Quentin Tarantino’s new film Once Upon a Time … in Hollywood had its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival on Tuesday, and some members of the audience walked away with a few questions. Specifically, why didn’t actress Margot Robbie have many speaking lines?
The film, which revolves around Hollywood during the Manson Family era and the August 1969 murder of the actress Sharon Tate, who Robbie plays, runs 2 hours and 40 minutes. However, according to Vulture, the Oscar-winning actress “has relatively few lines of dialogue in the film… Robbie’s character is often pointedly silent in the film, even during some of her key scenes.”
The silence is pointed enough that New York Times reporter Farah Nayeri took a moment at a press conference to ask the actor and director about what “must have been a deliberate choice.” Tarantino was not having it, though. “I just reject your hypotheses,” he replied, and according to the reporter, “said no more.”
Robbie gave a more diplomatic and longer response, telling the reporter that, “I think the moments that I got onscreen gave an opportunity to honor Sharon and her lightness. I don’t think it was intended to delve deeper.”
The film, which also stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Brad Pitt, has otherwise been well-received by critics.
See her full response below.
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