Inglourious Basterds Movie Review
It's World War II, Quentin Tarantino Style
With Inglourious Basterds, Quentin Tarantino, in his own inimitable style, tackles not only the historical theatre of World War II, but also the swathes of cinematic efforts that have been born out of it. And within these umbrella contexts he has woven a fabric that is every bit as daring, unique and intricate as we have come to expect from the man.
Once Upon a Time...in Nazi-Occupied France
The film is delicately sprinkled with star talent and quite possibly a number of stars in the making. Brad Pitt’s name looms largest, and he turns in yet another excellent performance; seemingly attempting to prove that there is no role he can’t sink into. His character, the thickly accented Tennessee soldier Lt. Aldo Raine, is leader of the titular elite unit ‘The Basterds’ whose sole purpose is to sneak into Germany and do nasty things to the Nazis.
Raine is hardly a creation of genius; indeed, like many Tarantino characters, he is larger than life and serves a purpose. However, as is also the case with many Tarantino characters, it simply doesn’t matter. Pitt is having so much fun it’s hard to care about anything else; witness, for example, his bravado response to a spiel of Italian dialogue from Christoph Waltz’s broodingly multilingual Col. Hans Landa. Speaking of Waltz, who incidentally scooped the best actor prize at Cannes for his performance; it is not enough to say that performance wise this is his movie. Here is an actor I had never watched before but will certainly watch again. His multilingual, multifaceted villain is one of the strongest aspects of the film. The subtle nuances of his performance are a credit to both the man and his director, who, amongst his many talents, is clearly adept at drawing the best out of his actors.
It is something of an irony, then, and indeed a frustration, that Quentin Tarantino’s undoubted talents as a filmmaker continue to simultaneously benefit and inhibit his development as a feature director. For all the positives there are to find in Inglourious Basterds, there is something about it that doesn’t quite gel. The story of Brad Pitt’s Basterds is but one strand of the film; indeed, the primary concern is a plot devised by British Intelligence (Mike Myers cameos in a fun but pointless scene) to blow up a cinema owned by Emmanuelle Mimieux (an excellent Melanie Laurent) in which a German propaganda film is scheduled to be premiered in front of a distinguished audience of high ranking Nazi officials including, perhaps, the Fuhrer himself.
The problem is this: the film is broken up into chapters (as Tarantino fans are growing used to) and most of these chapters are either great in themselves or have great moments. Unfortunately, despite the fact that the film brings them together successfully, they still feel too much like individual sections as opposed to a fully cohesive whole. It’s an odd complaint given that the story is coherent and exciting, but Tarantino’s setup relies too much, paradoxical though it may seem, on his strongest traits: set pieces and dialogue. Make no mistake, the script is expertly crafted in places and individual scenes often have a distinct sense of foreboding or trickery running beneath them. Tarantino revels in this stuff, and invites the viewer to revel in it with him, but even the strongest moments (the opening scene, a drawn out guerrilla war of words in a bar) still feel strangely disjointed. Perhaps it’s their length, or the fact that there are so many characters, but as a viewer, despite the fact that it’s mostly good stuff, one feels oddly detached.
This Might Just be my Masterpiece
Still, Tarantino’s credentials as a filmmaker hold true, and amidst the reams of dialogue there are some short, explosive, well-managed outbreaks of jarring violence and some delightfully black moments of comedy. Tarantino’s decision to focus the film around a plot to blow up a cinema and some elements of the final act will divide opinion on his intended meaning, if indeed he intends anything. The finale could just as easily be about the power of cinema as it is a Jewish revenge fantasy. In the end, the film will probably benefit from a second viewing, as can be said of many densely layered and unique projects. But regardless, Tarantino is at least moving in the right direction and there is plenty to enjoy here. Amusingly the final line of dialogue in the film is: “This might just be my masterpiece” uttered joyfully by Lt. Aldo Raine as he commits a rather nasty, darkly comic act. You can’t help but smile.
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