Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood: A Scenic Ride With A Bleak Destination

Plot: In 1969 Los Angeles, declining television actor (played by Leonardo DiCaprio), and his stunt double (Brad Pitt) attempt to revive their careers in a shifting film industry, while discovering that their neighbour is the upcoming actress Sharon Tate (Margot Robbie).

The title “Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood” appears to give us the grand promise of a gritty Sergio Leone-esque epic; something cut from the same cloth as the late Italian director’s ‘Once Upon a Time in the West’ and ‘Once Upon a Time in America’, two great films with substance and style to match it. Combine this with the facts that: it is Quentin Tarantino who made this film; it is likely one of his final films; it was already controversial before it premiered; and that this film contains perhaps the most stellar cast in recent times (Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie and Al Pacino are only some of the big names that feature in the film), it is easy to see where the high expectations comes from. So…does it live up to all of it?

Well, yes and no. But it matters none.

To explain my answer, I should say that Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood is not the sprawling epic its title apparently promises to be associated with. In fact, in my opinion it is nothing like any film you have ever seen before. This is…