Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood (2019)

Tarantino builds a love letter to Hollywood of 1969, using as a canvas the real story of the Manson family murders to weave a fantasy of belated heroism. Rick Dalton and Cliff Booth are the axis of a meditation on friendship, loyalty, and obsolescence in an industry that changes without mercy. The film operates on two registers: for two hours it is a nostalgic, almost elegiac, portrait of an era; in the climax, it explodes into the director's characteristic violence. The protagonists confront the members of the Manson family in a brutal sequence that includes savage blows, a flamethrower, and abundant blood. The language is crude and frequent, typical of the filmmaker's style. The historical revision of the ending (Sharon Tate survives in this version) is pure cinematic fantasy, not ideological engineering. There is no deconstructive agenda nor disruptive messages: it is entertainment for adults that celebrates classic cinema and camaraderie. The violence of the ending and the strong language make it unsuitable for minors, but there are no deeper alerts.