When it was announced that Quentin Tarantino was going to
deliver his take on the Manson murders fans went nuts. They were so excited to
hear that this director known for his extreme moments of violence would tackle
this story with a new perspective. Then we heard it wasn’t exactly about the
Manson murders. Then we heard more of what it was about. The end result? A
movie that was interesting enough for one viewing but no way watching a second
time.
Taking place in the late 60s the story revolves more around
two men than anything else. Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio) is a movie star on
the downward spiral. His last steady work was the lead in a western in the 50s
called BOUNTY LAW. Now he’s been relegated to playing the heavy in various cameo
roles on TV series. A new agent Marvin Schwarz (Al Pacino) tells him that leads
to disappearing. Instead he tells him he has something new for him, a lead in a
spaghetti western.
Alongside Dalton throughout the film is Cliff Booth (Brad
Pitt), his stunt double, gofer and only friend. Booth drives him where he needs
to be, helps him with his ego when it needs a boost and watches out for him.
While he has a place of his own he spends most of his time at Rick’s place in
the hills of LA next door to his new neighbors Roman Polanski (Rafal
Zawierucha) and Sharon Tate (Margot Robbie).
This is where we learn about Tate. We get to see her going
to parties with her husband and friends, learn about her connection to Jay
Sebring (Emile Hirsch). Jay dated her and still loves her, hanging around
hoping she’ll dump Roman. We see Tate shopping and stopping at a theater
showing THE WRECKING CREW, a film she has a role in, enjoying the moment of an
audience reaction to her performance.
We also get glimpses of the Manson family as little more
than hippies on the streets of LA looking through trash for food and hitching
rides to their home at Spahn Ranch. At one point Cliff gives one of the girls a
ride there, knowing the area since he worked on TV series shot there. His visit
leads to a potential confrontation when he wants to make sure George Spahn
(Bruce Dern) is okay.
So these are the three stories that bounce back and forth in
this film. The thing is there is little if no connecting story to bring them
together with the exception of happenstance. Not only that, there is no real
story here as people understand a story. No beginning, middle and end that
involves a running plot thread through each. The film is various incidents that
take place with each character that are strung together in a linear timeline.
But that’s it. No story unless you consider watching what happens over a series
of days a story.
Tarantino knows how to make a movie look good, I’ll have to
give him credit for that. Well shot with some amazing sets and costumes he
captures the look and feel of 1960s Hollywood. As a matter of fact more than
anything the film feels like a love letter to those glory days of Hollywood
that were beginning to fade at the time. The film is filled with movie marquees
featuring the titles of films I am sure Tarantino is a fan of. It also
highlights a number of locations that have become synonymous with Hollywood as
well.
Watching the actors involved here one thing is certain.
Tarantino put as many well-known actors in the film as he could, even if given
small roles. Damian Lewis from HOMELAND plays and looks like Steve McQueen but
his role is about 3 minutes long. Dern is in the film for about the same.
Dakota Fanning has even less time. Even Pacino feels like this is less than a
cameo. Perhaps worst of all is the way Margot Robbie is used here. She’s
nothing more than window dressing with little to say much less do. Her role is
to simply look pretty and dance around like a flower child. Many criticized
this when the film was released and rightfully so.
At 2 hours and 41 minutes the movie was filled with far too
many scenes of people driving around. You could feel that full 2 hours and 41
minutes waiting as they ticked by. The saving grace was the last 10-15 minutes
which seem like a Tarantino film, a violent few moments that are brutal and yet
hilarious at the same time. It also explains much about the title but the less
said the better. No spoiler here. But it’s too little too late to save this
film. The end result for me at least was that I was glad I watched it as a fan
of his but it’s not one I’m likely to revisit or add to my collection. So worth
a watch? Maybe for some. But that’s about it.
Now here is the thing about this film that many will have
happen to them. Since writing this and discussing it I’ve found people I trust
tell me I’m all wrong about this, that the film has more to offer than I found
in that first viewing. I mention this because that might be the case and I’d
hate to turn some movie fans off based on my first impression. So take what you
will from this review as well as the many others you might read and decided for
yourself. In the meantime I may get around to another viewing but it might be a
while.
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