Yesterday I watched Django Unchained (great movie). Having seen several Quentin Tarantino movies lately, I feel like his film style gravitates toward winking at the audience through the 4th wall in several different ways. He does this with his unlikely but funny character names like Broomhilda Von Shaft. He also does it by using outlandish-but-mesmerizing premises (pretty much all of them). Or he might jump capriciously forward or backward in time. Then theres his juxtaposition of characters and situations. Also his theme music, which is part tribute to a genre and part parody of it. Then there are his own cameos. And his melodramatic camera moves. About one hour into Django Unchained, a hit song by a 70s singer-songwriter pops in, and somehow it fits like a glove, even though I normally hate when a period piece uses music from another time. What Im saying is that Quentin Tarantinos winks, which break the fourth wall, are doing it in a way that the audience is in on it. The director is inviting you into a playful game with him, and tossing you little gifts along the way. Now Im gonna make a big leap of comparison. Im watching Knight and Day, directed by James Mangold, and when Tom Cruise shoots at the gas tank of an SUV, it explodes and summersaults end-over-end. Immediately, Im not in the movie anymore. It wasnt a wink. It was ham-handed show-offsmanship. (TM) Your thoughts?
Posted on: Tue, 13 May 2014 00:05:51 +0000
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