As with every Tarantino film, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is rich with storytelling
depth and meaning, especially as the film reaches its climax.
Now that the movie's out, it's time to dig deep into the ending.
Let's get the biggest development of the ending out of the way: Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
is a movie in which the Manson family murders didn't happen the way they did in real life.
It's clear from Cliff's visit to the Spahn Movie Ranch that Charles Manson's commune
is up to something devious, but when it comes time to commit the infamous murders on Cielo
Drive on the night of August 8th, historical fact gives way to fiction.
One drug-fueled decision to change plans and try to murder Rick Dalton creates a ripple
effect.
Sharon Tate and her friends survive that night, and three key members of Manson's family do
not.
Though the film ends before it can explore the full extent of this ripple effect, it's
safe to assume that the black cloud created by the Manson murders in 1969 was changed
in a number of key ways.
Joan Didion famously wrote that the night Sharon Tate died was the night the 1960s ended.
The decade was about to end anyway, but perhaps Rick and Cliff's acts of self-defense were
enough to keep the feeling of the 1960s alive in Hollywood for at least a little longer.
The last shot of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood shows us Rick, having torched Susan Atkins
in his pool during the attack on his house, being invited up to Sharon Tate's home for
drinks.
It's the realization of a fantasy Rick has been nurturing ever since he figured out that
the hottest director in town, Roman Polanski, and his rising star wife were his neighbors.
To Rick, they're the people who can get him into all the best Hollywood circles, the people
who can resurrect his struggling career.
The film offers us no promises as to what lies in store for Rick's professional life
going forward, but within minutes of meeting Jay Sebring, he's already bragging about the
night's events.
At worst, he's going to become a hit at various Hollywood parties for a while.
At best, Rick could end up with everything from a role in Polanski's next film to a brand
new TV series.
Even though Rick gets to brag about the events, Cliff takes the brunt of the Manson Family's
attack, which includes some bumps, bruises, and a knife embedded in his hip.
Still, he's cheerful as the ambulance takes him away, promising Rick that he'll live to
fight another day.
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood establishes early on that Cliff's reputation is in the
gutter since he likely had a hand in his wife's suspicious death.
It's hard to believe everyone would forget about that because he fought off attackers
at Rick's house.
If anything, it will likely add to his reputation as a violent man in some circles.
However, in other circles, it could also speak to his reputation as a badass with a long
career in stunt work.
Maybe retellings of the event will help make people like Randy more open to Cliff's whole
"vibe."
"I don't dig him.
And I don't dig the vibe he brings to the set."
The bedrock of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is ultimately the friendship between Cliff
and Rick, something which ends up transcending any dynamic as simple as leading man and stunt
double.
These men are in some ways closer than brothers, and that relationship is the throughline that
carries the film.
In the final minutes of the film, it's very clear that Rick feels indebted to Cliff for
saving his life.
No matter what happens from this point on, Cliff and Rick are stronger and closer than
ever.
At the time of her death, Sharon Tate's acting career consisted of only a handful of film
roles and a few stints on TV, most notably a recurring role on The Beverly Hillbillies.
Still, as Once Upon A Time In…
Hollywood shows, she was a talented actor with a bright future.
It's impossible to guess what Sharon Tate's full professional future would hold in a world
in which she's still alive, Once Upon A Time seems to hint that the best is still to come
for Tate.
It's this bittersweet notion, a world in which Tate is allowed to live on, that most sticks
with you as you leave the theater.
Because of the mythology that's sprung up around her in death, the potential life she
never got to have carries even more weight.
Even before the Manson family begins its attack at the end of the film, there are plenty of
key differences that establish the alternate universe in which the film takes place.
The biggest difference is obviously that the Tate murders never take place, but the historical
discrepancies throughout the film establish that the world is changed even before that
crime is avoided.
What else changes in this new timeline Tarantino has established, one in which Tate doesn't
die and Polanski doesn't come home to a crime scene?
What does Joan Didion write about if not the Manson murders and subsequent trial?
Does Bruce Lee, whose legend also looms large in the film, somehow also get to survive his
own tragic early death just four years later?
Do the Beatles ever learn about Manson's strange interpretation of their lyrics?
"Uh, I don't know.”
Check out one of our newest videos right here!
Plus, even more Looper videos about your favorite movies are coming soon.
Subscribe to our YouTube channel and hit the bell so you don't miss a single one.