Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Ingloriously Overrated

Nearly every young person I know who saw Inglourious Basterds this summer absolutely loved it. The movie, based during World War II, focuses on a group of Jewish-American rebels-known as the Inglourious Basterds- who storm through Europe, hunting down and killing Nazi groups, and their plot to take down the German regime. At the same time, a young Jewish women who own a small theatre also plans to get revenge on the Nazis, unbeknownst to the Basterds. After this was explained to me, and it sounded definitely worth the price of admission, as an American Gangster, Departed-type action/crime/drama. And to an extent, it was.

Inglourious Basterds, however, staked its claim to fame in its fine mix of radically differing emotions: dramatic shock and awe with spontaneous humor. This unexpected, appealing mix-up helped keep the audience entertained- something the movie needed with its 153-minute runtime and tiresome subtitles.

The movie had everything. Brad Pitt, acting brilliantly as a U.S. Lieutenant and speaking Italian with a silly Tennessee accent. Graphic, bloody scenes only a Quentin Tarantino film could produce. An appalling storyline with a well-known back story. Three prevalent languages for a diverse audience. And a unique, realistic, not-so-Hollywood script. It was absolutely full to the brim, bordering on overflowing, with detail.

Over time, I’ve realized the movies I have enjoyed the most were the best at building to a climax and drawing out specific sentiments. The Green Mile and The Pursuit of Happyness drew out sadness. Remember the Titans and Gladiator, justice. Jerry Maguire and Pay It Forward, love. The Princess Bride and Weekend at Bernie’s, humor. By leading up to and focusing solely on such sensations, the movies enhanced the meanings of those emotions and hence amplified their importance. When John Coffey is executed in The Green Mile, I cried. When Maximus avenges his family’s death in Gladiator, goosebumps rose over my whole body.

These scenes work well because they draw the sentiment out extensively. They push the limit on what buttons to press and how hard to press them. Inglorious Basterds, on the other hand, presses all the buttons. It goes the comedy route, as well as the thrilling, awe-inspiring route. That’s not to say that in order to make a great serious movie, there can be no funny parts. In The Green Mile, the other death-row prison guards play hilarious pranks on Percy to get back at him for his dry-execution torture of an inmate. But there’s a time and a place for humor. The guards’ revenge on Percy came unexpectedly, awhile after Percy horrifying torture, and after the shock had worn off.

Inglourious Basterds differs from this sentiment in that it switches gears from the shocking to the funny strikingly quick. The change of pace enhances the humor, but it’s too quick; emotions from the last scene are still in full effect. For example, when the “Bear Jew” first appears in the movie, about to brutally execute a Nazi, his entrance is played out in slow motion, portraying his total badass-ness. His dominating presence is intended to intimidate. Then, out of nowhere, the film switches to a full-speed attack of the Bear Jew on the Nazi, accompanied by shouts and insults intended to be funny. Meanwhile, I’m still mired in admiration for the Bear Jew and his aura, unprepared for the switch in tone. There are several other examples of tone switches like this throughout the movie, which left me in the dust. I felt the movie could have been made stellar with a few subtle changes, which would have focused the movie on either a humorous or a dramatic theme. That way, the full sentiments from the scenes can be conveyed to the audience, and thus extract the most intense emotions.

I liked the movie, but Inglorious Basterds missed a golden opportunity; if it had lived up to its potential, it could have gone down as a classic similar to Scarface or The Godfather. A funny movie should be a funny movie. A thriller is a thriller. A funny movie, however, cannot be a thriller.

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