Theory: Once Upon A Time In Hollywood’s Ending Is A Cliff Booth Drug Trip

Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon A Time In Hollywood offered an alternate version of 1960’s Hollywood, with an ending packed with action and blood in a very Tarantino way – but what if the ending didn’t really happen, and it was all part of Cliff Booth’s acid trip? Once Upon A Time In Hollywood was one of the biggest films of 2019, receiving mostly positive reviews but also a good amount of controversy. Still, the film has been receiving a lot of nominations during awards season, with Brad Pitt winning most of them thanks to his performance as Cliff Booth.

Once Upon A Time In Hollywood follows actor Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his best friend and stuntman Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt), as they struggle to stay relevant and active in the final years of Hollywood’s golden age. Their story is intertwined with that of Sharon Tate (Margot Robbie), and featured many stars from the 1960s, among those Bruce Lee (Mike Moh). The ending offered a twist on Sharon Tate’s story, with members of Charles Manson’s family going after Rick instead of her, but they weren’t counting on Cliff’s agility.

When Tex, Sadie, and Katie break into Rick’s house, they come face to face with Cliff and his dog, Brandy. Cliff recognizes them from his visit to Spahn Ranch, and before they can do anything, Booth orders Brandy to attack, and together they kill Katie and Tex and injure Sadie. Although Cliff was a war veteran skilled in hand-to-hand combat and everything else learned during his years as stuntman, the events can feel a bit surreal – and it might be because of the acid cigarette Cliff smoked minutes before.

Theory: Once Upon A Time In Hollywood’s Ending Was A Hallucination Of Cliff Booth

The theory, shared by Uproxx, brings special attention to the acid cigarette Cliff smokes before he takes Brandy out for a walk. Because the Manson group arrives when Cliff leaves with Brandy and he was already high as a kite when they broke into the house, it may seem like the whole ending of Once Upon A Time In Hollywood was actually Cliff’s acid trip. Details like the killers being fans of Bounty Law, Cliff not noticing the car on his way back to the house, and his somewhat super-human strength and agility when fighting against the killers support this theory. Though it’s an interesting perspective of these events, there are some things that don’t really match.

Why Once Upon A Time In Hollywood’s Ending Can’t Be An Acid Trip

As mentioned above, Cliff was a very skilled in hand-to-hand combat and more, so his “super-human” strength is not out of the ordinary. The theory also mentions that it makes no sense that Rick takes out the flame-thrower he used in The 14 Fists of McClusky, as the studio wouldn’t have let him have it, but in reality, stranger things happen in film sets and actors more often than not take some of the objects (including weapons) home with or without permission – and keeping the flame-thrower is definitely something Rick Dalton would do. The biggest question this theory leaves is whether the killers really went after Rick Dalton or if they carried on with their original plan, and Cliff hallucinated them going after his friend. It’s very unlikely that Tarantino left something this open to interpretation, but it’s an interesting way of seeing the ending of Once Upon A Time In Hollywood.

About The Author

Adrienne Tyler
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Adrienne Tyler is a features writer for Screen Rant. She is an Audiovisual Communication graduate who wanted to be a filmmaker, but life had other plans (and it turned out great). Prior to Screen Rant, she wrote for Pop Wrapped, 4 Your Excitement (4YE), and D20Crit, where she was also a regular guest at Netfreaks podcast. She was also a contributor for FanSided’s BamSmackPow and 1428 Elm. Adrienne is very into films and she enjoys a bit of everything: from superhero films to heartbreaking dramas, to low-budget horror films. Every time she manages to commit to a TV show without getting bored, an angel gets its wings.

When she’s not writing, you can find her trying to learn a new language, watching hockey (go Avs!), or wondering what life would have been like had Pushing Daisies, Firefly, and Limitless not been cancelled. Breakfast food is life and coffee is what makes the world go round.

Guillermo del Toro said “hi” to her once. It was great.

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