Quentin Tarantino returns with his ninth outrageous film. It took until halfway through the movie where I saw the underlying genius of the film.
We were told that western TV star Rick Dalton and his stunt double Cliff Booth were to face the growing change in cinema in the 1960s, and that's what they did. After his show was canceled, they struggle to get back on top in the industry. I initially thought it would be the rise of indie films and anti-heroes. It eventually went that direction, but I forgot about the rise of Italian directors. Having that said, I saw that the film was made as an Italian western set in 1960s Los Angeles.
The biggest element Tarantino promised was that this movie would involve Charles Manson. We get that...sort of. We get an angry Bruce Dern character, named Charles, who lives with a group of young men and women on an abandoned film ranch. The only thing that connects this to the rest of the movie was that Cliff found Dakota Fanning hot, and he offered her a ride. When Dakota and two other people were sent to kill people, we aren't really clued in as to why they targeted Rick Dalton's house. They didn't even realize Cliff was involved until it was too late for them.
This film was a lot of fun, and it was unsurprisingly entertaining. The only thing preventing it from being heralded as great, in my opinion, is the sloppy editing. There are editing techniques throughout the movie that were hilarious in their own right, but when they are put together in a film like this, it looks like a video you would submit to an editing class. It shows that you can do all the cuts, but it also shows that you DID all the cuts. There was a moment when Dalton was chatting with the actor playing the hero in the movie. Their conversation was cut up in a series of jump cuts as a funny way to show that a simple hello can go on for hours. Then the technique was gone. Another thing that was out of place was the out-of-place narration by...I want to say Kurt Russell because that Bruce Lee flashback didn't have enough Kurt. Maybe they could have used that jump cut thing during the time Cliff and Rick were getting slobbering drunk at the restaurant. Also, the narration kind of killed the mood when it went on Dalton's resurgence in the film industry.
But that climax made it all worth it. It actually does something most films don't have the balls to do. Throughout the film, you see the insufferable friendship between Rick and Cliff and how they are both struggling. When their careers are in the sh*tter, you can see the contrast in how they are taking it. Rick isn't doing so well, and Cliff is just kind of rolling with it. Then when it came to a point where Rick could no longer afford Cliff, they were able to part as friends without so much as a hint of an argument. You know, that testing the friendship thing that every buddy movie has? Yeah, that's not in here. And despite being fired, Cliff still manages to defend Rick's home from those crazy Manson kids.
Then there was the flame thrower. The weapon was featured in a movie, that looks like an Inglorious Basterds remake, and Dalton incinerates a few Nazis. Then it returns when Dalton incinerates Dakota Fanning after she crashes into the pool trying to kill him. It is no secret that actors would take props from the sets of movies and TV shows once they are over. Johnny Depp bought his horse from Sleepy Hollow, and Neil Patrick Harris owns Barney's playbook from How I Met Your Mother. But I doubt anyone would allow Rick Dalton to take this massive weapon home. It also shows that the fact he owns a flame thrower really doesn't faze his next-door neighbor who invites him for drinks after the attack. "Oh, you own an unregistered weapon you used in a movie, and you just killed someone with it? Well, come on up."
Shannon Lee, the daughter of Bruce Lee, stated that she was uncomfortable that her father was portrayed as an "arrogant punching bag" during a scene where Bruce gets his ass handed to him by Cliff. I understand where she was coming from, but there should be an underlying rule that whenever Tarantino writes historical fiction, you must suspend your belief. I mean, he made Hitler gay, so it should be noted that Bruce probably wasn't a jackass in real life.
It is a brilliant work of art, and I'm glad that Tarantino got to tell it. I'll be very sad once his tenth and final film rolls into theaters in the coming years.
I hope you liked this. Be sure to subscribe and leave a comment about what you thought or if you want to recommend a movie for me to review. Thank you for reading. I'll return next week with another movie. See you then.
Released On: July 25, 2019
Rating: R
Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie, Bruce Dern, Timothy Olyphant, Dakota Fanning, Al Pacino
Director: Quentin Tarantino
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 85% Certified Fresh
IMDb Score: 8.2/10
Awards
Golden Globe Awards
We were told that western TV star Rick Dalton and his stunt double Cliff Booth were to face the growing change in cinema in the 1960s, and that's what they did. After his show was canceled, they struggle to get back on top in the industry. I initially thought it would be the rise of indie films and anti-heroes. It eventually went that direction, but I forgot about the rise of Italian directors. Having that said, I saw that the film was made as an Italian western set in 1960s Los Angeles.
