True Romance

Quentin Tarantino is, without doubt, one of histories most popular filmmakers.With movies such as Kill Bill, Reservoir Dogs, and my personal favourite, Pulp Fiction, Tarantino has built a solid film-making reputation. In the majority of his films, including the aforementioned ones, he both writes and directs. But in today's movie, he only carries 1 of those responsibilities, the screenplay, and does a terrific job. This is my review of True Romance.

Released in 1993 under the direction of Tony Scott (The younger brother of Ridley Scott), True Romance feature an ensemble cast including Christian Slater, Patricia Arquette, Gary Oldman, Michael Rapaport, Dennis Hopper and Bronson Pinchot among others. It follows 2 newlyweds travelling across America to sell a stolen drugs cache. It has Tarantino's trademark witty dialogue, combined with a great story, engaging characters and some great performances to make it one of the most original and enjoyable films in history.

The movie opens in Detroit, where movie buff and Elvis Presley idolizer Clarence (Slater) meets Alabama (Arquette) at a local cinema. After watching the film and having some pie, they go back to Clarence's apartment and sleep together. The next morning, Alabama reveals she is a call girl, hired as a present by Clarence's boss. However, she claims that she has fallen in love with him. He reciprocates, and the 2 of them get hitched.

Clarence takes it upon himself to break the news to Alabama's pimp Drexl (Oldman). In the ensuing confrontation, Clarence kills Drexl, one of his henchmen, and takes a bag he thinks belongs to Alabama, which turns out to be full of cocaine. Clarence visits his father Cliff (Hopper) to find out if he is implicated in Drexl's murder, and is informed that he is in the clear.

Clarence and Alabama set out for California to visit Clarence's close friend Dick (Rapaport). Clarence plans to sell the cocaine to a film producer using one of Dick's contacts, an actor named Elliot (Pinchot). The plan seems solid, but Elliot gets caught by the police with some of the coke. Afraid of the ramifications, Elliot makes a deal with 2 detectives to give them the parties involved in the deal in return for avoiding jail time.

This film itself is, like most Tarantino movies, not of a simple structure. It is multi-layered and intricate. It does, however, play in chronological order, unlike some of his most famous work. But unlike many movies that try hard to be complex, eg The Matrix, the movie is not hard to follow, and that makes it so much more enjoyable. You don't have to analyse it to the point that you get frustrated. As a result, we are allowed to enjoy all the twists and turns that lead to it's fitting and heart-warming climax. The star-studded cast are all great in their respective roles, and we are lucky enough to have a cameo from Christopher Walken, who is brilliant in anything he does. An awesome movie, no doubt about it.