It’s the summer of ’69,
California is hot (DiCaprio and Pitt are hotter), and Tarantino has outdone
himself yet again with his ninth film, Once
Upon a Time in…Hollywood. The Golden Age of Hollywood is coming to a close
and DiCaprio’s Rick Dalton is feeling the pressure of aging out of his prime
while living next door to Sharon Tate, the image of youth and at the peak of
her career. Although the most foot-filled installment yet, Tarantino does do a
great job of melding genres as he always does, shifting from action to comedy
to pseudo-historical fiction. He lets his characters drive and define the
narrative and Leonardo DiCaprio’s Rick Dalton is a wonder to watch navigate his
surroundings with his trusty stunt double, Brad Pitt’s Cliff Booth. After you
settle down from the absolute shock of the final scenes (no spoilers), cozy in
and pick up these reads to bring you back to that Hollywood high.
This post was originally published on GetLiterary.com.