‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’ Film Review: What the Critics Are Saying

Reviews are in for Quentin Tarantino’s ninth film Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, which debuted at the Cannes Film Festival on Tuesday and brought about a six-minute overwhelming applause. In spite of the fact that critics who filed reviews from the French festival had a few reservations, they too were positive about the project, especially recognizing the film’s performances and suggestive setting.

Featuring Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt, with Margot Robbie, Dakota Fanning, Tim Roth, James Marsden and Timothy Olyphant in supporting roles, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood follows a blurred TV actor Rick Dalton (DiCaprio) and his stunt double Cliff Booth (Pitt) as they attempt to accomplish acclaim in the film industry in 1969 Los Angeles. Tarantino coordinated the film from his very own screenplay.

In The Hollywood Reporter, David Rooney stressed what the look like of the film adds to the striking narrating. “With richly detailed input from production designer Barbara Ling and beyond-cool retro fashions from costumer Arianne Phillips, Tarantino folds the low-key buddy comedy into a lovingly recreated, almost fetishistic celebration of late ‘60s Hollywood, infused with color and vitality by cinematographer Robbie Richardson,” the critic composes. He proceeded to feature a standout amongst the best scenes, “when Cliff drives Pussycat home to the disused Spahn Movie Ranch and has an uneasy meeting with her adoptive family members, including wary mother Gypsy (Lena Dunham) and an openly hostile Squeaky Fromme (Dakota Fanning).” Rooney finishes up his review by referencing a couple of reactions of the film, trailed by a profound compliment. “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is uneven, unwieldy in its structure and not without its flat patches. But it’s also a disarming and characteristically subversive love letter to its inspiration.”

For The Guardian, Peter Bradshaw applauded the visual spectacle of the film. “It’s shocking, gripping, dazzlingly shot in the celluloid-primary colors of sky blue and sunset gold: colors with the warmth that Mama Cass sang about.” He proceeds to feature the definite world that Tarantino constructed, proposing there’s something new to encounter: “not just erotic cinephilia, but TV-philia, an intense awareness of the small screen background to everyone’s lives,” composes the critic. Considering the “startling and provocative” finishing, Bradshaw takes note of that opinions will be separated, yet he doesn’t give spoilers about what fresh eyes can anticipate. He gives the Once Upon a Time in Hollywood film five stars, marking it “outrageous, disorientating entertainment.”

Vanity Fair’s Richard Lawson applauded the first onscreen matching of DiCaprio and Pitt, who the critic contended had an effortless chemistry. “one’s allegiance to the film is consistently won back by DiCaprio and Pitt, who make easy, and disarmingly humble, platonic poetry out of this curious dynamic,” he composed. In any case, Lawson felt that Tarantino’s faithfulness to waxing lovely on his different social enthusiasms drove the Once Upon a Time in Hollywood film to sometimes slack, saying that now and again in the screening he was “a little bored” and felt a portion of the scenes didn’t associate a lot to the next. Nevertheless, “[Tarantino’s] always been a great director of actors, and here he manages to wipe away some of the gunk of time and fame to find an indefinable It-ness that used to get people noticed at lunch counters,” Lawson writes in his overall positive review. “In so doing, Tarantino lets us access some of the love he so ardently wants us to feel for all his cherished arcana.”

For The Evening Standard, David Sexton noticed that the Once Upon a Time in Hollywood film was part up into two sections, one “a highly enjoyable but pretty leisurely in-joke, a fond homage to the way Hollywood was back in the day” and the second a denouement that is “sensationally violent even by Quentin’s high standards.” Sexton likewise applauds DiCaprio’s and Pitt’s performances as a baffled, hard-drinking B-movie actor and his indelibly cool and relaxed sidekick, respectively, while he praises Al Pacino’s brief cameo as DiCaprio’s character’s agent. Sexton doesn’t say much regarding the finale, yet takes note of the film, “if not a career best, [is] an extraordinary career summation” for Tarantino.

In The Telegraph, critic Robbie Collin applauded the Once Upon a Time in Hollywood film’s fantasy like inspiration of 1969, writing, “Tarantino luxuriates in bringing this prelapsarian heyday roaring back to life, and the effect is pure movie-world intoxication, laced with in-jokes and nibble-ably sweet period detail.” Collin likewise does not ruin the film’s ending, yet implies that the violent finale is the “single most shocking sequence in Tarantino’s filmography.” Though the film revels in a “toxicity” at the end, he adds, “the transgressive thrill is undeniable, and the artistry mesmerisingly assured.”

Slash Film’s Jason Gorber recognizes that its “more challenging than usual” to discuss the Once Upon a Time in Hollywood film in detail without ruining its power, yet he commends the pairing of DiCaprio and Pitt as “two of the finest actors in this or any other generation.” He proceeds to state, “Given this meaty dialogue, terrific character beats, and the swagger of the setting, they’re at the tops of the game.” Gorber additionally features the remainder of the cast, especially Robbie’s “visually perfect” interpretation of Sharon Tate and Fanning’s “particularly haunting” take on “Squeaky” Fromme. The commentator emphasizes the effective design, cinematography and editing that contributed to the “grime and beauty” that Hollywood represents.

For Collider, Gregory Ellwood noticed that Tarantino has “never made a film that ends up as sweet and nostalgic as his latest,” featuring the way that the director never neglects to present an enthusiastic thrust in his movies. The critic discusses how much fun there is to be had in the film ‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’, referencing a scene specifically. “Cliff has a showdown with Bruce Lee on the set of The Green Hornet and his faithful dog deserves star billing.” He goes on to emphasize the punch of the ensemble cast, “Familiar faces such as Timothy Olyphant, Luke Perry, Mark Madsen, Lena Dunham and Damien Lewis stand out in small roles.”

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood releases into theaters July 26.