I should start with a confession: I’m not a huge Tarantino fan. Nope, I’m not. I did not care for Inglourious Basterds. Pulp Fiction was entertaining, but it didn’t ado for me what it seemed to do for so many others. And Reservoir Dogs? Huh?
But I wanted to give this one a chance. I read a blip about an interview with Leonardo DiCaprio during which he said this was the character he’d played whom he liked least—not at all, actually. That blip and the movie’s general theme about slavery and the slave trade – – – that’s all I knew going in.
To say I was pleasantly surprised seems so wrong; the movie’s elements are so distasteful. And it seems so odd to even say that I enjoyed the movie. But I did. Not as in “what a fantastic story!” No. More in a “what a fantastic way to tell a love story with such a terribly distasteful backdrop.” Maybe that’s it. But it is a good film, even if it’s not a good story.
Yes, the movie is Tarantino-bloody. And it’s Tarantino-quirky. I was confused with some of the scenery that felt more spaghetti western than deep south pre-Civil War. But wow. The movie definitely delivers on its crude look at a dark time in our nation’s history – – – and our history as a people. It portrays the most inhumane display of humanity. It beats you on the head with the horrid depth people—-actual people—-can sink to. But it also delivers in an engaging and engrossing story that unfolds with just enough wit. So even though the language is foul and offensive—on so many levels—there are also laugh-out-loud funny ha ha moments that are what make a good movie about a dark evil worth watching.
Ah, that wit—–no, that is not what is seen with the twinkle in DiCaprio’s eye. That twinkle is just evil. But there’s a wit that the writing brings that is delightfully brought to life by Christoph Waltz (by far better than his Inglourious Basterds role if you ask me) and by Jamie Foxx. There’s enough of that, but only barely, that I did not have to immediately shower after getting home. And Samuel L. Jackson? He’s terrific. Icky-awful-makes-you-cringe. But terrific.
My movie companion said something such that afterwards that he was numb. Indeed. Yes. This is one you had to watch and leave behind you. I mentioned that’s why it sometimes takes me a few days to write about a flick. And thus, a few days later, here we are.
Be prepared, as I said, this is Tarantino-bloody. But I am so pleased that I did not skip over it just because I’m not a huge fan of his. He’s done something different here. Something better. Something . . . something.