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Once Upon a Time In Hollywood is a farrago of genius. The sequence where all of Hollywood’s neon signs hum on August 9 is lyrical and dreadful. At its climax, Tarantino’s dream world turns brutal and beautiful. It is both a nightmare and a utopia. But once again, Tarantino has a masterful hand.
Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie
Director: Quentin Tarantino
Rating: 7.6/10
Tarantino’s subversion of history
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood has questions about sexism and misogyny. Many people believe Tarantino hates women and is a misogynist. But there is no doubt that Tarantino is a provocateur who has twisted history and culture in his own films. In Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Tarantino plays with the idea of misogyny and portrays Hollywood and America from a new perspective. While it is impossible to argue against the film’s use of historical events, one must wonder about Tarantino’s intent in creating such a subversion of history.
The film’s main plot revolves around the murder of Sharon Tate, an eight-and-a-half-month pregnant actress. The murderer was Tex Watson, a renowned actor who starred in movies such as The Big Lebowski and The Departed, and they killed Tate in order to get her pregnant. Tex Watson and Susan Atkins – two other actors whose stories intertwine in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood – were convicted of killing Tate. In a way, Tarantino has given us a subversion of history that has remained a compelling mystery.
Rick Dalton and Cliff Booth
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood follows two actors in a love triangle. The first, Rick Dalton, is a struggling actor whose career has reached its nadir. The second, Cliff Booth, an underemployed and unkempt stuntman, is desperate to make money and improve his sagging career. Booth, on the other hand, has a plethora of bluster, and Dalton tries to make sure that he doesn’t waste the movie’s time by immolating Nazi officers.
In a story about stunt doubles, Dalton and Booth are looking for work. They live in Los Angeles and have an interesting life together. Dalton’s neighbor is Sharon Tate, who lives with her husband Roman Polanski. Dalton wonders if he should be working on spaghetti westerns or in Italy. But in an unsettling twist, Booth has given a ride to a mysterious cult.
Tarantino’s issues with women
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood raises sexism and misogyny questions. Tarantino has been accused of misogyny and even hating women. Is Tarantino really depicting misogyny and hating women in the film? Or is he simply trying to complicate Cliff’s view of women?
The real-life career of Tate is not rosy. In Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood, Tarantino dismisses Tate’s young career, implying that she’s not important. While the movie is a satire of Hollywood, it focuses on a fictionalized version of a historical event. In this way, Tarantino makes his movie a satire on Hollywood.
Rick and Cliff’s slur
The slur is a small thing, but it’s a big deal. It’s the kind of racism that would require serious treatment in a story, and it makes a scene that could be inflammatory seem trivial. Furthermore, the slur’s subtlety makes it difficult to avoid the uncomfortable parallels between Rick and Cliff.
The slur is a reference to the scene from “The Mule,” which features a prominent Mexican slur. In the film, Cliff is an overly macho figure. In Mulvey’s book, she explores how women are presented next to male characters. Cliff’s overly masculine character makes audiences connect with him.
Violence begets violence
In Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, the focus is on the western genre, specifically Bounty Law. Los Angeles had a reputation for lawlessness and debauchery in the nineteenth century, and this film exemplifies that reputation under varying facades. The film also explores the ethos of the outlaws, which reverberates throughout the movie. The Manson Family is the latest manifestation of this ethos and resides on the aforementioned dysfunctional Spahn Ranch.
While Once Upon a Time in Hollywood departs from history and the historical record, the savagery is still an interesting point to discuss, if only to understand how the film is subverting history. The Manson family, for instance, decides to kill Rick Dalton, only to stumble into their own deaths and those of the other survivors – the women. The Manson family and Sharon Tate are both portrayed in a film by the same director, but the difference between their lives and the movie is stark.
