--- title: "Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/once-upon-a-time-in-hollywood/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/once-upon-a-time-in-hollywood" critics_score: 85 critics_reviews: 12 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood (2019): what the critics said Critics' score 85 from 12 reviews: 9 positive, 3 mixed, 0 negative. Most critics like it, and a good number like it a great deal. The praise clusters around two things: Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt, whose easy chemistry as a fading television actor and his stunt double comes up in nearly every review, and the recreation of 1969 Los Angeles, from the production design down to the music choices. Many describe it as Tarantino’s most relaxed and mature film, a hangout picture rather than a plot, and several rank it alongside his strongest work. The reservations are about length and shape. Even admirers call it baggy, indulgent and slow in patches, and a few feel the final third’s lurch into violence breaks the mood the rest of the film has built; The Playlist puts it in exactly those terms. The Guardian and The Ringer go further, faulting how the film treats its women and the Manson history it rewrites. The spread runs from lukewarm to rapturous, with no review outright negative. ## Evening Standard — David Sexton Rating 5/5. 22 May 2019. Festival review. The film is a leisurely, enjoyable homage to old Hollywood with wonderful performances, amazing period detail and sensational violence in the finale, serving as an extraordinary career summation even if not a career best. [Read the review](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/cannes-2019-once-upon-a-time-in-hollywood-review-a-sensationally-violent-extraordinary-career-summation-a4142946.html) ## Radio Times — Terry Staunton Rating 5/5. 30 July 2019. Tarantino fires on all cylinders in this playful and daring Tinseltown tale that is arguably the most character-driven entry in his CV. The critic singles out the standout performances, especially DiCaprio as the declining star, and the visual splendour for praise. [Read the review](https://www.radiotimes.com/movies/once-upon-a-time-in-hollywood-review-quentin-tarantino-brad-pitt-leonardo-dicaprio-margot-robbie/) ## The Times — Kevin Maher Rating ★★★★★. 15 August 2019. Quentin Tarantino has made his masterpiece, a monumental leap ahead of his recent work that is better than Pulp Fiction. It praises the sun-kissed evocation of 1969 Hollywood, meticulous production design and the film’s deeper themes around violence and cinematic dreams. [Read the review](https://www.thetimes.com/culture/film/article/once-upon-a-time-in-hollywood-review-love-letter-to-cinema-is-a-masterpiece-pk9v2tpx8) ## The Guardian — Peter Bradshaw Fi1m's normalised score 60/100 (inferred from the text). 18 August 2019. The director’s love letter to 1960s Hollywood, where all women are stereotypes and white men the real victims, disturbs and dazzles in equal measure. It praises the meticulous period details, music choices and cinematography while faulting the baggy structure, indulgences and provocative handling of certain themes. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2019/aug/18/once-upon-a-time-in-hollywood-review-quentin-tarantino-leonardo-dicaprio-brad-pitt) ## Empire — Ian Freer 25 July 2019. The film is a likeable buddy movie with brilliant performances and gorgeous filmmaking that celebrates Tarantino's obsessions, but it lacks the zip and intensity of his best work and feels more mature and less showy. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/once-upon-a-time-in-hollywood-2/) ## Screen Daily 21 May 2019. Festival review. The critic calls the film funny, revisionist and unexpectedly warm-hearted, with terrific performances from Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio that give it wider appeal. It praises the beautiful craft and real affection for Los Angeles of the director's youth. [Read the review](https://www.screendaily.com/reviews/once-upon-a-time--in-hollywood-cannes-review/5139676.article) ## Sight and Sound — Adam Nayman 13 August 2019. The critic finds the film an always watchable and at times intensely enjoyable auteurist excursion that indulges in nostalgic fetishes and liberties with history. It praises the luminous recreation of late-1960s Hollywood but notes the film leaves less of a residue than its predecessors. [Read the review](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/once-upon-time-hollywood-review-quentin-tarantino-unleashes-his-nostalgic-fetishes) ## The Hollywood Reporter — David Rooney 21 May 2019. Festival review. The film is uneven and unwieldy in structure with some flat patches, but it is a disarming and subversive love letter to late-1960s Hollywood that lovingly recreates the era while rewriting the traumatic Manson episode. [Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-reviews/once-upon-a-time-in-hollywood-cannes-2019-1212805/) ## The New York Times — A.O. Scott Rating Critic’s Pick. 24 July 2019. The film is Tarantino’s most relaxed movie, a hangout buddy picture about two mid-level entertainment workers in 1969 Los Angeles. It overflows with love for movies, TV, and period details while centering the friendship between Rick Dalton and Cliff Booth. