Tony Thio
With Quentin Tarantino’s filmography credentials filling up just about every position including actor, producer, writer, director, cinematographer and editor, he’s played a part in several cult classics, such as 1992’s Reservoir Dogs, 1994’s Pulp Fiction, 2003 and 2004’s Kill Bill I, and even being a special guest director on 2005’s Sin City. So it was with much anticipation that I caught the screening of his latest offering, Death Proof.
Initially offered as a double-billed Grindhouse feature alongside Robert Rodriguez’s (of Sin City fame) Planet Terror, with trailers for imaginary films (including a segment by Edgar Wright of Hot Fuzz fame), it was intended to be a spoof on cheesy exploitation films complete with scratches on the film screen, erratic reel changes and sudden film cuts. However, that was a disaster in the US box office and so Tarantino and producer Harvey Weinstein decided to market both films individually, and in full extended-version glory, containing additional information regarding certain plot techniques and parts that were left out in the double feature.
And it worked. Death Proof was cheered on by journalists at this year’s Cannes film festival, most of whom described the film as “amazing”. While I have yet to catch Planet Terror, or Grindhouse in its full double-bill offering, I came away from Death Proof not entirely liking it, but laughing really hard towards the end.
Death Proof being Tarantino’s answer to old-school B movies, the plot is very simple. Kurt Russell (last seen in Poseidon as Robert Ramsey) stars as a psychotic, murderous driver called Stuntman Mike with a weird fetish for feet. He enjoys killing women with his car, which he proclaims as indestructible, “This car is 100% death proof. Only to get the benefit of it, honey, you really need to be sitting in my seat!”
He picks women out to murder whenever he reaches a new town, first selecting a group of girls, then putting his perverted plan into action. “Jungle” Julia (Sydney Poitier) and Arlene “Butterfly” (Vanessa Ferlito) and their group of female friends are first targeted, and Tarantino puts the audience through a hefty, mindless chunk of idle female banter in the car, before even more mindless female chatter at a local Austin bar. However, it blends well with intermittent dancing by the girls to the jukebox, and the camera constantly focuses on their glistening legs.
All this while, Stuntman Mike sits at the bar, overhearing the ruckus and chatting up Pam (a very blond Rose McGowan). He approaches them, and ends up getting a very saucy lapdance from Butterfly. However, as Tarantino’s fans would know of his exceptional patience in building up the tension, he throws a surprise out of his sleeve when Mike uses his death-proof stunt car to deliriously quick effect in what is definitely one of cinema’s most gory vehicular homicides.
He disappears after that, but resurfaces a few months later, in a different town, targeting a different group of girls, which is when we are introduced to Zoe Bell, the top tier stuntwoman who doubled for Uma Thurman during the very physical parts of Kill Bill. In Death Proof, Zoe Bell plays herself, and doubles for herself, as she and her gal pals are the next group that Mike targets. Unlike the first group, this second group turns out to be a lot more gusty, and it makes for a fantastic finish to the film, especially the car chase, and all the comedic parts (that I won’t spoil for you) that will ensure you laughing to no end. The car chase itself deserves 2 thumbs up, mesmerizing as it is, with Zoe Bell riding on the hood of the car.
The legendary Kurt Russell pulls his role off as the anti-hero superbly, the first part being the badass psycho using his indestructible car as his weapon of choice, and the second part becoming a completely transformed pussy. The girls pull off their roles well and add to the overall enjoyment of the film, except for the extended banter that should, really be edited out. Do also look out for the cameo appearance of Tarantino himself, as Warren the bartender in the first half of the movie.
Instead of being consistent with the action as does all action films do these days, Tarantino chooses to build up the momentum, and when it finally hits you, it hits you out of nowhere and it’s well-worth the wait.
Not expecting anything but watching it for the pure fun and excitement is the way to appreciating and enjoying Death Proof. It’s not the usual action movie full of mind-blowing action sequences but instead a loud, sexy, violent piece of film that entertains with a capital “E”.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Movie Details:
Opens: June 21
Running Time: 127 minutes
Cast: Kurt Russell, Rose McGowan, Zoe Bell
Director: Quentin Tarantino