Cliff Booth’s first line in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood was the same as his final one, and it holds a lot of meaning after all he goes through in the film. It didn’t take long for Quentin Tarantino to return with a new film, and four years after the release of The Hateful Eight, the writer and director came back with Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. Following the steps of his 2009 film Inglourious Basterds, the film tells an alternate version of history, this time set in the 1960s.
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood followed actor Rick Dalton (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his best friend and stuntman Cliff Booth (Brad Pitt) as they struggled to remain active and relevant in the final years of Hollywood’s golden age. Though Rick and Cliff are fictional characters (but based on real-life actors and stuntmen), they crossed paths with many actors, directors, and celebrities from the decade, most notably Sharon Tate (Margot Robbie) and Bruce Lee (Mike Moh). But as the story is set in 1960’s Hollywood, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood also acknowledged the existence of Charles Manson and his “family”, but gave their plans a twist.
Instead of going after Sharon Tate, Manson's family members targeted Rick Dalton, but they weren’t counting on Cliff and Rick being fully capable of defending themselves. The big hero was Cliff, who was last seen in an ambulance as he was taken to the hospital to attend his injuries. Cliff’s final line, delivered right before the ambulance left, is more important than it seems, and it also happens to be the first line he says in the film.
Once Upon A Time In Hollywood: What Cliff Booth’s First & Final Lines Mean
Once Upon A Time In Hollywood begins with a flashback to Bounty Law and an on-set interview with Rick and Cliff, so the audience can begin to get acquainted with the characters. Though Cliff does speak in this scene, his first line in the story comes a few minutes later. When Rick and Cliff meet with Marvin Schwarz (Al Pacino) at a bar, Rick tells him about Cliff and everything he does for him, with Schwarz telling Cliff he must be “a really good friend”, to which he replies “I try”. Jumping to the end of the film, with Cliff now in the ambulance ready to leave, Rick tells him he’s a good friend, with Cliff once more saying “I try”.
Cliff was a very loyal friend to Rick, and was by his side through a bunch of ups and downs not only in his career but his personal life as well. Rick even took him with him to Italy when he decided to give Spaghetti Westerns a chance, though once they returned to Los Angeles, Rick told him he couldn’t afford his services anymore, but it was clear that they were going to remain friends. Although both fought the Manson family members that broke into Rick’s house, Cliff was the one who prevented a major tragedy by ordering Brandy to attack and using his fighting skills to take them down. Thanks to him, Rick and his wife Francesca (Lorenza Izzo) lived to tell the story, and Rick recognized his actions.
Being a good friend was something Cliff did naturally, and it’s quite symbolic that his first and last lines in the film were about his friendship with Rick (and it’s also a very humble line, especially at the end). What happened to Cliff Booth after the events of Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is unknown, but he surely was remembered for his heroic actions and his unbreakable friendship with the great Rick Dalton.