The Once Upon a Time in Hollywood novel adds more to the final cut of the movie and shares some secrets that didn’t make it to the big screen – and among that extra information is the answer to whether Cliff Booth killed his wife or not. Quentin Tarantino has become one of the most respected filmmakers in the industry thanks to his peculiar narrative style and generous doses of violence, as well as his unique vision of the world. It all began in 1992 with the crime movie Reservoir Dogs, and Tarantino has since explored different genres and realms, including one where history played out differently.
Falling into that category is Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, which follows actor Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his stuntman and best friend Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt) as they struggle to remain relevant in the film industry during the final years of Hollywood’s golden age. The movie included a subplot focused on Sharon Tate (Margot Robbie), whose fate was changed by having Charles Manson’s followers target Rick and Cliff instead. Once Upon a Time in Hollywood was very well-received by critics and viewers, but the movie left a couple of mysteries, the biggest one being whether Cliff killed his wife or not.
Throughout Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, it’s established that Cliff Booth doesn’t have the best reputation as there are rumors that he killed his wife, which immediately added his name to the blacklist, and Tarantino made sure to give the audience a brief look at what happened the day Cliff’s wife, Billie Booth (Rebecca Gayheart), died. The flashback shows them on a boat, with Billie scolding Cliff and him casually sitting in front of her, with a beer on one hand and a harpoon gun on his lap, coincidentally (or not so much) pointing directly at her. That was all the audience saw of Billie, and so whether Cliff killed her or not was left ambiguous, but the novel has finally solved this mystery – and Cliff got away with murder.
The Once Upon a Time in Hollywood novel confirms that Cliff Booth killed his wife and goes into detail about how and the results (in very Tarantino fashion). As it turns out, Cliff did shoot Billie while on the boat with a shark gun, but it “hit her a little below the belly button, tearing her in half, both pieces hitting the deck of the boat with a splash”. However, and as gruesome and tragic as this scene is, the novel makes it clear that Cliff regretted what he just did from the moment he fired, so much that he rushed to her side and tried to hold her body together (yes, really) until they got help. Billie survived for a couple more hours (adding a bit of fantasy and more tragedy to the mix), during which they reminisced about their marriage. Of course, Cliff didn’t shoot her just because, as it’s also explained that he had despised her “for what seemed like years”, but once he shot her, it was like “years of ill will and resentment evaporated in an instant”.
Cliff got away with the murder of his wife, though how exactly isn’t addressed. The novel adds that Cliff also shot two Italian gangsters point black because he knew he could get away with it, and he believed there was some karmic balance with the murder of his wife and the number of Japanese soldiers he killed in World War II. The Once Upon a Time in Hollywood novel completely changes the image of Cliff Booth that the movie built through the confirmation that he killed his wife and everything behind that decision.