The biggest element Tarantino promised was that this movie would involve Charles Manson. We get that...sort of. We get an angry Bruce Dern character, named Charles, who lives with a group of young men and women on an abandoned film ranch. The only thing that connects this to the rest of the movie was that Cliff found Dakota Fanning hot, and he offered her a ride. When Dakota and two other people were sent to kill people, we aren't really clued in as to why they targeted Rick Dalton's house. They didn't even realize Cliff was involved until it was too late for them.
This film was a lot of fun, and it was unsurprisingly entertaining. The only thing preventing it from being heralded as great, in my opinion, is the sloppy editing. There are editing techniques throughout the movie that were hilarious in their own right, but when they are put together in a film like this, it looks like a video you would submit to an editing class. It shows that you can do all the cuts, but it also shows that you DID all the cuts. There was a moment when Dalton was chatting with the actor playing the hero in the movie. Their conversation was cut up in a series of jump cuts as a funny way to show that a simple hello can go on for hours. Then the technique was gone. Another thing that was out of place was the out-of-place narration by...I want to say Kurt Russell because that Bruce Lee flashback didn't have enough Kurt. Maybe they could have used that jump cut thing during the time Cliff and Rick were getting slobbering drunk at the restaurant. Also, the narration kind of killed the mood when it went on Dalton's resurgence in the film industry.
But that climax made it all worth it. It actually does something most films don't have the balls to do. Throughout the film, you see the insufferable friendship between Rick and Cliff and how they are both struggling. When their careers are in the sh*tter, you can see the contrast in how they are taking it. Rick isn't doing so well, and Cliff is just kind of rolling with it. Then when it came to a point where Rick could no longer afford Cliff, they were able to part as friends without so much as a hint of an argument. You know, that testing the friendship thing that every buddy movie has? Yeah, that's not in here. And despite being fired, Cliff still manages to defend Rick's home from those crazy Manson kids.
Then there was the flame thrower. The weapon was featured in a movie, that looks like an Inglorious Basterds remake, and Dalton incinerates a few Nazis. Then it returns when Dalton incinerates Dakota Fanning after she crashes into the pool trying to kill him. It is no secret that actors would take props from the sets of movies and TV shows once they are over. Johnny Depp bought his horse from Sleepy Hollow, and Neil Patrick Harris owns Barney's playbook from How I Met Your Mother. But I doubt anyone would allow Rick Dalton to take this massive weapon home. It also shows that the fact he owns a flame thrower really doesn't faze his next-door neighbor who invites him for drinks after the attack. "Oh, you own an unregistered weapon you used in a movie, and you just killed someone with it? Well, come on up."
Shannon Lee, the daughter of Bruce Lee, stated that she was uncomfortable that her father was portrayed as an "arrogant punching bag" during a scene where Bruce gets his ass handed to him by Cliff. I understand where she was coming from, but there should be an underlying rule that whenever Tarantino writes historical fiction, you must suspend your belief. I mean, he made Hitler gay, so it should be noted that Bruce probably wasn't a jackass in real life.
It is a brilliant work of art, and I'm glad that Tarantino got to tell it. I'll be very sad once his tenth and final film rolls into theaters in the coming years.
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I hope you liked this. Be sure to subscribe and leave a comment about what you thought or if you want to recommend a movie for me to review. Thank you for reading. I'll return next week with another movie. See you then.
Released On: July 25, 2019
Rating: R
Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt, Margot Robbie, Bruce Dern, Timothy Olyphant, Dakota Fanning, Al Pacino
Director: Quentin Tarantino
Rotten Tomatoes Score: 85% Certified Fresh
IMDb Score: 8.2/10
Awards
Golden Globe Awards
- Best Motion Picture Musical or Comedy - Winner
- Best Actor Motion Picture Musical or Comedy Leonardo DiCaprio - Nominated
- Best Supporting Actor Motion Picture Brad Pitt - Winner
- Best Director Quentin Tarantino - Nominated
- Best Screenplay Quentin Tarantino - Winner
Academy Awards
- Best Picture - Nominated
- Best Actor Leonardo DiCaprio - Nominated
- Best Supporting Actor Brad Pitt - Winner
- Best Director Quentin Tarantino - Nominated
- Best Original Screenplay Quentin Tarantino - Nominated
- Best Cinematography Robert Richardson - Nominated
- Best Costume Design Arianne Phillips - Nominated
- Best Production Design Barbara Ling & Nancy Haigh -Winner
- Best Sound Editing Wylie Stateman - Nominated
- Best Sound Mixing Michael Minkler, Christian P. Minkler, Mark Ulano - Nominated
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