Prapi's portrayal of the sadness of the old man will have you laughing and crying.
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
I saw this movie without much thought when it was released in theaters, but while I laughed out loud throughout, I also felt tears welling up in my eyes as I felt the loneliness of middle age. I realized that in 2023, when I turn 60, I'll be the same age as Brad Pitt. Looking at his character Cliff from that perspective, he's a stuntman who lives in the glittering world of Hollywood but doesn't see the light of day, and he exudes the perfect sense of a useless old man. I couldn't help but feel amused and at the same time empathetic.
I felt this especially in the scene where Cliff is confronted by a young woman in a car. The mood is right and she is trying to woo him, but if you think about it, it's a trap set for her, like a pyramid scheme solicitation. Of course, Cliff is playing the game, knowing that there's no way she'll actually woo someone like him.
Similarly, the scene where Rick, a former star actor played by DiCaprio, drinks a margarita alone by the pool is incredibly uncool and melancholic. Cliff and Rick's loneliness is funny, but at the same time, I felt sadness at the distance between the uncle and society.
As we get older, we realize that there is a dark world behind the glamorous world, and we are able to look at things from a more objective perspective, seeing the good and bad sides of things. The 1960s American culture depicted in this film was something I admired in my youth, but it also gives us a glimpse of a dark side that is not just cool. This film is deeply moving as it explores the changes in your own perceptions.
