I’m a large fan of the new school of Independent Film Directors. Kevin Smith, Eli Roth and Edgar Wright are all rising stars that need to be watched. I imagine great moments in film from these guys. One thing that they all have in common is their admiration and deference of two of the most respected independent filmmakers around (and quite possibly the godfathers of this new breed) Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodriquez.
These two have an incredible love for the feel and content of the “B” movie Drive-in genre that hit the screens in the early to mid seventies and have attempted to resurrect many of the styles. We’ve seen Heist Flics, Vampire films, Blaxploitation and Chop-socky Kung Fu. True Mavericks, they do their own writing, directing, camera work and, in the case of Rodriguez, even score their own films. They wallow in the crap of yester-year and elevate it to the point where it is new and fresh.
And their talent allows them to work with any actor they want. Any time the have written a part with an actor in mind, they have landed them.
Their talent in two areas in unparalleled; they know how to show gratuitous violence and they know how to write dialogue. In fact they revel in writing dialogue and it’s Tarantino’s ear for this, and his presentation of dialogue as the humor and calm before the storm, that has always been his biggest strength. His bouts of seemingly off topic, sometimes insipid speech, have always gone a long way to not only illuminating his character’s personalities but have also helped make his violence seem that much more violent when his characters get down to business.
You watch Pulp Fiction, Reservoir Dogs, Kill Bill or even True Romance (written but not directed by) and the dialogue flows effortlessly. The audience is allowed to take a collective breath and prepare themselves for what’s about to come.

And this is exactly what’s wrong with Deathproof. The breath Quentin forces you to take is simply too long. You need to exhale long before he allows you and the film is almost ruined despite brilliance in every other department.

Following down the path that these two Directors have already travelled, Tarantino and Rodriguez decided to create a 70’s Drive in Double Feature in the best style of those long forgotten films. They would name the production Grindhouse with Rodriguez’s Zombie offering called Planet Terror while Tarantino’s Deathproof would be an homage to car chase/slasher flics.

A 100-Mile An Hour Synopsis:
The first half of the movie centers around three female friends in Austin Texas who are out to celebrate the birthday of one of their own, a local minor celebrity D.J., before going up to a cabin for the week-end. Through their dialogue and revelry we are able to invest ourselves in them and we grow to know them and like them. A frightening looking, yet seemingly gentle, old school stunt car driver (Kurt Russell) has run in to them a couple of times during the day and is at the bar watching them intently and interacting with them on a growing basis. Despite his dated appearance and scarred features he endears himself to them and they come to the conclusion that he is harmless. After they have had their fill of booze and pot, the girls head out in to the night, only to have Stuntman Mike go after them. A pretty little blond who asks Mike for a lift home is in the very worst place at the very worst time and her short lived fear is palpable as Mike’s over hauled, reinforced Dodge Charger eats the road in pursuit of his prey. His homicidal ways are made very clear.

The climax of act one is violent, graphic and hard to watch.

The second half of the movie starts out as almost a carbon copy of the first half. We meet a group of female friends in Tennessee fourteen months later. All four have various jobs in the film industry including two who are stuntwomen.
Again, through their conversation in a local cafeteria we become invested in their characters and find them endearing, but you can feel very quickly that there is something different in this group. They’re tougher, they have more of an edge to them, they’re less girlie and harder, one of them packs some heat. In the background, we see Stuntman Mike again and we know that he is once more stalking his prey, waiting for his time to pounce. We come to realize that these girls are in this backwater town because one of their number is looking to test-drive a 1970 Dodge Challenger. When she gets her chance, she decides to perform a very dangerous, adrenaline-pumping stunt called a Ship's Mast.
Stuntman Mike takes this opportunity to commence his hunt but much to his disbelief the tables are turned and he becomes the hunted.

The movie ends right after their final confrontation.

