Los Angeles in 1969 is the real star of Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood, Quentin Tarantino's long, unhurried portrait of a film town in the middle of changing its skin. Released in 2019, it follows a fading television actor and the stuntman who is his closest friend as the industry they know slips away from them.
What is Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood about?
Rick Dalton made his name in television westerns, and that name is losing its value. Work is harder to come by, the parts are smaller, and he is frightened of becoming a relic. Cliff Booth, his stunt double and best friend, stays at his side and keeps him steady, with fewer prospects of his own and far less worry about it. While the two men try to stay afloat in a business that is reinventing itself around them, new neighbours have moved in next door to Dalton: the rising actress and model Sharon Tate and her husband, the celebrated Polish director Roman Polanski, newly married. Old Hollywood and new Hollywood now share a driveway, and the story drifts between them over a handful of days.
About the cast
Leonardo DiCaprio, Brad Pitt and Margot Robbie head the cast. Around them are Emile Hirsch, Margaret Qualley, Timothy Olyphant, Julia Butters and Austin Butler, an ensemble deep enough that familiar faces turn up in almost every scene. Tarantino directs, and the film carries his usual trademarks: long conversations, a love of period detail and an encyclopedic affection for the films and television of the era.
Context & significance
At 162 minutes this is a film that takes its time. It is listed as a drama, a comedy and a thriller, and it moves between all three, spending long stretches simply watching its characters work, drive and wait before tension gathers. The setting matters as much as the plot: 1969 marks a moment when the studio-era star system and the television western were giving way to something younger. The production is credited to the United States, the United Kingdom and China.
Watching Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood on Ktime
Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood is part of the K-Time catalogue. Anyone can read this page; to start watching, sign in with a K-Time account. K-Time is a streaming service made for the Iranian diaspora, with a Farsi interface for browsing and search.