WARNING: The following review contains SPOILERS.
Inglorious Basterds, Quentin Tarantino’s new epic World War II film, will be looked upon as another tremendous gem in his filmography. This is a film stock-full of all of Tarantino’s signatures, from the twisted sense of humor to a great soundtrack.
Basterds is a terrific film that contains an excellent ensemble cast, a fantastic script and a visual style of its own. This may not be the masterpiece that Tarantino was hoping for (judging by the last line of the film), but it will still be looked on as a “glorious” piece of work.
Set during World War II, the story follows a team of Jewish-American soldiers nicknamed “The Basterds,” a revenge-thirsty movie theater owner named Shosanna Dreyfus (Mélanie Laurent) and a dangerous high-ranking German officer named Col. Hans Landa (Christopher Waltz), aka “The Jew Hunter”. To begin with, Shosanna is a young Jewish girl whose family was killed by Landa and his men in the opening scene of the film.
After years of hiding, Shosanna is one day courted by pesky, young Nazi who’s earned fame for his wartime heroics, set to star in an upcoming propaganda film named “Nation’s Pride.” Thanks to his cruch, Shosanna’s theater is chosen for the film’s grand premiere, with guests such as Hitlet and Joseph Goebbels in attendance. From this, Shosanna begins plotting how to strike back at the Nazis. Her plans are similar to the Basterds, who are interested in one: lling Nazis (you probably got that from the trailer). Lieutenant Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt) and his men plot to break up the premiere and kill every Nazi in sight.
Don’t be mistaken, however: this is by no means a “Brad Pitt film,” as the Pitt-headlining ads have been implying. It is an ensemble piece, much like Pulp Fiction. Which is fortunate, considering all the characters are equally fascinating. The film begins with an astonishing scene with Landa brutally slaying Shosanna’s family while investigating a farm house for Jews. It’s a perfect opening scene, its suspenseful and visually striking while also setting up these two central characters perfectly. The audience sees how ruthless and how insanely quirky Landa is, while establishing Shosanna’s conflict – and motive.
Raine and his men are set up as Nazi killers, and thats about all they are. They are infamous among the German army for their violent actions. None of them particularly change during the story, but why would they? They’re soldiers on a mission, who’ve been doing what they’ve been doing for a long time. The first act of the film sets up the characters’ motivations, the second act covers how the Basterds and Shosanna prepare for the premiere and the third act covers what happens at the premiere. Each act is consistently exciting and involving.
Like most Tarantino films, the acting is universally excellent. Pitt delivers one of his best performances yet as Raine, a performance that ranks up there with his work in 12 Monkeys and Fight Club. Some will quibble about his rather over-the-top accent, but it really fits the tone of the film perfectly. Pitt’s Aldo is engaging, likable and also dangerously good with a knife. Another terrific performance is given by Waltz, who chews up the screen in every scene he’s in. He makes The Jew Hunter an eccentric and insane character that is driven by his both duty and the personal enjoyment it brings. This outlandish persona he adopts is beyond entertaining.
That being said, the actor supplied with the meatiest character arc is Laurent, who also delivers a great performance. Shosanna centers her life purely on getting revenge and Laurent portrays this perfectly. Her character transitions the most through the film and undergoes the most satisfying dynamism over the course of the film. Supporting players also deliver excellent performances, including Michael Fassbender, Diane Kruger and especially Til Schweiger, who plays Hugo Stigltz, a war-crazed European Basterd who shows abolute fearlessness.
Tarantino is a mastermind when it comes to framing, music choices and also unique characters. All these glorious factors are in full effect here and it pays off splendidly. He fills the screen with soon-to-be-iconic imagery, most notably the images that appear in the third act — including a big flaming film projection of Shosanna in close-up laughing uproariously at her unassuming Nazi bait. During the acts of violence Tarantino’s beautiful visual aesthetic is present as well, especially with a color scheme that makes the reds pop. Similar to Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs, Tarantino allows all the characters to have genuine character arcs and scenery-chewing dialogue. While Waltz is the main scene-stealer, Tarantino allows every character to have their moments and he provides them all with quotable lines.
This will be a film that will most likely divide critics and audiences alike; some may not find the over-the-top tone very accessible, others perhaps unnecessary and derivative. Basterds features every aspect that a Tarantino fan expects. It has his usual shtick of original dialogue, top-notch performances and unique visuals. The only flaw to be had is minor: comedic actors B.J. Novak and Sam Levine play two of the Basterds, and aren’t really given anything to do, rendering their appearance in the film a slight distraction. Despite this minor quibble, this is another tremendous success for Tarantino.