A High Octane Opinion:
What’s to like?
Kurt Russell- This was one of the best roles he has ever been given. The character of Stuntman Mike is at the same time, creepy, calculating, menacing, flat out frightening, charming, boyish, pathetic, cowardly and psychotic. Combine the untaimed, explosive nature of Escape From New York's Snake Plissken with the false confidence and ego of Big Trouble's Jack Burton. He’s washed up while still being puffed with bravado, he’s repulsive while still being sexy, he’s demonic while still being likeable. There is one scene that really illuminates how good this casting was. At the bar, Eli Roth’s character is making fun of Stuntman Mike under his breath. We have barely met Mike and yet we instantly hate Eli for the taunts he throws. Humorously, Eli was mortified that he had to repeatedly insult Kurt Russell because Kurt’s movie The Thing was one of the main reasons Eli went into directing. After takes were done he would apologized profusely while Kurt busted a gut laughing.
Kurt grew up around the types of guys who were Stuntmen Mike, the old school, tough as nails drivers who would go through a brick wall to get the right shot, so he is no stranger to the character. Likewise, it is obvious that he is comfortable behind the wheel of a car, which is imperative.
Zoe Bell- She’s a real stunt-woman (born in New Zealand) and has worked before with Quentin when she doubled as Uma Thurman in Kill Bill. This is the first time she has appeared in front of the screen as a performer, and her character (which is really only herself), is one of the more memorable of the women. While her features may be a bit too sharp to call her truly beautiful, she is definitely the most endearing and infectious. She does her own stunts and her energy and enthusiasm all the way through is contagious. Her puckish, toppling smile alone will make you love her. We’ll see her again in something.
The Other Women- No matter what your taste or body type, Quentin serves up a bevy of beauties that are sure to please. Like long legs? Red Hair? A little tummy or some bouncing bootie? You will get your wish and more. Quentin has written many of these roles for the women in particular and has captured their seductive nature flawlessly.
Butterfly’s Dance- At one point, Vanessa Ferlito’s character, which Tarantino wrote just for her, does a prolonged, erotic dance for Kurt Russell (which she helped to choreograph). It’s cheap and trashy... and worth watching twice.
Old Fashioned Car Chases- Quentin wanted his car scenes to be old school. He wanted no CG but just real cars, with real good drivers, smashing in to each other at 80 to 100 miles an hour. So he assembled some of the best stunt people of this era including stunt legend Buddy Joe Hooker. Together the stunt team thought up and pulled off not only some of the best car stunts ever seen on film, but some that have never been seen before.
The Feel and Look- Tarantino uses a grainy, damaged 1970’s film stock approach. Part of it is even in black and white. It so perfectly dates the movie that when the characters use modern cell phones, or text message each other, you immediately think it’s a mistake. Then you remind yourself that the movie is taking place in modern times. When the color returns, after being missing for some time, it’s so shocking and vibrant you’ll find yourself breathless.

Looking Under The Hood:
So what’s wrong with this picture?
PACING, PACING, PACING!!!!- Look, I’ve already explained that I’m a big fan of Tarantino and that I not only like his prolonged moments of dialogue but that I also understand why he does it. Where it works in every other film and where it doesn’t work here is how the dialogue is presented. I’ll try to explain. With the exception of the breakfast cafe scene in Reservoir Dogs, every time Tarantino presents moments of extended conversation it is either just after a particularly tense moment of the film or just preceding it. The formula seems to be five minutes of dialogue and ten minutes of excitement, five minutes of dialogue and ten minutes of excitement. Many times, the dialogue in his movies occurs while the characters are on their way to do something exciting, as was often the case in Pulp Fiction. The mere fact that you KNEW something was about to happen made the rapid fire, disconnected dialogue that much more intriguing.
With Deathproof he doesn’t do that. He spends a sizeable chunk of time talking, has a small climax and then he goes back at the beginning and does it all over again almost as if he is completely re-starting the movie. This pacing problem will cause you to be drumming your fingers halfway through the second act of the film and saying to yourself “C’mon already... get on with it.” It makes the film feel longer than its two hours and ten minutes and is counter productive to the introduction of the final four girls. You get it long before Tarantino delivers the goods.

Another, smaller problem I had was the DVD extras. Tarantino has decided to divide the film up in to two disks, one of which is solely bonus features. On the bonus feature disk are several small documentaries including about four on his casting choices. Now while the information is cool (especially the small piece on Stunt Driving and the one about Zoe Bell), they in no way warrant the need for a second full disk. They just aren’t long enough. It smelled like padding to me. Where are all the fake movie promos that Eli Roth and other directors did for the theatrical presentation?

Letting The Engine Cool:
Dammit...I really wanted to like this a lot more than I did. I was given one of my favorite directors, working closely with another of my favorite directors, with a great concept and some fantastic talent. I was surprise when my other movie choice of the evening, We Are Marshall, rated higher. While I think that any Tarantino fan should rent this, I also think that the way he’s chosen to present it makes it the weakest film he’s ever directed. On many occasions, Kevin Smith (a Tarantino acolyte) approaches the grand master and asks him for advice. That advice is almost always “If it doesn’t propel the plot, if it doesn’t move the story forward, loose it... cut it... forget it.”.

It’s almost like Tarantino forgot his own credo. There had to be a better way to cut the movie.


Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Video Occasion: Better than Watching TV
Suitability For Children: Not suitable for Children of any age