Despite Quentin
Tarantino's reputation as a kind of career defibrillator, nobody ever
mentions the inverse trick he pulled with Robert De Niro in Jackie Brown:
recognizing a descending catatonia and casting the star as a bemused,
clogged and unthinking hoodlum who explodes in useless fury at Bridget
Fonda in the parking lot of Del Amo mall. Louis Gara is De Niro's last
really brave performance, ranking with Jake LaMotta and Noodles Aaronson
as men at the mercy of impulse—except that Louis is trailed by the
pot-clouded fear that his gifts are squandered. "What the fuck happened
to you, man?" Samuel L. Jackson asks, pausing from shooting him. "Your
ass used to be beautiful." R. Academy.
- Best paired with: Firestone Walker Double Barrel Ale.
- Also showing: Red River (Laurelhurst), Stripes (Cinema 21, 1 pm Saturday, May 21).
WWeek 2015