Anyone who sat through Quentin Tarantino’s “Grindhouse” feature “Death Proof” came away with a sinking feeling about the auteur.
He loves the sound of his characters speaking way too much for anyone’s good. And it’s clear that his characters, who talk in hipster speak and drop bucket loads of pop culture references, are often stand-ins for the director himself.
The gals at the heart of that sporadically thrilling film talk … and talk … and talk, and most of it should have hit the cutting room floor.
Now, the early reviews for “Inglourious Basterds” are in … and Tarantino has turned a bloody war picture into another gabfest.
So say the UK Telegraph and Time, the latter noting:
Almost all the set pieces are conversations, or interrogations, usually involving Landa: with the French farmer (Denis Menochet), Shoshanna, Von Hammersmark and Raine. Some of these chats could use either punching up or scrupulous editing
So what gives? Does Tarantino believe his own hype?
It’s a better bet he no longer can edit himself properly, and there’s no one in his inner circle willing to lay a comforting hand on his shoulder while telling him to cut out the chatter.
Let’s hope the early reviews got it wrong, but the trajectory of Tarantino’s work says otherwise.
UPDATE: Here’s QT himself introducing a clip from his new film.
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{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
As much as I loved the Kill Bill movies, there simply was no reason to split them into two volumes. They could have easily been edited down into one 2 1/2-hour movie without the loss of any worthwhile material. Likewise, “Death Proof” could have easily had the first 30 minutes hacked off without the story losing anything.
Tarantino’s a very talented guy, but he clearly let all the hype go to his head after the success of Pulp Fiction, and now he believes that every word of his scripts is gold and should not be edited.
And the Weinsteins frankly need to grow a pair and tell him to start editing his work more. Directors love to complain about producers who force them to edit their work, but in the case of someone as self-indulgent as Tarantino, forcing some edits would be performing a public service.
For years, critics adored his dialogue in “Reservoir Dogs” and “Pulp Fiction.” Went to his head? I don’t know, I felt “Kill Bill” was too talky and laid the cheese on too thick, even for this lactose lover.
Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill Vols. 1 and 2 and (to a lesser extent) Jackie Brown all hold special places in my movie collection. I consider them all masterpieces.
That being said, Death Proof was a total drag. The first half was okay, albeit a bit talky. But the second half was just ridiculous, especially the never ending scene at the table. I got what Tarantino was trying to do. Having the first half be a tradition grindhouse flick where the women are brutalized and killed and then having the second half look more modern and have the women be the brutal ones instead is a clever idea. I just wish it had been executed with more creativity and less talk.
Even if I don’t like every single one of their films, Quentin should be forced to sit with Spielberg or Scorsese and learn how to properly edit a movie so that it’s not an overblown, overlong extended piece of their ego.