REVIEW: Once Upon a Time in Hollywood by Quentin Tarantino

Quentin Tarantino is one of the best filmmakers of modern times. His films are truly iconic cinema. While he is often celebrated for his skills as a director, in my humble opinion I have always thought he has excelled in his writing.

Quentin Tarantino (Photo by Gage Skidmore).

No one writes dialogue like Tarantino, whether it’s the introductory diner scene in Reservoir Dogs, ‘Ezekiel 25:17’ from Pulp Fiction or basically every single word uttered by Christoph Waltz in Inglorious Basterds – he just has a way with words. I have personally waited very patiently for Tarantino to write his first book and he has not disappointed with his debut, a novelisation of his most recent Oscar nominated film, Once Upon A Time in Hollywood.

Set in Hollywood 1969, the story follows the fictional adventures of TV actor Rick Dalton and his stuntman Cliff Booth, both working in TV westerns while yearning to be in films. Also featured are Rick’s next door neighbours, real life Hollywood celebrities Roman Polanski and Sharon Tate (unfortunately remembered for her brutal murder at the hands of Charles Manson’s cult “family”). Like the film, the novel also rewrites this little piece of actual history, although slightly differently and not as part of the story’s finale, unlike in the film.

If you were expecting this book to be a word for word adaptation of the film, this is certainly not the case and in fact the difference in ending is not the only departure from the film that Tarantino takes with the novel. The entire story has been retold and new plotlines added in, as well as greater details on characters’ thoughts during key scenes. It also delves into the characters’ histories and future, particularly that of Cliff Booth, whose wife’s mysterious fate was left open-ended in the film. This novel leaves no ambiguity around what happened to Mrs Booth, which for me gave a new element to Cliff’s character.

While I personally feel this novel adds to the already great experience of the hit movie, it is certainly able to stand on its own if you have never seen Once Upon a Time in Hollywood — I think they both compliment each other so well.

I found this to be a great read and worthy of Tarantino’s talents and I certainly hope this will not be the final novelisation of his films (I’m looking at you Kill Bill and Pulp Fiction). Perfect for fans of the works of Elmore Leonard, who just so happens to get a mention in the back pages of the book in a tribute to movie novelisations of the past.

—Once Upon a Time in Hollywood by Quentin Tarantino (Hachette Australia) is out now.

Once Upon a Time in Hollywood

by Quentin Tarantino

RICK DALTON - Once he had his own TV series, but now Rick's a washed-up villain-of-the week drowning his sorrows in whiskey sours. Will a phone call from Rome save his fate or seal it? CLIFF BOOTH - Rick's stunt double, and the most infamous man on any movie set because he's the only one there who might have gotten away with murder . . .

SHARON TATE - She left Texas to chase a movie-star dream, and found it. Sharon's salad days are now spent on Cielo Drive, high in the Hollywood Hills. CHARLES MANSON - The ex-con's got a bunch of zonked-out hippies thinking he's their spiritual leader, but he'd trade it all to be a rock 'n' roll star.

HOLLYWOOD 1969 - YOU SHOULDA BEEN THERE...

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About the Contributor

Arthur Malkoun