Once upon a Time... in Hollywood

Quentin Tarantino returns to the Los Angeles of Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction for a thrill-packed and witty love letter to a showbiz world undergoing seismic change. Over three days in 1969 (a weekend in February, and one portentous night in August), fading TV western star Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio) struggles with the reduced circumstances caused by his dwindling fame, a decline in fortunes that also affects his stunt double and now gofer Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt), while Sharon Tate (Margot Robbie), an actress on the verge of the A-list, looks forward to brighter times in both her career and marriage to lauded director Roman Polanski (Rafal Zawierucha). Mention of those names might suggest a drama centred on the Manson family, but while Charlie and his terrifying acolytes play their part, they're only one component of an audacious, surprising and mind-bending narrative that sees Tarantino firing on all cylinders. All three leads are on scintillating form, and there are memorable cameos from Al Pacino and Bruce Dern.