Quentin Tarantino loves a good fairy tale. You can tell by the title. Most people walked into the theater in 2019 expecting a bloodbath, and while they eventually got one, they also got a two-and-a-half-hour hangout session with a fading cowboy and his stuntman. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood isn't just a period piece. It’s a vivid, loud, neon-soaked fever dream about a version of 1969 that didn't actually happen, but really should have.
It's weird.
Rick Dalton is a mess. Played by Leonardo DiCaprio with a stutter and a constant sense of impending doom, Rick is a man watching his relevance evaporate in real-time. He’s the guy who used to be the lead, but now he’s the guest star who gets beat up by the new young hotshot to show how "tough" the new guy is. It’s brutal. Honestly, watching Rick breakdown in his trailer because he forgot his lines is one of the most human things Tarantino has ever filmed.
The Rick Dalton and Cliff Booth Dynamic
The movie centers on the relationship between Rick and his stunt double, Cliff Booth. Brad Pitt plays Cliff with this terrifyingly relaxed energy. He’s the kind of guy who can kill you with a soup can but prefers to just drive his Boss Mustang through the hills of Los Angeles while eating celery.
They’re a duo. Rick is the ego; Cliff is the spine.
What most people miss is that Cliff isn't just an employee. He’s Rick's "more than a brother and a little less than a wife," as the narration puts it. In the late 60s, the studio system was dying. The old guard—men like Rick who grew up in the black-and-white era of TV westerns—were being pushed out by the "hippie" generation. Cliff is the only thing keeping Rick grounded. While Rick is crying over his career in a poolside lounge chair, Cliff is fixing his roof and living in a trailer behind a drive-in theater with a very well-trained pit bull named Brandy.
It’s a bizarrely touching friendship.
The Sharon Tate Factor and the Weight of History
This is where the movie gets controversial for some. Margot Robbie plays Sharon Tate. She doesn't have many lines. If you're looking for a traditional biopic performance, you won't find it here. Instead, Tarantino treats Sharon like a living ghost. She is the embodiment of the "Summer of Love."
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We see her go to the movies. She watches herself on screen in The Wrecking Crew. She smiles when the audience laughs at her physical comedy. It’s a quiet, beautiful sequence that serves a very specific purpose: it makes her a person rather than a victim.
We all know what happened in the real August of 1969. The Manson Family murders at 10050 Cielo Drive changed everything. It killed the 60s. By making Sharon Tate a central, albeit quiet, figure, the film builds a staggering amount of dread. Every time the sun sets in this movie, you feel a pit in your stomach because you think you know what’s coming.
Tarantino is playing with our collective trauma.
That Spahn Ranch Scene is a Masterclass in Tension
If you want to talk about pure filmmaking, you have to talk about the Spahn Ranch. Cliff Booth drives a young hitchhiker named Pussycat (played by Margaret Qualley) back to her "commune." It’s the old movie ranch where Rick used to film Bounty Law.
The vibe shift is instant.
It goes from a sunny LA afternoon to a horror movie. The way the "family" members just stand there, staring at Cliff, is haunting. Bruce Dern shows up as George Spahn, and the exchange between him and Pitt is legendary for how uncomfortable it is. You realize, as an audience member, that Cliff is the only person who could survive this encounter because he’s a relic of a tougher, meaner era. He isn't scared of these kids. He’s annoyed by them.
He punches a hole in a car tire. He makes a guy change it. It’s a total power move.
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The Revisionist History of the Ending
Let’s talk about the flamethrower.
In Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Tarantino does what he did in Inglourious Basterds: he rewrites history to give us the "happy" ending we didn't get in real life. The Manson followers don't go to Sharon Tate’s house. They get distracted by Rick Dalton yelling at them for having a loud muffler.
They decide to kill the "actor" instead.
What follows is an explosion of hyper-violence that is both hilarious and deeply cathartic. Cliff Booth, high on an acid-dipped cigarette, takes them apart. Brandy the dog does most of the heavy lifting. And then, of course, Rick finishes the job with a prop flamethrower from his movie 14 Fists of McCluskey.
It’s ridiculous. It’s over the top. It’s also a form of cinematic justice.
By killing the killers before they can commit their heinous crime, Tarantino preserves the innocence of that era. The movie ends with the gates of Sharon Tate’s house opening. Rick gets invited up for a drink. The music swells. The title appears. It’s a fairy tale ending because, in this world, Sharon lives. The 60s don't have to die yet.
Why the Details Actually Matter
The production design by Barbara Ling is insane. They literally shut down blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and dressed them to look like 1969. No CGI, or at least very little. Real signs, real vintage cars, real posters.
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- The Soundtrack: It’s not just a collection of hits. It’s the sound of KHJ Radio. The commercials, the DJ chatter—it’s immersive.
- The Bruce Lee Controversy: Some people hated how Bruce Lee was portrayed. Mike Moh plays him as kind of an arrogant jerk who gets tossed into a car by Cliff Booth. Whether you like it or not, it fits the movie’s perspective. This is a story told through the eyes of Rick and Cliff—men who felt threatened by the new wave of martial arts and international stardom.
- The Food: From the mac and cheese Rick makes to the massive jars of dog food Cliff opens, the movie is obsessed with the tactile nature of life in 1969.
The Legacy of the Film
Is it Tarantino's best? Maybe. It’s certainly his most mature, even with the flamethrower bit. It’s a movie about aging, friendship, and the fear of being forgotten. Every time I rewatch it, I find something new. A small look between Rick and Cliff. A specific neon sign in the background. A piece of dialogue that hits differently.
It’s a love letter to a city that doesn't exist anymore.
For anyone looking to dive deeper into the world of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, there are a few things you should actually do to appreciate the context.
Watch the "Rick Dalton" inspirations. Check out real episodes of Wanted Dead or Alive starring Steve McQueen. Rick is a direct parallel to guys like Ty Hardin or Edd Byrnes—actors who were massive on TV but struggled to make the leap to cinema. Seeing the real-life struggles of these 60s TV stars makes DiCaprio’s performance even more heartbreaking.
Listen to the soundtrack on vinyl or a high-quality stream. Don't just skip to the songs. Find a version that includes the original radio spots. It changes the way you perceive the pacing of the film.
Read the novelization. Tarantino wrote a book version of the movie that isn't just a script copy. It adds massive amounts of backstory for Cliff Booth (including his WWII history) and explains what happened to Rick's career in Italy. It’s a completely different experience that fills in the "blanks" the movie leaves intentional.
Lastly, look into the work of the real stuntmen of that era, like Hal Needham. The relationship between Burt Reynolds and Hal Needham is the primary blueprint for Rick and Cliff. Understanding that real-world bond makes the fictional one feel even more grounded in reality.