 Grade: A-
Directed by: Quentin Tarantino
Starring: Brad Pitt, Melanie Laurent, Cristoph Waltz, Michael Fassbender, Eli Roth, Diane Kruger & Til Schweiger
Rated: R
I have seen some crazy movies before, but Inglorious Basterds is by far one of the most crazily entertaining movies I've ever seen... Director Quentin Tarantino has given us a funky alternate-reality WWII parable. Even though it is a war movie, Basterds plays like a western set in German occupied France. As usual, Tarantino has assembled a phenomenal cast to bring life to his wacked out, overly violent universe, and all actors deliver in spades. Each scene crackles with fantastic dialogue. Each camera shot is expertly composed and played out in order to progress the story... there are whole scenes where you will get the feeling that you are watching one of the great Hollywood classics from the '30s, '40s and '50s. Tarantino has clearly done his homework and his love for cinema is present on the screen. Inglorious Basterds is all about revenge... the movie is full of individuals and factions who all want vengeance for their own purposes. On one hand you have the Basterds led by 2nd Lt. Aldo Raine (a hilarious Brad Pitt). The Basterds are a squad of Jewish-Americans and German dissidents who for their own reasons are out to kill Nazis. On the other hand you have Shosanna Dreyfus (Melanie Laurent), a young French-Jewish girl whose family was slaughtered by Stradartenfuhrer Hans Landa (a chillingly fantastic Cristoph Waltz)... a man so keen at his job that he has earned the moniker "The Jew Hunter". Shosanna has been able to remain undetected and begins a new life in Paris as the owner of a small-but-eloquent cinema. When unforeseen circumstances lead the Germans to pick Shosanna's theater for the premiere of a new Nazi propaganda movie that will be attended by Hitler and over half the Nazi high command, Shosanna... and the Basterds {thanks to the help of British intelligence and a German double agent (Diane Kruger)} all plan to descend on the premiere to carry out one daring mission... the execution of Adolph Hitler and his lieutenants. Needless to say for anyone who has seen a Quentin Tarantino movie... chaos ensues. Basterds is loaded with great characters and classic war setups, but it's the Tarantino touch that makes this flick so fresh. I have heard alot of critics complain about the movie's surplus of dialogue and lack of overall action... that is true, Basterds, while really violent and graphic, is nowhere near as graphic and violent as I had anticipated. The movie's main drive is the aforementioned "dialogue heavy" scenes. Take for example the opening scene... a conversation between Hans Landa and a French dairy farmer who is rumored to be hiding Jews in his home... the scene starts of as a casual conversation between two men and slowly builds to something more... something sinister. This scene sets the pace for the entire movie. It is expertly written, shot and acted. The underlying tension that pulses through it and the eventual outcome are paced perfectly. This scene alone demonstrates how powerful the most simple of movie sequences can also become the most memorable. Speaking of performances, the movie is ripe with fantastic ones. Brad Pitt plays Lt. Aldo Raines as a squared jaw, squinty-eyed hillbilly wrecking ball. His dialogue is clever and he delivers it cleverly. Also of note is Melanie Laurent as the revenge-driven Shosanna. Most of her scenes are not dependent on dialogue like her costars but rather her movements and reactions to the events unfolding before her. At first she is a casual observer who wishes for nothing more that her own survival, but soon she sees a chance to strike back at those who have murdered her family and caused her to become a fugitive. But ultimately Basterds belongs to Austrian-born character actor, Christoph Waltz. He is the engine that drives the movie. Every scene he is in is perfect and everything from his welcoming voice to his icy stare and finally to his sudden cruelty screams not only "memorable movie villain" but a memorable character of cinema altogether. Don't be surprised if Waltz is nominated (and possibly wins) an Oscar for his portrayal of Hans Landa. I cannot recommend Inglorious Basterds enough. For me, it is hands down Tarantino's best movie since 1994's Pulp Fiction... but a word of caution... the movie's violence, while mostly minimal with the exception of the climax, is pretty rough in a very cartoonish way. However, trust me when I say that it's not the movie's violence you will remember... it's the characters and their dialogue that will stick with you.
- BILLY TRIPLETT
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