‘Once Upon a Time in Hollywood’ Teaser Shows the Glitz of the Late 1960s

Once Upon A Time In Hollywood
The first trailer for Quentin Tarantino’s ninth film, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, showcases the glitzy nature of Tinseltown in 1969 without hinting at the darker elements of the film.

 

The past two days have prepared Tarantino fans with two posters. The first is focused on two original characters who will serve as the leads of the narrative. Leonardo DiCapro portrays a TV actor, while Brad Pitt portrays his stunt double. Together, the two go on an adventure to make a name for themselves in Hollywood:

 

 

The second poster showcases Margot Robbie as actress Sharon Tate:

 

 

And this is where Tarantino’s approach to the movie could get controversial. With the film being set in 1969 and the cast including Charles Manson and several members of his murderous cult, many have presumed that Tate’s horrific murder will end up being a plot point in the film. The first trailer, however, hints at none of that, in favor of showing off the glamor of Hollywood in the waning days of the 1960s. You can check it out below:

 

 

Mike Moh as Bruce Lee seems to be the standout performance here, as he not only can talk the talk (sounding just like the legendary martial artist himself), but he can also walk the walk with an impressive short fight with Pitt’s character. But it’s rather telling that they don’t even identify Robbie as Tate here, as if to avoid controversy.

 

Even with a potentially-problematic premise in mind, it’s also entirely possible that Tarantino may be going for an alternate history route. It’s generally been accepted that his films take place in a universe where historical events happened a lot more violently (for instance, Hitler was blasted to smithereens in a burning theater in 1944 instead of shooting himself in the head in 1945), and popular culture was affected as a result, resulting in a populace that’s even more desensitized to violence than we are. With that in mind, it seems like this might result in a story where Tate isn’t murdered; it’s worth noting that the film’s version of Tate does not appear to be pregnant, and that was part of the reason why she was murdered in real life.

 

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is set to release on July 26, 2019.