Quentin Tarantino and I have had a curious relationship for well over a decade now. He makes his films, and I find ways to pick at them. I always seem to fluctuate somewhere between love and hate (just like Coen Brothers films)...and afterwards, I whine and complain about the tiniest of things until I suddenly hate the film. It's silly really because mostly, I really like his films. Mostly, I think he's a downright brilliant filmmaker. But sometimes I let my idea of Quentin Tarantino interfere with the real auteur and I'm left practically in tears at the piece of almost cinematic perfection he has just created. My take on "Inglorious Basterds" certainly carries with it many of the same nit picky opinions as our other escapades. It's difficult to just turn that sort of thing off (I've tried). But what this film somehow managed to do in ooooo about 2 1/2 hours is totally win me over. This time around, the genius totally outweighed all my criticisms and for once (okay, twice...no three times) I can truly say, I loved this Tarantino movie.
Typical Tarantino goriness aside, the script is perhaps his most spectacular - spinning a complex web while simultaneously keeping the story simple enough to follow and really dive into. The dialogue I would venture to say is his finest. And that's saying something, his films are some of the most quotable out there. The cast of characters (and the stellar actors embodying them) is a veritable cacophony of circus-like extremes always standing on the precipice between serious drama and hilarity. In fact, I wasn't really sure at times if I was supposed to laugh or not - after all it takes place during WWII in Europe. And then...there's the tension. I felt it, no really...truly...felt it. My body temp rose, I felt heat emanating from my chest and boom...heartbeat quickening - total immersion. Again, brilliance.
The inglorious basterds are an American renegade special ops group led by Brad Pitt. They team up with Brits and take on a special mission to take down some of the highest Nazi officials. Unbeknown to them, another similar operation is already underway. The roulette begins. There are two real standouts from my perspective.
1) There is a bar standoff reminiscent of the Tony Scott-helmed, Tarantino-written gem "True Romance" that is simply perfection.
2) Christoph Waltz. Our main villain. Oh my goodness. Words can't even express the phenomenal performance that he gives. It's...yeah, I just don't have words for it.
After the film, the usual post mortem takes place..."did you like it?" "it was so gross" "I had to cover my eyes" But this time there is so much more to discuss. There is much banter about the psychological prowess that Tarantino possesses. He knows how to really stir up his audience - not with cheap tricks and fake blood buckets (although, he does often pull that out of his arsenal)...but from honest to goodness old school filmmaking techniques. The man has studied, watched, and incorporated so much into his work. You can't help but feel his love of cinema in this film - through every homage, each scene, even the credits. Hell, the cinema is at the center of the plot!
The trailer is here. Check it for sure in the theater, well worth it.
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