Whether it's ignorant comments he's made in the press or bad on-set behavior revealed by his past collaborators, he's basically on the brink of being 'canceled' as far as a lot of people are concerned.
I've always found that Tarantino is not so much an acquired taste as a love it or hate it proposition. If you embrace the fact that his cinema is all about (for better or worse) his indulging his own fantasies and fascinations, you might love it. He seems incapable of making a boring movie and when he does make one (he's clearly deliberate about his work -- hence his self aggrandizing "the 9th film of.." promo in front of his latest) it's clear that he's shooting for the fences every time.
I can safely say I have enjoyed every film he's made, and enjoying his films means tolerating quite a lot of nonsense. There's his increasingly pronounced foot fetish, his almost childlike preoccupation with peppering his scripts with the n-word, the pop culture reference laden dialogue in all his movies and the tendency to air more on the side of ripping off his favorite films rather than paying homage to them (I for one never bought his claim that Kill Bill was in no way informed by Truffaut's The Bride Wore Black).
And yet, I find his work -- as overlong and self congratulatory as it can be -- pretty intoxicating. I always feel like the best corollary is Kanye West's music (until recently) which was always a game-changer in spite of its creator's deficiencies as human being. It was that Kanye was the best lyricist or performer, he wasn't, but he was (and I guess is) uniquely skilled at marching to the beat of his own drum and reveling in his own inconsistencies and idiosyncrasies.
Tarantino is no different. For instance, take his treatment of women in his movies. He's certainly as guilty as any male filmmaker of objectifying them and abusing them on screen -- but he has also crafted some of the unassailably badass, three-dimensional heroines of the past twenty-some years.
So far, the early buzz is that Once Upon a Time in Hollywood is one of his best -- and I guess we'll see in a few days. But in the meantime, here's my ranking of his films from my least favorite to my favorite. Keep in mind, this isn't so much about the film quality as it in my personal joy watching them.9) The Hateful Eight - This remains one of his most polarizing films. It's his Yeezus. It's his second riff on the western but it's a more brooding, talky affair than Django Unchained was. I didn't love it at first but it's one of those movies that can grow on you amid repeat viewings. Never a great visual stylist, this snowbound potboiler may be his most atmospheric movie and its finale may be one of the best DePalma sequences not made by Brian DePalma. All his obsessions are here -- particularly his fixation on race -- for better or worse.
8) Reservoir Dogs - A remarkably accomplished breakthrough movie stocked with some of the most charismatic character actors of the time giving some of their best performances (especially Michael Madsen). Sure, the pop culture references can feel forced and a little bit of white guys casually tossing off the n-word with other white guys goes a long way, but what works best in this movie is its gallows humor and impressively rendered non-linear structure. It's a small movie, probably more plot driven than some of his later work, but it's easy to see why it hit big.
7) Death Proof - Arguably Tarantino's least financially successful effort was one half of the very-underrated Grindhouse (along with Robert Rodriguez's hilarious Planet Terror). Tarantino proves he could make a very effective John Carpenter-esque horror film, with Kurt Russell getting the comeback role of his career as the seductive and scary Stuntman Mike. The prolonged conversations about iconic '70s car chase movies will try your patience and as likable as she is, leading lady Zoe Bell doesn't necessarily have the acting chops to carry it, but it's pretty much a blast form start to finish.
6) Kill Bill Vol. 1 - I know that technically Kill Bill was supposed to be one long epic film (thanks, Harvey Weinstein) and I'd love to someday see the full project as it was originally intended but for now I see it as two very different movies. The first one is just an amazing action movie -- certainly the largest scaled piece he'd made at that point, after a long six year hiatus from the big screen. He turned Uma Thurman into an iconic action star (clad in Bruce Lee's signature black and yellow jumpsuit) while staging some dynamic fight scenes, as well as featuring a gorgeously rendered animated segment too. It's not the most substantive movie, but as an action romp it's undeniable/
5) Pulp Fiction - This will probably the film that will always be Tarantino's greatest legacy if for no other reason its commercial and critical impact really changed movies forever. Even the Marvel movies' dialogue owes a debt to the meandering banter on display in this episodic crime movie. It's full of unforgettable moments and performances, chief among them Samuel L. Jackson's soulful turn as a hitman who finds religion. Some of it looks crude in comparison to his polished later work (his own cameo sticks out like a sore thumb) but it's a funky and fun ride 25 years (!) later.
4) Kill Bill Vol. 2 - This is more substantive, sophisticated of the two Kill Bill movies. It goes to some darker places -- Uma getting buried alive, the fate of Daryl Hannah's character -- and it also features some of Tarantino's most richly rewarding dialogue (think David Carradine's monologue about Superman). It's a slower boil that makes the entire adventure feel more grounded and compelling. This also pointed to the more commercially viable potential of his subsequent films.
3) Inglourious Basterds - This could be Tarantino's most technically accomplished film -- and it should have won him his first Best Director and Best Picture Oscars. A whacked-out war movie that has amazing details and cinematic flourishes packed in almost every frame. He turned Christoph Waltz into an overnight movie star and solidified Brad Pitt's status as one. This movie proved that Tarantino speak could be effective in any language and his first experiment with historical revisionism is an unqualified triumph. He's right, this might just be his masterpiece.
2) Jackie Brown - Strangely, his most mature and grounded film was his second -- a movie that flopped upon its initial release but has only grown in stature since. Assembly perhaps the best cast of any of his films and providing Pam Grier with the role of her career, this film is more than a simple blaxploitation tribute. It's a sincere meditation on middle age and survival, with Robert Forster's lonely bail bondsman the film's secret heart. The is the film that runs counter to a lot of the Tarantino tendencies that people hate. It's a likable movie with a lot of genuine affection in it. I hope if he really is planning to make just one more film, that it's like this one.
1) Django Unchained - I've heard all the quibbles about this film -- that it's overlong, that Jamie Foxx isn't the real lead, etc. -- but this is simply the most fun I had at a Tarantino movie. His love for the spaghetti western genre (which I also adore) is all over this blistering film which is packed with savage performances (both DiCaprio and Samuel L. Jackson were robbed of Oscars), wonderful humor, breakneck action and some surprisingly nuanced observations about the absurdities of racism and slavery. I will never forget has satisfied I was by this movie going experience and for me it remains my favorite albeit it problematic movie.
No comments:
Post a Comment