True Romance (1993)

Maybe you have already see some of Quentin Tarantino's work. Maybe you have also seen some of Tony Scott's work. But what would happen if these two mix?

This one. And it is glorious.

You see, Tarantino is all about quirky characters and dialogue that flies by at breakneck speed, and usually finds the different/bizarre in the most normal places. Maybe the dialogue doesn't really make sense, but you will remember it by heart. Seriously, whom among us who has seen for example 'Pulp Fiction' or 'Reservoir Dogs' can not act out entire dialogues?

Then you have the late Tony Scott, brother to Ridley. Whereas the latter is often regarded as more of an 'auteur'-filmmaker, his brother went for the more slick and spectacular films. True, in a lot of the cases, Tony Scott's films are very light on subject matter, but they always make up for it in style and flair. 'Top Gun'? 'Days of Thunder'? 'The Last Boy Scout'?

See what I mean?

Now throw these two together, and you get a crazy film that works, even though it really almost shouldn't.

Christian Slater is Clarence Worley, a loner who works in a comic book store and never really finds people to connect with. In comes Alabama, a call girl who was paid to be his present for his birthday, but who ends up falling in love with him. They get married the next day, but Clarence wants to make sure Alabama has a nice, clean break so he goes to confront her pimp. He ends up killing him and making off with a bag that happens to contain kilos of cocaine. Naturally, the mob wants it back. A completely wild ride ensues, ending up in Hollywood and one of the most insane shootouts you 'll likely ever see.

The reason this all works is not just the performances. It's the characters and the dialogue. In essence, Clarence and Alabama do dumb stuff, sometimes even despicable things, but because they are portrayed as being so naive and decent at heart, you will forgive them. But this is just a smorgasbord of class actors. Heck, to name but a few: Dennis Hopper, Christopher Walken, James Gandolfini, Chris Penn, Tom Sizemore, Gary Oldman ... This film is loaded!

Storywise, it is nothing special, but the interactions between the characters stand out and remain a joy to watch. The 'Sicilians are really blacks'-speech by Hopper to piss off Walken is hilarious, the deal-making on the rollercoaster will make you laugh your backside off, Slaters face off with Oldman is pretty tense and the final conversation in the appartment goes back and forth so rapidly, you will have to see it again to catch all the nuances. But it is vibrant and just feels right.

What also makes this one stand out, is the brutal violence that sometimes occurs. Now Tarantino or Scott are no strangers to violence in their works, but where it often is a little over the top, here it is raw and visceral. If you already cringe at Clarence getting beat up by Drexl, you will undoubtedly crawl behind the couch when James Gandolfini beats up Patricia Arquette when she doesn't want to tell him where the drugs are hidden. And you know why it all feels so brutal? Because it's extremely realistic. It's low key, it's nothing spectacular, it is raw and in your face.

But don't be put off by the violence, at heart, this is a love story, just like the title suggests and it all ends on a high note, so you will feel relieved in the end.

Highly recommended!