Pitt and DiCaprio fill the big screen with great acting. Tarantino directs each scene carefully, making sure to sprinkle glowing visual details that evoke an ironic sense of rosy-glass nostalgia as the film plays out against the twisted backdrop of the Manson murders. Though using actual names and locations, Tarantino oddly chooses to change actual history. It's a bold choice, but the pay off is low. In fact, he may have gotten more traction with a fully fictionalized "Manson-like" intention.

Scene by scene, I love the direction and cinematography. The film has been criticized for the dialogue, but for the most part, I enjoyed that as well. And despite the loose Manson connection, the film is mostly light, fun and funny. Even the brutal scenes (and they are graphic), have a sense of humor. It's easy to imagine Tarantino laughing his head off while watching them.

That said, this whole is not greater than the sum of its parts. In fact, it is squarely all about the parts which are so good that even after nearly 3 hours you might not notice that the main characters have no arcs, nothing is learned, real victims of a serious crime were used as props, and a cohesive story feels secondary. (Best viewed with the confident half-smile of bemusement that comfortably resides on the face of Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt) during most of the adventure.)

-- Books by Author/Illustrator Ross Anthony --