Once Upon a Time...in Hollywood

Last night I finally had a chance to see Once Upon a Time...in Hollywood and it is absolutely brilliant!  It is a beautiful and almost meditative ode to a Hollywood that no longer exists and I loved it (I will definitely need to see it again).  In 1969, Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio) is an aging movie star, known mostly for his role in a 1950s TV show called Bounty Law, who has been reduced to making guest appearances on other TV shows and, eventually, to starring in spaghetti Westerns (and in a hilarious midcredits scene, he is further reduced to making commercials).  His stunt double Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt) has been reduced to driving Dalton around and doing odd jobs at his house in the Hollywood Hills.  Meanwhile, Sharon Tate (Margot Robbie), who lives next door to Dalton on Cielo Drive with her husband Roman Polanski (Rafal Zarwierucha), is an up-and-coming actress enjoying the attention she is receiving from her starring role in The Wrecking Crew.  Eventually, their worlds will collide with members of the Manson Family on the fateful night of August 8, 1969.  I loved so many things in this movie.  I loved the juxtaposition of the angst-filled Dalton who has an emotional breakdown after forgetting his lines with Tate and her unbridled joy when secretly watching herself on screen.  I loved the scene between the disillusioned Dalton and the earnest young Method actress (excuse me, actor) which prompts him to model his character on an "evil version of Hamlet" and deliver an outstanding performance.  I loved the party scene at the Playboy Mansion with fun cameos of current actors playing former Hollywood stars (my favorite is Damian Lewis as Steve McQueen).  I loved all of the long and sustained shots of characters driving around Hollywood with famous landmarks as they used to appear and period commercials blaring through the radios.  I loved the soundtrack, particularly a sultry cover of "California Dreamin'" by Jose Feliciano.  I loved the performances of both DiCaprio and Pitt who seem like they could have been genuine movie stars in the heyday of Hollywood’s golden era.  Finally, I loved the ending which will probably be very divisive but, to me, it represents the desire to go back to a simpler time before the innocence of the 1960s was irrevocably destroyed (I can't get the haunting final overhead shot out of my mind).  I loved this movie and I highly recommend it with the proviso that it is a Quentin Tarantino movie with the requisite violence and profanity.