Earlier today I caught a second viewing of Once Upon A Time in Hollywood. Sometimes a re-submission to an exceptional film will yield extra depth or resonance, and sometimes not. I regret to say that this morning’s screening was a “not so much.”
All the little things in this film that vaguely bothered me (and there are dozens) that I waved away during the initial viewing became flat-out irksome or irritating. Even the crazy ending, which I was delighted by after yesterday afternoon’s showing, felt like less of a high.
I’m sorry to confess this. I was hoping for an uptick. Then again I spoke to a film critic friend who’d also caught it twice, and he felt exactly the opposite way. He liked it much more.
