was a bizarre historical curiosity and not the destroyers of life and innocence.
Of course, the tone is a bit different at the end of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, in part because neither Rick or Cliff realize how profoundly they're altering history as the characters of Basterds or Django. Indeed, for as eventful as the climax of the movie is, from Rick and Cliff's perspectives, it's just some wacky shit that went down one night in the summer. But there's a certain sense of melancholy to the film's final moments, as the camera pulls back and the music is a bit more mournful, until eventually, credits roll over the picture. Perhaps this is because Tarantino realizes that while this ending feels good, it doesn't really solve anything. Charles Manson is still out there after all, and it's not clear the characters have really learned. Or maybe it's because for the first time, Tarantino is dealing with real personal tragedy, and that as nice as the alternate telling he proposes may be, we all know it's just fantasy. Sharon's really gone, and nothing can bring her back.
And that's to say nothing about Rick or Cliff. I suppose I've rambled about this movie for long enough, so I'll keep this brief. One of the things I love most about the film is how while it does laugh and Rick a fair bit, it also treats his struggles and self-doubt with sincerity. The best example of this is Rick's extended scene on the set of Lancer. Scenes like Rick's trailer meltdown are gutbustingly funny, but the film also gives him a moment where Rick's hardwork actually pays off and he delivers a great scene. The fact that Rick takes the praise of his eight-year old co-star so seriously is funny, but there's genuine pathos in seeing Rick work hard to raise himself up.
This is just a sliver of the topics worth discussing in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Despite its seemingly casual vibe, the film has proven incredibly thought-provoking, and not just for me. In the days following its release, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood has been subject to some inspired bits of film criticism, ranging from lavish praise to venomous rejection. I agree with some of these takes more than others, but any film that produces this type of discourse is worth considering. The fact that it's also extremely entertaining, slickly made, well-acted, and hysterically funny too is a pure delight. If this is truly Tarantino's penultimate movie, well, I'm gonna miss him when he's gone.
A+
), but I'm pretty sure that's ten.