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/24/movies/once-upon-a-time-in-hollywood-review.html) ## Total Film 25 July 2019. Tarantino’s most heartfelt and emotionally mature work since Jackie Brown. [Read the review](https://www.gamesradar.com/once-upon-a-time-in-hollywood-review/) ## Vulture — Bilge Ebiri 26 July 2019. The film is a seductive, ramshackle '60s pastiche and pipe dream that celebrates recreating and rewriting the past, with strong performances from DiCaprio and Pitt and a brilliant, euphoric climax. [Read the review](https://www.vulture.com/2019/07/once-upon-a-time-in-hollywood-review-quentin-tarantino.html) ## Den of Geek — Lou Thomas Rating 5/5. 13 August 2019. The critic calls it a brilliant, borderline masterpiece and Tarantino’s best since Jackie Brown. They single out the hangout-movie vibe, stellar performances (especially DiCaprio, Pitt and Robbie), and loving recreation of 1969 Hollywood for praise. [Read the review](https://www.denofgeek.com/movies/once-upon-a-time-in-hollywood-review-a-storming-tinseltown-fairytale/) ## /Film — Jason Gorber Rating 9.5/10. 21 May 2019. Festival review. Tarantino has made a profound, silly, and sublime masterwork that imagines an alternate outcome for the Manson murders while evoking the societal changes of the late 1960s. The film is praised for its magnificent lead performances by DiCaprio and Pitt, stunning production design, and rich thematic exploration of Hollywood mythmaking. [Read the review](https://www.slashfilm.com/566577/once-upon-a-time-in-hollywood-review/) ## Deadline — Pete Hammond Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 23 July 2019. The critic calls it Tarantino’s most personal and best film, a love letter to 1960s Los Angeles centered on friendship and loyalty between DiCaprio and Pitt’s characters. They single out the strong performances, especially from the leads, and the meticulous recreation of the era. [Read the review](https://deadline.com/video/once-upon-a-time-in-hollywood-review-quentin-tarantino-leonardo-dicaprio-brad-pitt-margot-robbie/) ## NME — Greg Wetherall Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 22 May 2019. Festival review. The critic calls it Tarantino’s most satisfying and well-rounded work in decades, with maturity, emotional investment, and thrilling set pieces. They single out the chemistry between Pitt and DiCaprio and the exhilarating final third for praise. [Read the review](https://www.nme.com/reviews/upon-time-hollywood-film-review-tarantinos-satisfying-work-decades-2491225) ## The Wrap — Steve Pond Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 23 July 2019. The critic describes the film as big, brash, ridiculous, too long, and ultimately invigorating, a playful homage to 1960s pop culture and Hollywood. They praise the chemistry between DiCaprio and Pitt and the film's contemplative take on a director's place in a changing industry. [Read the review](https://www.thewrap.com/once-upon-a-time-in-hollywood-film-review-quentin-tarantino-leonardo-dicaprio-brad-pitt/) ## The Playlist — Guy Lodge Rating B. 21 May 2019. Festival review. The film is Tarantino's most fluid and luxuriously entertaining work in years, a gorgeously lacquered hangout movie full of nostalgia for 1960s LA and strong chemistry between DiCaprio and Pitt. It is ultimately disrupted in its final third by a berserk shift that breaks the woozy spell and introduces ideas of toxic masculinity and heroism. [Read the review](https://theplaylist.net/once-upon-time-in-hollywood-cannes-review-20190521/) ## The Ringer — Lindsay Zoladz Fi1m's normalised score 65/100 (inferred from the text). 29 July 2019. The critic views the film primarily as a nostalgic, loose hangout bromance centered on the charming, offbeat chemistry between DiCaprio and Pitt as Rick and Cliff. It praises the detailed recreation of late-’60s LA and the revisionist fantasy elements but notes the film skirts tougher questions about violence against women and Hollywood history. [Read the review](https://www.theringer.com/2019/07/29/movies/once-upon-a-time-in-hollywood-review-quentin-tarantino) ## Digital Spy — Ian Sandwell Fi1m's normalised score 60/100 (inferred from the text). 14 August 2019. The review describes the film as a sprawling, indulgent ode to a Golden Age that is overlong and meandering yet lovingly crafted and brilliantly acted. It singles out the strong DiCaprio-Pitt chemistry and period detail for praise while noting the weaker Manson subplot and pacing issues as drawbacks. [Read the review](https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a28536552/once-upon-a-time-in-hollywood-review-quentin-tarantino/) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/once-upon-a-time-in-hollywood.md