Once Upon A Time I Fell Asleep Until Brad Pitt Hit Somebody.

I get to the theater too early and I get stuck in the lobby having already bought the popcorn. I got the Tuesday special food deal for $2 and waited for the time to go into the movie. My seat was at an extreme angle because I bought it at the kiosk instead of online the night before. Also when I was seated and comfortable. Lots of people had to walk past my outstretched feet reclined in the seat. Most whitey couldn’t handle the cognitive power it took to reroute themselves and not brush past my feet. Humanity sucks and that’s why I fell asleep until I got to see somebody hit something.

Once Upon A Time In Hollywood opens about a popular actor named Rick Dalton and his stunt double. They are buddies throughout the movie and act as opposites to each other. Rick, played by Leonardo Dicaprio, is desparate to stay in American cinema instead of going to Italy to make some spaghetti westerns. His stunt double (Brad Pitt) was much less concerned about this and other issues that Rick busied himself with. Being a war hero and someone who generally doesn’t take anyone’s shit. He helps Rick in a big brother sort of way.

There are some great classicly shot and articulated scenes in this movie which is something I expect from a Tarantino flick. One line that rang out and stuck in my mind was Rick’s line in the beginning when talking about his hollywood home and the importance of buying a home there because his neighbor is Roman Polanski. ” Roman Polanski is my neighbor! I’m one pool party away from being in his movies!” Rick excitedly says. Heavy forshadowing there.

The other trop is Rick is a has been. Leading in the fictional hit 50’s T.V show Bounty Law, Rick played out his role as the hard boiled cowboy and tried to make the leap to movies. During a scene where Rick arrives on the set of a western movie, not sure which, he sits next to a little girl and this scene is especially interesting. Classical filmmaking is about the subtext, allegory and undertones. Above, Rick and the little girl talk about acting and the little girl is dedicated. ” I strive as an actor to give 100% all the time…” she says, as Rick is putting away a flask. He is asked about a book he’s reading and it’s about a horse trainer who is not as good as he was at breaking horses in his 20’s. This is symbolic of how Rick is feeling and he breaks down and cries a bit while explaining the book. The girl doesn’t know what Rick is thinking but she is consoling him for what is unsaid through the dialogue about the book. That is classic film as a language directing.

And that’s when I fell asleep.

I missed a chunk of the 2 hour 51 minute movie. I woke up as Brad Pitt is leaving a hippy ranch and his tire is flat. He looks over to see a dirty scantily clad man laughing at him. The scene goes on and ends with the hippy taking some deep bass fists to the honker until he changes the tire. Great scene. I woke up basically in the 3rd act and that scene was towards the end of it. And boy does Tarantino do endings well. The entire sequence of a triage of hippies showing up to Rick Dalton’s house and the “pool party” ending is delightfully satisfying and violent.

So overall this movie is a distilled version of Tarantino’s talents.

So overall this movie is a distilled version of Tarantino’s talents. Definitely a lower volume piece from the director of Kill Bill and other high octane movies, Tarantino still shines in what he knows best and that is a justified and tasty ending of violence.

6/10 boring as hell until Brad Pitt hits somebody.