Quentin Tarantino has a reputation for blood. Lots of it. People usually walk into his movies expecting a high body count and snappy, rapid-fire dialogue that sounds like a jukebox on steroids. But Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is different. It’s slower. It meanders. Honestly, it’s basically a "vibe" movie before that term became a TikTok cliché.
If you watched it expecting John Wick in the 1960s, you probably walked away confused. This isn't a movie about a plot; it's a movie about a feeling. It captures the exact moment the Golden Age of Hollywood started to rot.
The Rick Dalton Struggle is Real
Rick Dalton is a mess. Leonardo DiCaprio plays him with this frantic, insecure energy that feels painfully human. He’s a guy who was almost a movie star but ended up as the "heavy" on weekly TV shows. You know the type. The guy who gets beat up by the new, younger lead to make the new guy look cool.
It’s a specific kind of heartbreak.
Tarantino uses Rick to show the industry's cruelty. One day you’re the leading man in Bounty Law, the next you’re wearing a fake mustache and a carpet-thick Italian accent in a spaghetti western you don't even want to be in. The scene where Rick flubs his lines on the set of Lancer and then has a total meltdown in his trailer? That’s some of the best acting DiCaprio has ever done. It’s raw. It's embarrassing. It’s real.
Then there’s Cliff Booth.
Brad Pitt’s Cliff is the polar opposite. He’s cool. Maybe too cool. He lives in a trailer behind a drive-in theater with his dog, Brandy, and he’s seemingly fine with it. There’s a dark undercurrent there, though. The rumors about his wife. The fact that he’s basically Rick’s driver, handyman, and therapist all rolled into one. He represents a type of masculinity that was already fading by 1969—the silent, capable stuntman who doesn't need the spotlight.
That Bruce Lee Scene Everyone Hates
Let's talk about the elephant in the room. The Bruce Lee fight.
A lot of people were mad about how Mike Moh’s Bruce Lee was portrayed as an arrogant blowhard who gets slammed into a car door by Cliff. Even Shannon Lee, Bruce’s daughter, was vocally upset about it. And yeah, it’s uncomfortable. But here’s the thing: we’re seeing Bruce through the eyes of the Hollywood stunt community of that era.
To guys like Cliff Booth, Bruce Lee was an interloper. He was a "new" kind of star that threatened the old guard's way of doing things. Tarantino isn't necessarily saying "this is exactly who Bruce Lee was." He's showing us the friction between the old Hollywood stuntmen and the new wave of martial arts cinema. It’s a stylistic choice, even if it’s a controversial one.
Sharon Tate and the Power of Being
Margot Robbie doesn't have many lines. This was a huge talking point when the movie dropped. People did word counts. They complained she was sidelined.
But they missed the point.
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In Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Sharon Tate isn't a character in a traditional narrative sense. She’s a presence. She’s the light. While Rick is crying about his career and Cliff is feeding his dog, Sharon is just living. The scene where she goes into a theater to watch her own movie, The Wrecking Crew, is the heart of the entire film. She’s just happy to hear the audience laugh at her jokes. It’s incredibly tragic because we, the audience, know what happened in real life on Cielo Drive.
Tarantino is giving her back her life. He’s letting her be a person, not a victim.
Spahn Ranch and the Creeping Dread
The movie shifts gears hard when Cliff drives Pussycat (Margaret Qualley) out to Spahn Ranch. Suddenly, the sunny 1960s vibe turns into a horror movie. The way the "family" members just stand there, staring. The dirt. The flies. The eerie silence of George Spahn’s house.
It’s a masterclass in tension.
You realize that while Rick and Cliff are worried about their relevance, there is a literal poison growing in the hills. The Manson cult represents the end of the "Peace and Love" era. They are the shadows creeping into the frame. When Cliff finally forces his way in to see George (Bruce Dern), the relief is palpable, but the dread stays. You know they're coming back.
Rewriting the 1960s
The ending is where Tarantino does his "historical fan fiction" thing again, much like he did in Inglourious Basterds.
Spoiler alert for a six-year-old movie: He saves her.
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Instead of the Manson followers going to Sharon Tate’s house, they get distracted by Rick Dalton yelling at them in the street. They decide to kill the "TV actors" instead. It turns into a chaotic, violent, and strangely hilarious showdown involving a pit bull, a can of dog food, and a literal flamethrower.
It’s wish fulfillment.
By having Rick and Cliff kill the intruders, Tarantino creates an alternate universe where the 60s didn't end in a bloody mess. The final shot—the gates opening and Rick finally getting invited up to Sharon’s house—is beautiful. He finally made it to the "inner circle," but only because he survived the nightmare.
Why the Details Matter
Tarantino is obsessed with the minutiae of the era. The radio ads. The posters. The way the neon signs buzz as they flicker on at sunset. To get the most out of this movie, you have to stop looking for the plot and start looking at the world-building.
- The Soundtrack: It’s not just "hits." It’s a curated stream of KHJ Radio from 1969.
- The Cars: Every vehicle was chosen to reflect the character's status (or lack thereof).
- The Locations: Musso & Frank Grill isn't a set; it’s the real deal, a Hollywood staple since 1919.
What You Should Take Away
If you want to truly appreciate Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, you have to watch it as a eulogy. It’s a love letter to a version of Los Angeles that doesn't exist anymore. It’s about the fear of becoming obsolete and the hope that, maybe, things could have turned out differently.
Next Steps for the Cinephile:
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- Watch the movies Rick Dalton "starred" in: Check out real 60s westerns like The Great Silence or Navajo Joe to see where Tarantino got the inspiration for Rick's Italian phase.
- Read "Five Came Back": If you're interested in how Hollywood changed during this era, this book by Mark Harris is the gold standard.
- Listen to the soundtrack on vinyl: It’s designed to be heard with the crackle of the era, including the original radio bumpers.
- Re-watch the "Lancer" scenes: Look at how Timothy Olyphant plays the "real" star versus how DiCaprio plays the "fading" star. The contrast is a masterclass in acting styles.
Ultimately, the film asks us to remember the 60s not just for the tragedy that ended them, but for the messy, vibrant, and desperate people who were just trying to make it in the movies. It’s a long sit, sure. But it’s a world worth getting lost in.