I started watching ‘Inglourious Basterds’ expecting an offering as ‘pulpy’ as some of Tarentino’s earlier work, but was pleasantly surprised to see a gripping sequential screenplay to a not so surprisingly thin plot.
The story, by Tarentino’s own admission, a tribute to the classic western, but set during World War II, revolves around a group of Jewish Americans who are dropped into France with the sole purpose of killing the Nazi leadership. In parallel, the French revolutionaries, mercilessly sought out and killed by the German SS have a survivor who swears revenge on the Nazis and plans to burn the whole lot of them alive in a theatre that she runs in Paris, while they are watching the premiere of a German war hero tribute. How the two objectives lead them to the same venue and whether the objective is achieved or not is what the plot tries to answer.
The reference to the classic western is apparent for the first ten minutes, where a French farmer looks at a vast landscape that slowly reveals a German convoy headed towards him. The attempt to portray the Basterds as a bunch of wild Indians looking for scalps notwithstanding, there is little that alludes to the western. Also, Tarentino’s trademark chapter-wise breakup seemed a bit out of place in a structure that was more commonplace than outlandish. But, he deserves plaudits for the slow buildup of tension throughout the story. Each scene is soaked into the viewer and that is what makes the film gripping.
The acting honors are taken not by the known names in the film but by Christoph Waltz, who plays the SS officer, known as the ‘Jew Hunter’. He is utterly charming and well mannered but brutal and ruthless. A lethal combination of skills, portrayed brilliantly by Waltz. Melanie Laurent as the French resistance survivor lends an eeriness to the proceedings with a vengeful mind behind an innocent and staid, yet beautiful face. Brad Pitt as Aldo Raine, the head of the Basterds is utterly irritating and I wonder if he was trying to imitate Lee Marvin from ‘The Dirty Dozen’. Nevertheless, a poor imitation and a poor performance.
Watch ‘Inglourious Basterds’, if you want to see a good thriller, but be mindful of a few Tarentino trademarks which seem rather out of place in this context.
