If Once Upon a Time in Hollywood was made 10 years earlier.
Directed By: Paul Thomas Anderson
Plot[]
In February 1969, Hollywood actor Rick Dalton, the former star of the 1950s Western show, Bounty Law, copes with a fading career, his most recent roles being guest appearances as TV villains. Agent Marvin Schwarz advises him to make Spaghetti Westerns in Italy, which Dalton considers beneath him. Dalton's best friend, stunt double, personal assistant, and driver is Cliff Booth – a World War II veteran living in a trailer with his pit bull, Brandy. Booth struggles to find stunt work amid rumors he murdered his wife. Meanwhile, Dalton hopes to revive his career by befriending young actress Sharon Tate and her husband, director Roman Polanski, who live next door.
While fixing the TV antenna atop Dalton's roof, Booth notices a hippie man arriving at the Polanski residence. The man, Charles Manson, says he is looking for music producer Terry Melcher, who once lived there, but Tate's friend, Jay Sebring, turns him away.
Later, Booth gives a hitchhiker named "Pussycat" a ride to Spahn Ranch, a former Western film set where Booth did stunt work. Booth checks on octogenarian George Spahn, the ranch's nearly blind owner, making sure the hippies living there are not exploiting him. Spahn dismisses any concerns. After discovering his car's tire has been punctured, Booth physically forces ranch hippie "Clem" to change it. "Tex" is summoned to deal with the situation, but Booth is driving away when he arrives.
Schwarz books Dalton to star in Sergio Corbucci's Spaghetti Western Nebraska Jim. Booth accompanies Dalton to Italy for a six-month film shoot. Dalton films three additional movies there and marries Italian starlet, Francesca Capucci. Before returning to the US, Dalton tells Booth that he can no longer afford to pay him, which Booth amicably understands.
Returning to Los Angeles on August 8, 1969, Dalton and Booth go out drinking to commemorate their time together. Returning to Dalton's house, Booth smokes an LSD-laced cigarette and takes Brandy for a walk while Dalton makes margaritas. Manson's followers Tex, "Sadie", "Katie" and "Flowerchild" arrive to murder the Tate house occupants. Hearing a car's loud muffler, Dalton angrily orders the group off the private street. They retreat, then start arguing until Katie suddenly realizes that they just encountered Rick Dalton, the group's childhood idol. Sadie rationalizes that Hollywood "taught them to murder", therefore they should kill Hollywood people. The four decide to instead kill Dalton. Flowerchild has second thoughts and, pretending to fetch a weapon in the car, drives off, deserting them. Tex insists on carrying out the murderous plan, then hitch-hike home.
Breaking into Dalton's house, they confront Booth. Tex aims his pistol at Booth, who, high on the LSD, happily chats with the intruders, unsure if they are real. He then recognizes them from Spahn Ranch. When Tex cocks his pistol, Booth signals his dog, Brandy, to attack him. Sadie lunges at Booth with a knife, but he hurls a large dogfood can that smashes her face. He then has Brandy attack Sadie. An enraged Capucci expertly punches Katie then runs off screaming. Tex tries attacking Booth with a knife, but Booth easily kills him with hand combat. Katie tackles Booth, stabbing his hip. Booth repeatedly slams Katie's face against the walls and fireplace mantle, killing her. As Brandy mauls Sadie, she fires Tex's gun and Booth falls to the floor unconscious.
Blinded and screeching, Sadie crashes through a plate glass window and falls into the outdoor pool. Relaxing in the water while listening to music with headphones, Dalton has been oblivious to the indoor events. As Sadie thrashes in the water, screaming and wildly firing the pistol, Dalton retrieves a flamethrower, a functional prop retained from an earlier film. He incinerates Sadie in the pool. Police arrive as Booth regains consciousness. Dalton wants to accompany him to the hospital, but Booth insists he wait until the next day.
Sebring comes down the Tate driveway to see what happened. After Dalton explains, Tate, heard over the security intercom, invites Dalton to the house.
Cast[]
- Tom Cruise as Rick Dalton
- Kurt Russell as Cliff Booth
- Rachel McAdams as Sharon Tate
- Casey Affleck as Jay Sebring
- Mary Elizabeth Winstead as "Pussycat"
- Dennis Quaid as James Stacy
- Chloe Grace Moretz as Trudi Frazer
- Chris Evans as "Tex"
- Amanda Seyfried as "Squeaky"
- Peter Falk as George Spahn
- John Cho as Bruce Lee
- Tim Robbins as Wayne Maunder
- Greg Kinnear as Steve McQueen
- Robert Duvall as Marvin Schwarz
- David Straithairn as Sam Wanamaker
- Keri Russell as Abigail Folger
- Mathieu Amalric as Roman Polanski
- Vanessa Ferlito as Francesca Capucci
- Nikolaj Coster-Waldau as Wojciech Frykowski
- Sam Rockwell as Charlie
- Rashida Jones as "Gypsy"
- Emma Stone as "Katie"
- Kat Dennings as "Sadie"
- Ryan Phillippe as "Clem"
- Dakota Johnson as "Flowerchild"
- Kate Mara as "Lulu"
- Dianna Agron as "Snake"
- Phoebe Tonkin as "Blue"
- Neve Campbell as "Angel"
- Lucy Hale as "Froggie"
- Michael Stuhlbarg as Business Bob Gilbert
- Harrison Ford as Randy Miller and the Narrator
- Jennifer Jason Leigh as Janet Miller
- Jim Cummings as the voice of Bounty Law Promo Announcer
- Mickey Rourke as the Sheriff Hackett on Bounty Law
Rating[]
Rated R.