Once Upon A Time in Hollywood, Eyes 60s Culture

Joe Knickerbocker, Staff writer

Quentin Tarantino’s newest movie is a homage to 60s culture, spaghetti westerns, and the Manson murders. Everything you expect from a Tarantino movie you will find, only a little bit different. You will get a non-linear bonker story following a cast of eccentric characters and engrossing dialogue. The movie follows all of Tarantino’s classic tropes but they feel more constrained here. He doesn’t seem like he’s trying to be over the top like his other films and is more going for a realistic story, at least until the end that includes Tarantino’s signature alternate history event just like in Inglorious Bastards. The characters as usual are very absorbing and are just a blast to watch interact with each other. Every single actor in the movie gives it their best. But Brad Pitt undoubtedly steals the show. Pitts’ character is so likable and entertaining and is a pure joy to watch the situations he gets in and the things he says. The 60s setting is also very pleasing to watch which is complimented by beautiful cinematography and a great soundtrack featuring Simon and Garfunkel, Deep Purple, and Neil Diamond. The movie, although a slightly contrastive style to his other films, was a great joy to watch from beginning to end. But I would only recommend the movie to some. If you haven’t seen a Quintin Tarantino before and don’t know at least a little about Hollywood history I wouldn’t recommend this for your first introduction to him. You may get bored of the long conversations,  and plot lines that never matter to the story like when Brad Pitt’s character has a fight with Bruce Lee for some reason, or get lost with all the obscure references of things Tarantino loves. This movie, although enjoyable, may be too much not like your standard movie for someone to enjoy. In my opinion, this is not Tarantino’s best work but I loved the movie from start to finish and after a slow burn felt very satisfied at the end. 8/10