Once Upon A Time in Hollywood is set to release on July 26, 2019. PHOTO: IMDB

Once Upon A Time in Hollywood, there was Tarantino, DiCaprio and Pitt

It will be interesting to see how Tarantino tackles the Manson murders, considering the cultural impact they had.

Khalid Rafi March 27, 2019
Hollywood 1969 sets the stage for the latest film from visionary director Quentin Tarantino. The penultimate film of Tarantino’s career, Once Upon A Time in Hollywood turns back the clock to the summer of ‘69, a time when Hollywood was both nearing the end of its Golden Era and about to be engulfed in the hysteria of the gruesome Manson Family murders.

With the industry nearing radical change and the Manson family bubbling in the background, aging Western TV star Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his stunt double Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt) go about their business, trying their best to survive in the changing Tinseltown environment.



The first trailer, which released recently, smartly chooses to stray away from the gory details of the real-life events that surround the story, choosing instead to give us a collection of random, sporadic scenes that remind us why we love Tarantino’s films. This is why the trailer features many of the signature elements we have come to expect from Tarantino’s work, such as subtle humour, snappy dialogues and hilarious one-liners.

While the 90-second trailer also strays away from the hyper-stylised violence which is perhaps Tarantino’s greatest trademark, rest assured, Once Upon A Time in Hollywood is going to be one bloody affair.





The trailer also focuses greatly on DiCaprio and Pitt’s characters, which isn’t surprising considering the story focuses on the pursuits of their characters and how they come into contact with the events at the centre of the film. The trailer also gives us brief glimpses at some of the characters in the packed cast, such as Bruce Lee (Mike Moh), who is seen sparring hilariously with Cliff, and none other than the notorious cult-leader Charles Manson (Damon Herriman).





Throughout his career, Tarantino has redefined cinematic storytelling in more ways than one, whether it’s through the dialogue, the cartoonish violence or the self-awareness. It’s hard to think of a filmmaker more watchable, and considering the fact that this may just be the penultimate film of his career, it isn’t surprising to see why it has everyone so excited.

It will be particularly interesting to see how Tarantino tackles the subject matter of the Manson murders, especially considering the kind of cultural impact they had on Hollywood; signifying in many ways the loss of innocence for the industry and a departure from a more simpler time to one defined by excesses and the explosion of counter-culture.



Apart from all this, there’s also the packed cast which, besides DiCaprio and Pitt, features a plethora of stars, many of whom play real-life actors. The likes of Margot Robbie, Al Pacino, Kurt Russell, Timothy Olyphant, Damian Lewis, Bruce Dern, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen, Luke Perry and Dakota Fanning are all part of this cast.



Once Upon A Time in Hollywood is set to release on July 26, 2019.

All photos: Sony Pictures 
WRITTEN BY:
Khalid Rafi The author enjoys writing and is passionate about Pakistan Cricket. He tweets @TheKhalidRafi (https://twitter.com/TheKhalidRafi)
The views expressed by the writer and the reader comments do not necassarily reflect the views and policies of the Express Tribune.

COMMENTS

Replying to X

Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.

For more information, please see our Comments FAQ