Review: Inglourious Basterds

Inglourious Basterds

Dir. Quentin Tarantino, 2009

*****

"Wait for the cream," says Colonel Hans Landa (Christoph Waltz) to Shoshanna (Mélanie Laurent) as they are about to enjoy a strudel at a restaurant in Nazi-occupied Paris. Quentin Tarantino's Inglourious Basterds is a movie in which there is a lot of waiting - but the cream does make this strudel well worth the wait. And there's much more of this cream than the big dollop at the end. You can also find it layered within the movie's Tarantino-flavored dough.

Basterds is composed of five "chapters," each of which has its own plot curve. Scenes where characters engage in seemingly mundane dialogue are time-bombs waiting to explode, and we know it. Though the eventual explosions are satisfying, the real substance of the scenes is in the wait - and like I said, there is a lot of waiting.

The most suspenseful scenes stem from Waltz's brilliant performance in portraying "The Jew Hunter" Colonel Landa. Simple conversations over a glass of milk or a warm strudel are transformed into long moments of unspoken tension. The first chapter of the film, which features Colonel Landa, plays out like a ballet of words. Other scenes are an exposition of Landa's unfortunate combination of evilness and extreme intelligence.

On the other hand is Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt) and his squad of Basterds, who in stark contrast to Landa, give the movie the comedic and grotesque dimension that is basically required in anything with the Quentin Tarantino stamp. These guys may be dumb, but they're a group you certainly do not want to encounter. Unfortunately for the enemy, the Basterds massacre platoon after platoon, setting up some scenes that are funny despite their gruesomeness and excruciating despite their comedy.

Now the Basterds are excellent at killing, but they're not so skilled at much else, and sadly for them, there is much more to trying to assassinate Hitler than just the killing itself. The Basterds find themselves dug into hole after hole, which does not spell well for them when matched up against the smarts of Colonel Landa and many of the Germans. One of the movie's most memorable scenes occurs at a tavern in a basement. "You don't got to be Stonewall Jackson to know you don't want to fight in a basement," says Aldo, clearly indicating to us that a fight will inevitably break loose. But while they drink and play games with some Germans, we're hoping that a fight won't happen, and once again, we find ourselves witnessing the tensest bar game in movie history.

Shoshanna's quest for revenge over the murder of her Jewish family by Landa's men provides the thread that ties together the plot of this epic, multi-layered film. Her story and its development are the best part of the movie in one way and the worst in another. You wait for a long time, but the cream is exquisite. It is in itself a modern-day film noir and is beautiful as a whole, though some parts are definitely lacking in poetry.

One particularly unsatisfying scene involves Nazi war hero Fredrick Zoller (Daniel Brühl) pursuing a disinterested Shoshanna in a café. The exchange doesn't amount to much, and we find ourselves having to actually wait through similar interactions, which start off unremarkable but crescendo throughout the film. Indeed, the relationship between the two characters is essential, despite its lack of complexity.

Without divulging details, I will say that the final chapter of the film is unlike anything I've seen from the past five years, and the movie's last line is perfect. Yet again, the strudel is good, but it's worth it to wait for the cream. As for the strudel, it is somewhat of a departure from Tarantino's other work. Most notably, it lacks much of the catchphrase-filled dialogue that has become a QT trademark - though the quirkiness can still be felt. Whether this marks a lasting change in style on Tarantino's part is yet to be seen. This is not his best work, but in Inglourious Basterds, Quentin Tarantino proved that yes, he can add a layer of sophistication in substance over his always present mastery of style.

*****

My Rating: A-