With the news of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019) receiving a sequel with David Fincher directing and Quentin Tarantino writing, it made me revisit Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, specifically one sequence, ‘California Dreamin.’

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is, without doubt, Tarantino’s most personal film, pulling from the same passions he shares in his book  Cinema Speculation. The 60s and 70s are the era of Hollywood he adores. Tarantino captures his love for that era perfectly, ultimately hinting at Sharon Tate’s (Margot Robbie) tragic fate, which serves as the film’s proper ending for me–Sharon’s murder signified the end of the dream from this era.

It’s a film that I’ve changed my mind about a lot through rewatches, but one aspect that’s always stayed the same is how much I love the ‘California Dreamin’ sequence, which signifies the film reaching its true end before Tarantino’s revisionist climax.

There is something cathartic and beautiful in seeing Sharon, Cliff  Booth (Brad Pitt), and Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio) in their cars driving through the Valley just finishing their day. Ultimately, we know what will happen to Sharon. The push and pull of enjoying such a moment, filled with magic that is extinguished once you are jerked back to Sharon’s tragic reality.

This ‘ending’ is stronger than Tarantino’s actual, overly climactic ending, where Cliff kills Tex (Austin Butler), Katie (Madison Beaty), and Sadie (Mikey Madison), which results in Sharon being saved.  All the hopes and dreams of a cinephile are achieved in ‘California Dreamin’. Cliff and Rick represent the early 60s, and Sharon the potential of the 70s. Tarantino’s love for both eras is forever cemented with Sharon’s saving.

This is not just a touching tribute to Hollywood, but also a touching tribute to Sharon. As she leaves the cinema with her name on the sign for The Wrecking Crew (1968), she stops for a moment to take it in before she drives home. It’s a small moment, but it shows what Sharon represented: this idea that an everyday person can get their name on cinema lights. It gives insight into how hopeful Tarantino viewed this moment in time, and Sharon represented that.

Cinematographer Robert Richardson fantastically captures this idealistic feel of the time that Hollywood had around itself, and the choice of ‘California Dreamin’ by Jose Feliciano, which is my favorite song in the whole soundtrack, captures a dream-like feel of what could be.

For me, the true ending of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood as yes, Tarantino’s climactic revisionist history is bombastic action you would expect from him, it’s this sequence I always come back to as Tarantino opens a bit of himself up to the audience.

Review Courtesy of Matthew Allan

Feature Image Credit to Sony Entertainment via IMDb