I’ve never had much luck with Tarantino films, and as a past film student that’s almost blasphemy. ‘He’s a visionary, a genius, he’s my hero’ is what a lot of film students would say. I have no doubt that he’s a fantastic scriptwriter, don’t get me wrong, Pulp Fiction is one of the cleverest and most interesting scripts I’ve ever witnessed, but his films are long, too gory and almost self indulgent. I find him a bit over the top and he’s almost become a brand that people just like to say they love because it’s deemed ‘cool’ and makes you a ‘true film fan’.

I once read a quote, I forget who it was from, that said ‘just because you own a Pulp Fiction t-shirt, does not make you a cinephile’ and I couldn’t agree with this statement more.

I have delved into a few QT films in the lead up to seeing Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, and have yet to find one I have enjoyed. Pulp Fiction has far too much drug use in it for me to enjoy, Inglorious Basterds was just a bit gross and too long (not to mention the head cutting was vile) and Reservoir Dogs had no story to keep me hooked.

QT has a knack for working with talented casting directors (har har) because he manages to get some of the best talent in Hollywood in his films, a trend that continues in ONCE.

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Anyway, all of that being said, I actually thoroughly enjoyed ONCE and I think we finally got a QT film with a bit more depth, it was a brilliantly written character piece and from (unsurprisingly) outstanding performances from Brad Pitt and Leonard DiCaprio it was highly entertaining. I like how it fell more into the category of comedy than anything else, and it felt like a tangled web of storylines that somehow made sense.

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Set at the time of the Charles Manson murders in 1970’s Hollywood, it focuses heavily on two fictional movie stars with a secondary story of Sharon Tate (Margot Robbie), Manson’s most famous victim. DiCaprio portrays Hollywood heavyweight Rick Dalton as he battles with a mid-life/mid-career crisis and identifies himself as a has been whilst his stunt double, Cliff Booth, played perfectly by Pitt follows him round as his friend/chauffeur. Cliff finds himself caught up in a group of hippies who are living on an abandoned movie set, a plot strand that ends up being as characteristically violent as most other QT films.

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With a cast jam packed with roaring talent, ONCE embodies the drama and excitement of Hollywood in the 1970’s. There is a constant grey cloud hanging over the entire film, the knowledge of the Manson murders within the audience makes it almost heart breaking every time Sharon Tate is on the screen, just a young actress who is making her name in the movies who faces a horrendous fate. The subtle hints at Charles Manson’s presence  are delicate but act as a threat throughout the film, we actually only see him in one scene but he’s clearly there.

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Quick shout out to Julia Butters who plays Rick Daltons co-star in a western he is filming, she completely stole the spotlight and gave a brilliant performance.

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In standard Tarantino style, the film is too long, but I believe he doesn’t make films to be watched over and over again, this is an event film and although I have no desire to watch it again any time soon, I truly enjoyed it. I expect DiCaprio and Pitt will both get well deserved nominations.