I'd seen this one within the last couple of years so it was still fresh in my memory. I was hoping I would gain more appreciation for it in a second viewing.
The film stars Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio with a bunch of other big named actors. This is also the first film Tarantino broke away from Weinstein and the A Band Apart label.
It's hard to explain what this film is about. It is a love letter to 1969 Los Angeles. It incorporates the pop and film culture of the day. It also has a background story with Charles Manson's group but it is not the focus. The big thing is the relationship between Pitt and DiCaprio. DiCaprio is a washed up old movie and television star and Pitt is his stunt double and best friend.
Had the film strictly been about these two, it would have ranked much higher in my pantheon of Tarantino. The thing is, it wasn't. The film was ADD and all over the place. There were little bits here and there on stories that just didn't play out. Instead it feels like the story is all over the place and the only time I really care is when Pitt/DiCaprio are on screen. It seems like Tarantino is trying to fit as much kitsch into the film as possible to say it made it in. The soundtrack is a perfect example of this. Great soundtrack, but you can tell it's really just crammed in there for the sake of being in there.
It's not a bad film, by any means, but it lacks cohesion. Because of this, the continuity suffers. An example is Margot Robbie who plays Sharon Tate. Her character is pretty useless to the story so I don't really know why she's in it. She could have been removed and it wouldn't have made a lick of difference.
I will recommend the film as it is interesting to see how they pulled off 1969 Hollywood. There was some excellent camera work and the Pitt/DiCaprio scenes are well worth the investment.
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