Quentin Tarantino has directed only nine films in his career, yet with each film he's displayed a high level of skill and originality, as well as provocation. Perhaps his most interesting contributions to cinema (besides what may be his best film, 1994's Pulp Fiction) are his "alternate history" features, Inglorious Basterds (2009) and this year's Once Upon A Time In . . . Hollywood.
Both films feature sharp (and profane) writing, superb acting, and top-notch directing. And yet, each film raises the question of the effects of history being altered, even if fictitiously, which serves as a double-edged sword.
Inglorious Basterds is a series of vignettes involving Jew-hunting Nazis (led by an Oscar-winning Christoph Waltz), Nazi-killing Jews (led by Brad Pitt), double agents (including Michael Fassbender and Diane Kruger), and movie theater employees (led by Melanie Laurent)--all coming together for a Nazi film premiere at a French cinema, and subverting the fate of the remaining Nazi party and Adolf Hitler. Not to mention graphic butchery involving scalps, a baseball bat, and even nitrate film.
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| Christoph Waltz in Inglorious Basterds |
Alfred Hitchcock once described the art of suspense this way: "There is no terror in the bang, only in the anticipation of it." Such is the case in scenes of quiet psychological tension with Colonel Hans Landa (one of the reasons Waltz gained such acclaim for his chilling performance), or during a basement bar scene that gets ambushed when a Nazi guard intercedes and an agent gives himself away.
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Once Upon a Time In . . . Hollywood is set in 1969, during the end of a Golden Age of Hollywood. As a nostalgic homage to classic T.V. shows and films (from spaghetti westerns to action adventures, including some amusing "fake" movies-within-movies), the film chronicles the shift in styles, trends, the Hollywood system, and impending tragedy courtesy the Manson family murders--or so it seems. (Tarantino reportedly considers this film as a personal "memory" piece, much the same way filmmaker Alfonso Cauron described his 2018 film Roma.)
The film chronicles three central intersecting stories. Rick Dalton (DiCaprio), for starters, is a movie/T.V. star whose popularity and success is fading with his years. DiCaprio displays a brilliant range of complexities, bitterness, and humor in Dalton, whether he stumbles through on-camera flubs or vulgar rants in his trailer, or during a reflective conversation with a child actress onset.
Cliff Booth (Pitt) is Dalton's out-of-work stuntman and current driver, who soon gets involved with a gang of Manson hippie girls at an old movie ranch. Pitt reminds viewers how charismatic, determined, and relatable an actor he is, no matter what kind of impending danger he gets into.
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| Brad Pitt and Leonardo DiCaprio in Once Upon A Time In . . . Hollywood |
Sharon Tate (Robbie) was the era's current "It" girl, who was tragically murdered that year by the Mansons. Tarantino's intention with Tate's portrayal was to show her as a regular human being, and not merely as a victim. Robbie does naturally resemble a movie star from the 50s and 60s a la Grace Kelly or Mia Farrow, including a brilliant moment in the film where Robbie (as Tate) watches the real Tate on screen. Hollywood does feel a little too nostalgic at times, but when it focuses on these individual character stories, it's really compelling, in spite of some scenes of nail-biting and unpredictable intensity.
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Perhaps the most compelling and questionable factor in each of these films (and Tarantino's filmography in general) is the use of dramatic irony. Both films may show Tarantino's love and pastiche of cinema (and even some scenes in movie theaters), no doubt, but his ironic use of bright music in dark circumstances (a la Stanley Kubrick) creates a sense of nerve-wracking dread.
Both films have moments that reflect on-screen violence versus violence in reality, or art reflecting reality or vice versa. Both have moments of quirkiness as well as shock, even in the same scenes. And the graphic climaxes of both films have generated controversy, yet stand as an example of turning real-life tragedies on themselves. As Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons did with the seminal graphic novel Watchmen, both of Tarantino's films "can be seen as revisionist fiction, with several made-up characters interacting with existing ones, thereby changing the course of real-life history," adding to the complex nature of both films reflecting the end of one era, with uncertain change to come. For some viewers, these cinematic choices (or, dramatic licensing) serve as an insult to the respective histories. For others, it serves as psychological (if fantastical) therapy.
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| Brad Pitt and BJ Novak in Inglorious Basterds |
Actress Melanie Laurent once quoted,
When I read the script of Inglourious Basterds, I was like, wow, it's been my dream to kill [Adolf Hitler] since I was like four, so I was kind of like Shosanna [her character in the film], already. I'm Jewish. I read the script, together with my grandfather, and he told me, "You have to make that movie, please". So, it was not just for me, it was for my family.
Either way, it's still kind of a double-edged sword.
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