I said Jackie Brown was my favorite Tarantino film, but I might have to change that to Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. It’s incredibly hard to truly make a film feel like another time — with all the requisite foreignness and the lack of assumptions we hold today. Quentin does that effortlessly in Once. I can count on one hand the other films that manage this.
Also, the entire cast is so incredibly good throughout. Margaret Qualley, though, just blazes on the screen like the tail of a close comet on a moonless night. She has more charisma than should be allowed by law.
Quentin’s magic power is getting the very most out of his cast. Very few directors seem quite able to pull that off. He takes actors who are mediocre elsewhere and just lets them (makes them?) shine.
Just such a good goddamn film.