Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

What is it?

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood follows aging actor Rick Dalton, former star of a popular 1950s Western television series. It is 8 February 1969. Rick’s best friend and stunt double, Cliff Booth, drives Rick around and relies on him for work due to rumours that he killed his wife. Rick finds that his cultural capital is diminishing and he struggles to find meaningful work for himself. When Roman Polanski and Sharon Tate move into the house next door, Rick dreams of befriending them to restore his status. This story is set against the backdrop of the “Tate murders” committed by followers of serial killer Charles Manson.

What to expect

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is a well-paced but long film that pays homage and draws from old Western films and television series, as well as vintage film and television more generally, to recursively look at the role violence plays in entertainment media. The publication has artistic and cultural merit associated with the technical strength of the film, and as a film by a notorious and popular director. While the length and style of the film (long scenes of dialogue with minimal action) may moderate its more impactful scenes, their intensity means that the film still warrants restriction. The intense and graphic depictions of violence, in particular, are likely to shock and disturb children and younger teenagers. The film treats violence as entertainment, and while this is contextualised as such through the lens of media history, the depictions are still likely to inure younger viewers to violence and its consequences more generally. The frequent use of highly offensive language, frank sexual discussion, and inclusion of drug use in the film also indicates a mature intended audience.