There are plenty of reasons Quentin Tarantino is considered among the best directors in the world. Not one to stick to “safe” films, Tarantino’s work often offers unique stories, debatable plot, and his heroes are complex, layered characters that only the best of the best can perform (his talent roster includes Leonardo DiCaprio, Samuel L Jackson, Steve Buscemi, Uma Thurman, Christoph Waltz, just to name a few). Ever since he made his debut in 1992 with Reservoir Dogs, Tarantino has been a director to not take your eyes from. 

Once Upon A Time In Hollywood is the latest addition to the controversial director’s roster. Tarantino’s ninth film stars Academy Award winners DiCaprio and Brad Pitt as TV star Rick Dalton (DiCaprio) and his stuntman, Cliff Booth (Pitt), wading through a Hollywood that has seemed to have left them behind. Rick is concerned and afraid as he contemplates his next move as his star is quickly dimming, and Cliff, though his fate is tied to Rick’s, takes everything in stride. Spanning a day in the life of both men, as well as Dalton’s next-door neighbor Sharon Tate (Margot Robbie) the fairy tale of sorts features gorgeous shots of the Hollywood of old: lit-up marquees, cigarette smoke everywhere, and a practically empty Los Angeles freeway (which is, to any Angeleno, is the biggest indication that this is a fairy tale). 

The film is by far one of Tarantino’s most reflective and self-indulgent films to date. A love letter to the city that built him, Once Upon A Time In Hollywood is packed with themes from analyzing different Hollywood archetypes to the preservation of a dying art form in a changing society. There are several reasons to fall in love with this film, but here are three reasons why you absolutely have to see it.

1. The Stellar Cast

Though Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt are both critically acclaimed A-list actors, this marks the first time they have ever worked together. DiCaprio and Pitt are both enormously talented actors and watching them play off each other with chemistry that seems like they have been friends forever is a delight. Margot Robbie is also a stand-out for her performance as Sharon Tate, the doomed pregnant wife of director Roman Polanski. It’s through Tate that the film delivers the dreamy quality of Tinsel Town that has enchanted so many over the years. The way Robbie’s eyes delight like a child’s when she sees her name on a movie poster, or the way she carries herself in a walk that embodies a daydream, Robbie’s charisma shines through in every scene she’s in.

The supporting cast itself reads like the who’s who of Hollywood: Kurt Russell, Al Pacino, Dakota Fanning, Lena Dunham, Timothy Olyphant, and more. Each portraying someone who actually existed, each adding their own unique flair to roles that could easily fall by the wayside if not handled with skill and talent. Two standouts to watch: Margaret Qually as Pussycat and Mike Moh as Bruce Lee. Qually gives a spin on the manic-pixie girl trope you don’t expect and Moh radiates swagger and skill. 

2. The Layers Hidden In A Fairy Tale

Yes, Once Upon A Time In Hollywood is very much a Tarantino film, and you will absolutely get what you expect from a Tarantino movie. However, the film is above all else, a fairy tale. I won’t spoil anything for you, but as the film plays, it’s more and more evident that it’s not just any story, it’s a myth. There’s a feeling that this happened in a time long ago, there are heroes and villains (even in the films within the film), Hollywood royalty, and an ending that only happens in fairy tales. 

However, this is also Tarantino’s most reflective film to date. It offers a look into the psyche of someone who not only loves Hollywood but is wondering who he is and his purpose in a Hollywood that is slowly killing original films, worships big explosions and superheroes, CGI, and bombastic storylines. At times, Rick speaks for Tarantino himself, and others, you can see Tarantino in Cliff, despite how different both characters may be. And yet, with other parts of the story, it’s more like Tarantino waxing nostalgic of the Hollywood that birthed him but doing so with a modern eye. The way each character is an exaggerated version of a specific “type,” particularly in scenes where Rick is on set, like the new “it” guy, the precocious child actor, the stereotyping/brown facing of Latinx actors of the era, and the schmoozing director, is Tarantino’s way of both an homage and an analysis. And that’s only scratching the surface of the many layers it contains. 

3. Gorgeous Production Design Immerses You In Bygone Hollywood

Hats off to production designer Barbara Ling because re-creating the Los Angeles that existed forty years ago, with any believability, is a huge undertaking that she navigated successfully. Los Angeles is a city unlike any other – it’s vast, diverse in its people and landscape, and it’s constantly evolving. Ling not only captured the look of Los Angeles in 1969, but generated the feeling that existed at the time by certain designs or featured buildings like Musso & Franks’s, El Coyote, and even a drive-in in the middle of the Valley that I grew up living two blocks away from. 

For the fans of old Hollywood, there are plenty of Easter eggs to find and devour. Old movie posters, the sounds of the radio with original radio voices of that era, and the cars, the gorgeous cars that paved the streets of Hollywood. Just to catch all the homages to Hollywood, you’ll have to see the film multiple times. 

Tarantino has famously said he would only make ten movies, and since he recently came out stating that he believes his Kill Bill films are technically just one long movie, that means that Once Upon A Time In Hollywood is his penultimate film…

Once Upon A Time In Hollywood is in theaters this weekend.