"Why spoil that," he asks. Election of a board majority will shape the nation’s largest community college district. Sign up for our Email Newsletters here. Randy’s wife, Janet, hates him; doesn’t matter what Randy says, Janet thinks Cliff killed his wife. A one-stop shop for all things video games. Pitt confirmed that he had to answer that central question of Cliff’s guilt in constructing his performance, but he’s not interested in sharing. First, we hear Rick trying to convince Randy (Kurt Russell) to hire Rick, and while Randy is unsure as to whether or not Cliff killed his wife, his own partner, Janet (Zoë Bell), totally is. We don't see Cliff Booth kill his wife in Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, and nor do we see her death presented in any other form, which means that we're instead left to draw our own conclusions based upon what else we see and hear in the movie. Justin Kirkland is a writer for Esquire, where he focuses on entertainment, television, and pop culture. So if Tarantino is subscribing to the notion that Wood was killed by Wagner, then it wouldn't fit to have Cliff kill his own wife and get away with it. Endorsements.

It's probably no coincidence, then, that Shakespeare penned Romeo and Juliet around 1595—directly in the middle of the deadly Bubonic plague pandemic that ravaged Europe. Fans of Tarantino (or anyone who’s seen one of his films before) will know that the decision to not show Billie’s death is undoubtedly deliberate considering he is not a filmmaker who has any qualms about putting brutal violence on screen. She's nagging him incessantly, insulting everything about him. Pitt’s nomination is one of 10 total nominations “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” received at the Oscars. And in that regard, Tarantino frames the key mentions of the death in a flashback, and the circumstances ostensibly just before it happens as a flashback-within-a-flashback. No, she drowned. While fixing Rick’s roof antenna, Cliff remembers this and a flashback begins to explain why Randy and Cliff are not chummy. Hollywood's Cliff Booth. Booth struggles to find stunt work because of rumors he murdered his wife. If Cliff didn't kill his wife, Once Upon a Time In Hollywood centers around a talented, capable guy whose career was ruined by a lie involving a woman. Cliff already seems like a tragic figure based on what we see of his life apart from this incident, but this is what really seals it: that he's a man haunted by those ghosts, and has been punished by Hollywood for a crime he didn't commit - and yet, in the end, finds a sense of redemption by becoming the hero, after so long just being the stunt double. Watch stars weigh in on the Cliff Booth debate in the video below. In the real world, Wagner’s guilt — and the guilt of so many others — has never been proven but the legends told about them persist regardless. Here's why he didn't. Zazie Beets feels the same, saying the film gives enough hints to make it obvious Cliff murdered his wife, as does Bo Burnham, who adds, “No, he … Though it's rumored around this fictional Hollywood that Cliff is a murderer, Tarantino's film never answers the question, leaving it as an ambiguous, and problematic, question mark. Looking beyond that, however, there is an obvious and direct parallel to the death of Billie Booth in Once Upon A Time In Hollywood, and that's the tragic (and still mysterious) case of Natalie Wood. We can believe Cliff is innocent or we can believe he’s guilty. Sarah Midkiff. A little bummed out, Cliff reminisces about the last time he booked a gig. The complete list of L.A. Times’ endorsements in the November 2020 election. Classic Disney films such as “Dumbo” and “Peter Pan” now include a warning about “negative depictions and/or mistreatment of people or cultures” on Disney+. “That, I will never tell,” Pitt said with a laugh. Then again, if Cliff killed his wife and everyone knows about it, how did he get away with it scot-free? Perhaps this character, this scene, and the fact that it makes us uncomfortable are intended to force audiences to recognize that powerful men get away with victimizing women all the time and to question how our adoration or admiration of them placate us. eval(ez_write_tag([[300,250],'popdust_com-medrectangle-4','ezslot_2',632,'0','0']));eval(ez_write_tag([[300,250],'popdust_com-medrectangle-4','ezslot_3',632,'0','1']));eval(ez_write_tag([[300,250],'popdust_com-medrectangle-4','ezslot_4',632,'0','2'])); The details of the supposed murder play out through the following context: eval(ez_write_tag([[300,250],'popdust_com-box-4','ezslot_8',633,'0','0']));eval(ez_write_tag([[300,250],'popdust_com-box-4','ezslot_9',633,'0','1']));eval(ez_write_tag([[300,250],'popdust_com-box-4','ezslot_10',633,'0','2']));eval(ez_write_tag([[300,250],'popdust_com-box-4','ezslot_11',633,'0','3'])); While Cliff's best friend/boss Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio) works on a Western, Cliff is stuck at Rick's house working on the roof.

Esquire participates in various affiliate marketing programs, which means we may get paid commissions on editorially chosen products purchased through our links to retailer sites. “I’m hoping it’s an accident,” Paul Bettany told Collider. Horror movie junkie, fan of Old Hollywood, defender of Grease 2.