Deathproof
Quentin Tarantino and Kurt Russell on the set of Deathproof
Monday, 24, Sep 2007 05:04
Directed by Quentin Tarantino, out in cinemas September 21st, starring Kurt Russell, Rosario Dawson, Rose McGowen and Zoe Bell, running time 114 minutes
In a nutshell...
Nutter with car murders women.
What's it all about?
Originally meant as the first half of a three-hour long homage to the 1970s 'grindhouse' era of American cinema, coupled with Robert Rodriguez's zombie gore-fest Planet Terror, Deathproof is the long-awaited latest work from cult director Quentin Tarantino. Due to poorly received reviews and dismal ticket sales since release in the US, the collaboration Grindhouse was ordered to be separated and re-edited for individual cinematic releases.
Deathproof centres upon the travels of Stuntman Mike (Kurt Russell) in his 'death-proofed' car. Stuntman Mike finds and stalks groups of striking young women, subsequently dismembering them through car crashes while remaining unhurt. Group 'A' of women (comprising Vanessa Ferlito, Jordan Ladd, Sydney Poitier and Monica Staggs) are his foremost victims and end their lives messily. Group 'B' (Rosario Dawson, Tracie Thoms, Zoe Bell and Mary Elizabeth Winstead) are tougher, with two of them being modern movie stuntwomen, and Stuntman Mike's match.
Who's in it?
Tarantino has a tendency to revitalise forgotten actors' careers (John Travolta anyone?) and there is no exception with Kurt Russell as Stuntman Mike. Suitably creepy with a massive scar, Russell hits just the right note of disturbing and yet slightly endearing - Russell is unsettling cool throughout.
Out of the girls, Vanessa Ferlito, Sydney Poitier, Rosario Dawson and Tracie Thoms stand out as both comfortable and likeable in their roles.
Special praise must be heaped upon Zoe Bell for playing herself. Bell is a stuntwoman, known for being Uma Thurman's stuntdouble in both Kill Bill films, and she pulls off some crazy stunts and a credible performance.
As an example.
In Stuntman Mike's car:
Stuntman Mike: Well, Pam... Which way you going, left or right?
Pam: Right!
Stuntman Mike: Oh, that's too bad...
Pam: Why?
Stuntman Mike: Because it was a 50-50 shot on whether you'd be going left or right. You see we're both going left. You could have just as easily been going left, too. And if that was the case... It would have been a while before you started getting scared. But since you're going the other way, I'm afraid you're gonna have to start getting scared... immediately!
Likelihood of a trip to the Oscars
The likelihood of little gold men gracing Deathproof is extremely tiny! Besides, QT didn't make this film in order to be honoured by the board, he made it to honour grindhouse cinema.
This is definitely the type of film to be viewed at the cinema. Why recreate the atmosphere of dodgy 70s movies if you watch it at home? Critics will love it or loathe it, as with most Tarantino, but on this of the Atlantic at least, it'll be a thumbs up.
What the others say
"For a slasher film, it spends a lot of time with its victims. For a hot-chick movie, there's no nudity. And for a psycho movie, it sends up the whole post-Silence Of The Lambs criminal romance with a brilliantly subversive twist." - Empire
So is it any good?
Tarantino's latest flick is a tricky genre to pin down - part horror, part car-chase movie, part action, part femme fatale. But somehow it works, with the gruesome murder-through-car results glorifying in their gory and incredible consequences. With possibly the longest car chases since 'Bullitt' hit the screens, the fast-paced automobile action is fantastic (incidentally, the real stunt-drivers must've had a blast). The deaths of Group 'A' are seen from every individual perspective, pushing home the dreadful impact.
All the Tarantino trademarks are present - extreme female foot fetishes, the little pointers towards his previous movies (e.g. a mobile ring-tone is of the whistling in 'Kill Bill'), thoughtfully irreverent chatter and unbelievably long shots (a breakfast shot a la Reservoir Dogs is over seven minutes long). The red stuff is inevitably spattered around, but with QT class - and the feminist ending is enormously satisfying with the male anti-hero desperately back-tracking.
Deathproof succeeds completely as homage to grindhouse cinema - the missing scenes, heavily scratched film, and sudden losses of colour and focus greatly add to a form of cinema long gone and is hugely enjoyable in the thoroughly precise world of modern movie-making.
But, throughout the experience (a far more accurate description of Deathproof than 'film'), there remains a strong feeling of something missing. On the basis of this re-edited and extended Deathproof, Grindhouse could've only been superb - the full three-hour two-movie plus fake trailers experience aches to be seen in cinemas as Tarantino and Rodriguez longed for it to be. With the extra Planet Terror (inexplicably released months apart) and final touches Grindhouse should have been everything expected of it, and Deathproof mourns because of it.
Deathproof is a terrific B-movie with girls, cars and a wicked Kurt Russell. But, secretly, we desperately wish it was Grindhouse instead.
7.5/10
Melanie Green