Kill Bill Vol. 1 & 2 (2003-2004): Written and Directed by Quentin Tarantino. Starring: Uma Thurman, David Carradine, Daryl Hannah, Michael Madsen, Lucy Liu, Vivica A. Fox. Rated R. Running time: 111 min. (Vol. 1), 136 min. (Vol. 2).
Quentin Tarantino was a critic’s darling in the early 90’s after Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction elevated the gangster genre with smart writing and tight filmmaking. His underrated 1997 effort Jackie Brown disappointed some fans, but the maturity and focus of that film kept him within the good graces of critics. In 2003, however, the director found himself facing considerable backlash with the release of Kill Bill Vol. 1. Some of these criticisms came from Tarantino’s usual detractors, but perhaps just as many came from those who admired his previous works. The arguments made about his other films seemed doubly true here – he steals from other films, revels in violence, and self-indulgently over-stylizes. Kill Bill is a deliberate tribute to the director’s favorite movies – that forgotten back catalogue of exploitation flicks, kung fu and spaghetti westerns collecting dust in your local video store – in an effort to highlight the best of these films and maybe even get us to rent one (although these days even your local video store is becoming an antique). Tarantino makes no effort to hide what he’s doing. Every trick he pulls is out in the open, bringing attention to itself. Call it self-indulgent, call it meta-cinema; regardless, it works. The Kill Bill films are stylized candy – they have little pretense of being much more than that – but oh, what gourmet candy they are.
Despite the impressive style of the Kill Bill films, many critics lamented a loss of Tarantino’s storytelling skills that were so treasured before. In place of his witty, colorful dialogue are intentionally cheesy one-liners and stilted conversations about revenge and “unfinished business.” However, evocation of the aforementioned B-movies aside, the dialogue here retains a Tarantino-ian air in its crispness and clarity. Despite his reputation, Tarantino is a remarkably patient filmmaker. His characters don’t just kill each other – they talk about it first. The script borrows much of the hamminess of B-movies, but Tarantino infuses it with humor, pop culture jokes and self-awareness. At one point Uma Thurman’s voiceover introduces us to a character as the woman “dressed like she’s a villain on Star Trek.” But isn’t Tarantino the one who dressed her? The film pokes fun at its own style and never takes itself too seriously. Take a scene from Vol. 2, for example, where Bill and Budd discuss the Bride’s bloody fight with a gang of kung-fu warriors known as the Crazy 88. Budd wonders how she could have cut through all 88 of them. Bill responds that “there weren’t really 88 of them, they just call themselves the Crazy 88.” “How come?” Budd asks. “I don’t know,” Bill shrugs, “I guess they thought it sounded cool.” Tarantino is enamored with these cool films, but he also parodies them and understands that it’s all for the sake of fun.
Though these are not films to be taken seriously, Tarantino scores some genuinely touching moments at the end of Vol. 2 when Uma Thurman discovers that her 4-year-old daughter is alive and living with her father, Bill. Here Tarantino drops much of the imitation and writes some of his best dialogue, including a child’s understanding of life and death, and an insightful analysis of Superman. He digs underneath the seemingly shallow action that precedes these moments and reveals actual characters with convincing motivations. Of course, they still exist in Movie Land, but Tarantino finds the heart of cinema’s artificiality in a way that few filmmakers do. In one scene, Thurman talks a female assassin out of killing her by showing the woman a positive pregnancy test she took moments before the assassin arrived to kill her. The scene, both tense and funny, is not borrowed from anywhere, but is wholly Tarantino.
Many have stated that the films, particularly Vol. 1, are all style and no substance. But since when is style not substantial? Problems arise in highly stylized films only when the director does not know how to handle these stylistic devices. The Kill Bill films are filled with such tricks, featuring several scenes in black-and-white, one shot in a 4:3 aspect ratio, another entirely in anime, superimposed text, split screen, etc. And these are only the post-production additions. Tarantino uses the camera in bold ways, such as an extended tracking shot through a Japanese restaurant and surprising angles that defamiliarize otherwise typical fight scenes. You could call him reckless if every shot wasn’t so carefully put together. The soundtrack makes up another essential aspect of the film’s style. Tarantino showcases his usual knack for unearthing lost musical gems, adding here Ennio Morricone themes, funky selections from kung fu scores and original music (a rarity for Tarantino) by the RZA and Robert Rodriguez.
Is he showing off? Yes, but it’s hard to complain when a director has this level of proficiency and knowledge of film. Tarantino is as familiar with the style of French New Wave as he is Blaxploitation, and he throws everything together as if the boundaries of time and geography are merely illusory – which they are. Though the films do not expressly preach, there is an argument to be found here, one that is familiar to anyone who has ever tried to defend a film for its entertainment value alone. The Kill Bill films are sophisticated executions of trashy genres, blurring the line between high and low culture until the line is no longer visible. All filmmakers borrow from those who came before them. Such is the nature of art. By making his influences explicit and revealing his process, he celebrates the craft of film – old and new, high and low, all together.
Kill Bill, as one cohesive project, is more focused than it first appears. Tarantino takes the time to build his own mythology and flesh out the history of his characters. The film was divided into two releases due to length, and Tarantino makes the division work (there is a clear tonal shift between Vol. 1 and 2). On DVD, however, you can kick back and watch it all at once, letting the style of this self-proclaimed “gory story” wash over you. Stylized candy it may be, but if I’m going to rot my teeth out – and I most assuredly will – I want it to be at the hands of the finest confectioner in the world.
- Steve Avigliano, 2/1/10
This is #1 in my book.
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