Tarantino writing from the heart

“Both men know once the plane touches down in El Segundo, it’ll be the end of an era for both of them. And when you come to the end of the line with a buddy who is more than a brother and a little less than a wife, getting blind drunk together is really the only way to say farewell.”.

Tarantino’s love for cinema and knowledge of its history is no kept secret from anybody. Without this love for cinema, and without this knowledge of its history, well, obviously would we never have gotten Reservoir Dogs. Or Kill Bill. Or Django. And especially not Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, which I still believe is his greatest work, the number one reason being for me that it is his most personal film. So much more distant does it feel from the rest of his filmography because this truly is Tarantino writing from the heart as he is dealing with a topic and a setting that resonates to him more than the ideas of female revenge, the Nazi regime and the injustices of slavery. It’s not a wonder as to why a good number of people will round off Schindler’s List and Do The Right Thing as both Steven Spielberg and Spike Lee’s best films - because they are both tackling topics relating to their identity that they no doubt spend a great deal of time thinking about when alone. This is perfectly illustrated here in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, directed by the man who is easily Hollywood’s biggest film-buff - this love for cinema and its history that made Tarantino who he is, this love for cinema and its history that went on to give him the successful life anybody would dream of, and this love for cinema and its history that shines like gold here to tell a story that is incredibly immersive and highly believable, even when in essence it really is a nearly three-hour long fan-fiction. There really is no other film I’ve seen in my life that transports me to a specific time and a place more than Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. The production design and the dazzling neon lights of the night life reflect Tarantino’s childhood perception of his own experiences navigating and experiencing LA in the late 60s. I don’t know what more I can say about this film. It was life-changing for me opening night when I saw it with my friends five years ago and still remains so now. The Tarantino film with the most depth and substance to it, with some of the most passionate world and lore-building of both its setting and characters that always leaves me upset when its over because I know he can give us more from these characters if he really wanted to.