Following the release of a questionable poster on Monday (see featured image), the hype for Quentin Tarantino’s 9th feature film, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, his first since 2015’s The Hateful Eight, has dominated social media and continued to grow. With a trailer following yesterday, it’s very easy to see why this could yet be one of Tarantino’s best films to date.
As you can tell from the trailer, the plot details are still very much under wraps. Although Margot Robbie bears an uncanny resemblance to Sharon Tate, the actress murdered by the Manson family, the trailer suggests that the film will focus more on the tantalising duo of Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt. Leo, in his first role since his Oscar-winning performance in The Revenant, plays Rick Dalton, a once-successful TV actor, who alongside stunt-double Cliff Booth (Pitt), is aiming to make it in the final years of Hollywood’s Golden Age. The trailer showcases Tarantino’s unique stylistic tendencies, with some lush visuals, fitting music and witty dialogue certainly the highlights, as well as a glimpse of Mike Moh’s Bruce Lee in action with Pitt and Leo being told by a little girl that “that was the best acting I’ve ever seen in my whole life” – surely a tongue-in-cheek nod to the fine acting abilities of Mr DiCaprio.
Generally speaking, the reaction to the trailer has been overwhelmingly positive on social media (compared to the reception of the poster), certainly due to the fact that Tarantino is an accessible director for non-cinephiles and it features easily the best cast of the year. Alongside DiCaprio, Pitt and Margot Robbie, some other notable cast members include (hold your breath): Al Pacino, Dakota Fanning, Kurt Russell, Damian Lewis, Emile Hirsch, James Marsden, the late Luke Perry and of course, Tim Roth.
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is due to have its premiere at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival and should be landing in cinemas around July/August of this year.
Words by Elliott Jones