Once upon a time in Hollywood
The attentive reader of my blog will have noticed that I like movies very much. If I had a 2nd chance to start my work life over, I might put all my efforts into becoming a movie critic for a major newspaper. So when a film about Hollywood is made, the city where so much of the history of film has been written, I am obviously curious. Especially, when the director is Quentin Tarantino, who I boycotted for most of my life but warmed up in Django Unchained (here you find my 2012 review).
Toward the end, his new film, Once upon a time in Hollywood, has graphic violence that is a trademark of Tarantino. But just like in Django Unchained the violence is not entirely gratuitous. Tarantino presents a history of Hollywood that is a creative tour de force. To fully appreciate the brilliance of the film, you need to know something about the history of Roman Polanski (a great director with a troubled soul) and what happened to his girlfriend Sharon Tate. If you know this Hollywood history or if you look it up before seeing the film, you will sit in your chair and say: “Please Quentin do not go there, do not do it…” Tarantino has you the edge of your seat and does something that you would have never expected. The film is definitely worth seeing but if you are seeing it with a lady, take her into your arm when the violence becomes difficult to watch for a gentle soul.