The Haunting Of Sharon Tate, Movie, 2019
“The Haunting Of Sharon Tate” has caused a great deal of controversy and a massive backlash from critics since its release earlier this year. Her sister, Debra Tate, too, has slammed the film for its portrayal of premonitions that it portrays, that the actress was having in the days leading up to the her murder, and four of her friends on August, 9, 1969, by Charles Manson's followers. The objections stem from brutal depictions of the murders themselves and an alternative reality plot twist at the end. This year marks 50 years since her murder. For background to the murders and the film production and cast, click on links in the Further Reference section at the bottom of this page.
On viewing the movie myself, I saw something completely different to what the majority of critics were lashing out at. The critical notices say that no premonitions took place and that no contact was made by Charles Manson leading up to the murders. And yet, it is well known that Manson had been delivering tapes of his musical recordings for Terry Melcher, who he believed was going to offer him a recording contract. This continued after Roman Polanski and Sharon Tate took over the property. There may also have been parties at the residence in which Manson followers were present prior to Sharon Tate, eight-and-a-half months pregnant, returning ahead of her husband. None of this can be confirmed one way or the other. We are left with the fact that nobody knew what was going on in the residence in the days leading up to the murders. There can be no doubt that Manson was obsessed with the house and believed that havoc had to be brought upon it, due to his sense of failure as a musician, and his condition of psychopathic schizophrenia.
It is not the purpose of this blog to give away too much for those that have not seen the film. Suffice to say that themes of fate are strong in the film, along with Sharon’s earlier interviews in which she claimed to have foreseen her own or a friend’s death in a dream years earlier. The ending to the film sets out an alternative reality vision of the heinous crime.
In my interpretation, the movie wrestles attention away from Manson and takes Sharon Tate centre stage. It causes one to feel for her and feel emotional for what transpired. Quite obviously, one feels for her family too and due respect must be given to the horrific loss that her sister suffered and the circumstances surrounding it. The point at which creative art infringes on reality, as we know, it is up for debate. Shakespeare would often interpret historical events from another angle, though in those circumstances family members were not still alive. The film may suffer from being too close to the actual events, whereas, for instance, a 17th Century occurrence would have been less controversial. In the end, it is for the individual viewer to decide.
Alan Ewing, Cert HE, BA (Hons), MSc
© 2019
- God Rest the souls of Sharon and her companions - And Peace for her sister -
POSTSCRIPT: The regular “Helter Skelter”
narrative put forward by the prosecution … has been challenged by Tom O'Neill…… in his
Book “Chaos.” Infiltrations by FBI, even CIA into the doings of Charles Manson
are put forward. . Manson was a felon who repeatedly broke his probation
conditions and yet was never reeled in. The
1960s were a time of liberal revolution with politicians such as Ronald Reagan
in paranoia that it was a Communist take-over. Sharon Tate’s mother believed
that Cielo Drive was under surveillance. Sharon’s car was not there as it was
under repair and so mistakes may have been made. The theory being that the FBI
were seeking to exploit dodgy drug deals that the other inhabitants of Cielo
Drive were involved in.. Then they
wished to play on Manson’s fear of The Black Panthers, a radical movement in
the late 1960s.
There are also indiscrepancies in the story
of Terry Melcher (Doris Day’s son) who was the record producer who had offered
Manson a possible way in to a recording contract. His ties with Dennis Wilson
of The Beach Boys further lifted Manson’s hopes. This was not a one-off meeting
though as Melcher would visit The Family, Manson’s entourage, and even did so
after the murders. Charles Manson would
have known that Terry Melcher had moved, although there was a visit from a
person to Cielo Drive attested by a witness and the person he was looking for
was Melcher. A further theory was that
the murders were designed to clear an associate of Manson’s who had committed a
like –minded murder, thus gaining his release as it appeared as though the
murders were still on the rampage.
Overall, one thing is certainly clear.
Sharon Tate was not a specific target. It was misfortune that the eight-month
pregnant actress happens to be in the house on the night of the murders. Whichever way the murders are seen, the
horror of her pleading for her baby’s life and then calling out for her mother
as she is ruthlessly knifed to death is the central manifestation of evil.
There can be no understanding of those who felt no remorse, and no
understanding of why back-door deals were being hitched with Sharon Tate’s
murderer. The truth in all of this often turns out to be stranger than the
narrative.
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