Tarantino delves into the Manson murders in the summer of '69 and reimagines the gory events we all know about via the imaginary characters of fading leading man Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his not very similar-looking stuntman, DIY guy and buddy-buddy Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt). It turns out that Rick lives one door down from the infamous house rented out that summer by Roman Polanski and his heavily pregnant wife Sharon Tate and the one to which Charles Manson ordered his blindly obedient followers to slaughter the inhabitants.

Yes, Tarantino gets to write his own ending which unsurprisingly offers up its own share of blood and gore (and flames!), but the film is a long time getting there and in truth is much more about his trying to evoke the period and lifestyles of the characters at his disposal, mixing in the real with the imaginary. So we get vignettes of stars around at the time, some unflattering, like Bruce Lee, acting the big boss, boasting about his martial arts abilities until Pitt's Cliff puts him on his behind and the radiant Miss Tate enjoying a day out in L. A. where she takes in her own movie, the very leery-looking Dean Martin Matt Helm vehicle "The Wrecking Crew". There are also cameo appearances by the likes of Steve McQueen and Roman Polanski, both of whom had connections to the real-life victims that terrible night.

However, it's through the invented characters of DiCaprio and Pitt that Tarantino really drives the story and gets to indulge his fascination with the era. We see DiCaprio's Dalton struggling to stop his career slide by taking parts as the "heavy" in a new TV western series and beefcake roles in cheap Italian movies, arranged for him by his florid new manager played by Al Pacino. Nevertheless, until his dramatic pyrotechnic entry at the climax, his character doesn't directly impact on the events leading up to the attack.

That's left to Pitt's likeable sidekick character who picks up a young Manson follower and drives her back to Spohn's farm, a one-time movie-lot where the now ancient owner has let Manson and his disciples take over the place in exchange for sexual favours from one of their number. In probably the best scenes of the film, we see Pitt confronted by the zombie-like gang as he checks up on the old man in a clear harbinger of things to come.

It goes without saying that Tarantino nails the reproduction of the period, with the cars, fashions, boulevards, buildings, music and in particular the pastiches of film and TV shows of the time. Rare to see a movie though, centring on the Manson Family, with nothing on the soundtrack by the Beatles, nor come to that Dylan, The Doors or Hendrix while the only Stones song inexplicably played was the then four year old "Out Of Time", especially when you consider that the group was well into its Satanic period by this time. Mind you, I am partial to a little Paul Revere and the Raiders from time to time.

So, for me, a curate's egg of a movie. I felt it was too long, self-indulgent and over-the-top especially at the finish but the acting and cinematography was good throughout, even if I didn't detect much of the sharp dialogue I'd normally expect from Tarantino.

I'll close by stating the obvious, that I do wish this alternative history was a true one...