For Tarantino Fans

I'm super-excited for "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood," which opens tomorrow. A few thoughts:

*This movie tells--partly--the story of Sharon Tate. Ms. Tate was married to Roman Polanski and nurturing a young film career when Charles Manson's minions murdered her. Hollywood in the sixties seems to be a special obsession of Tarantino's--dating to childhood--and I'm pleased he's exploring it here. (John McPhee says, "If the thing didn't interest you in your teens, it's never going to be a great subject for you to write about.")

*How strange to blend real and fictional characters. Like "Ragtime." DiCaprio and Pitt are playing fake people, but they will be in the company of Tate and Polanski, among others.

*Acting is about gestures. "Lightning in a bottle" is when a performer does something surprising and real, on camera. I'm obsessed with one Margot Robbie moment in the trailer. She says, "I play Mia--the klutz." And on the word "klutz," she rolls her eyes in an indulgent and exasperated way. It's like she is coaching her audience on how she would like to be "received." I could watch the eye-roll a million times. Spontaneous and weirdly charming. Tarantino was right to capitalize on that.

We'll know more tomorrow! How nice to have a buzzy movie in a fairly mediocre season....

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