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I put off writing this review for a couple weeks because I was pretty torn about it. On one hand, I absolutely loved this film. On the other hand, it definitely seemed weaker than Tarantino’s other big hits like Django Unchained, Inglorious Bastards, Kill Bill, and (the indisputably best film) Pulp Fiction. There were several points in this movie that were a little too slow, and it was more discombobulated than the usual Tarantino film. Also, I’m not sure that I could fully appreciate many of the cinematic callbacks to the Golden Age of Hollywood.
For those who haven’t seen the movie yet, the basic plot (without spoilers) goes like this: a moviestar (Leonardo Dicaprio) with a waning career and his sidekick stunt-double (Brad Pitt) are looking for an opportunity to add a little bit of gas to the almost-empty tank of their success. Both rose to prominence acting in the Wild West genre, but were left behind as Hollywood moved on to new stars . The acting in this movie is some of the best I have ever seen; Leo had one scene when he was in his dressing room after a poor performance on set that is one of the most emotional I have ever seen, and Brad played Cliff’s silent, strong man character to perfection.
Tarantino’s attention to detail is one of the most prominent parts of this movie, making even filling up a cup of Coke look like the most orgasmic thing in the world. His love for the movie industry is palpable, and I really felt like I was in Hollywood in the 60s the entire time. Obviously, I’m too young to have a good frame of reference, but many actors and reviews claimed that it was an accurate (if slightly embellishing) interpretation of the Golden Age.
One critique of Tarantino is that his films are often just strung-together bits of really great standalone scenes, and I feel like this movie had the same flaw. There were many scenes that had no relevance to the overall plot and felt like a homage to the movie industry. While that doesn’t make this movie bad, I feel like it is a director’s role to be able to combine those cinematic scenes in a more cohesive fashion similar to how Django or Pulp Fiction were put together.
Despite my small gripe, I’d highly recommend this film to everyone. Seeing Pitt and Leo showcase their full potential was incredible. I hope everyone gets the chance to see Tarantino’s penultimate masterpiece.