Man did I screw this one up.
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is an exceptionally Tarantino movie. In fact, it might be the most Tarantino movie. The man has been making movies about old Hollywood for his entire career, and that passion for old movies is one of the things I love about Tarantino’s filmography. However, whereas most of his films explore this angle by means of homage, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood instead is more of a fairy tale about a specific bit of Old Hollywood lore. The movie does not just expect its audience to know this bit of lore: it demands it. Aggressively. And if that meta knowledge isn’t there, then I’m not sure one can say that the movie actually works that well on its own.
And unfortunately, I did not have this knowledge.