Even if Tarantino does not make my heart sing, I feel it’d be a bit ridiculous for me to dedicate a month to brave women and not include at least one of his characters. For all his almost farcical gratuitousness I will always praise him for his sharp characters. For most, Landa emerges as the strongest attribute of Inglourious Basterds, and considering his many quotable lines – or Waltz’s performance – I wouldn’t say no. But he’s not who I remember first when I think of Tarantino’s World War II that wasn’t....
...neither is Mélanie Laurent’s Shoshanna, incidentally. For me, Inglourious Basterds begins and ends with the oft-forgotten Diane Kruger. Kruger appears, most noticeably, in the chapter 3 of the film I consider near-perfect (the film, not so much). I must confess that prior to BasterdsI had only the vaguest of notions as to who Kruger was and I’m most impressed at how effortlessly she exudes that sort of charm that takes years for the great ones, like Dietrich (who the role seems to be an obvious throwback to) to accrue. It’s that composedness in the face of constant unease that makes Bridget such an obvious candidate for courageous, and it’s – incidentally – what makes Shoshanna so interesting, too.
Laurent is occasionally exasperating for me with her expressions which occasionally seem to overly precise, or sometimes oddly vacant but I love Shoshanna in that strudel scene. There’s that uncanny feeling that Tarantino is too satisfied with his creations here – specifically Landa – but even then grandiose nature of it all doesn’t bog Laurent down there. It’s odd, that I find her Shoshanna most interesting when she does not demand our attention, almost menacingly as the scene draws to its close.
2009 was a fairly good year for supporting women for me. I think of my top three: Cotillard, Morton and Pike as one bloc, yet despite the fact that Moore and Cotillard (again) make up my top 5, others supporters like Mo’Nique, Mimi Kennedy, Penelope Cruz – but most of all Kruger, herself, always make me rethink my actual list of nominees. Tarantino is notorious for being ridiculous, but even when Inglourious Basterds seems to demand that absurdity Kruger maintains a composure that – unlike Shoshanna – doesn’t seem like more absurdity in the face of the already absurd. A fine example is the juxtaposition of the aloof Bridget with that wild shoot-out. When Shoshanna prepares for her end, her composure itself seems like some otherworldly incarnation of hysteria.
Yet, my occasional dissatisfaction with Laurent cannot mask the brilliance of the characters here. Both Shoshanna and Bridget meet their ends in moments that seem unworthy of their brilliance, although that – of course – is the way of Tarantino. The fact that that Shoshanna’s final act is more seismic than Bridget doesn’t undermine her courageousness. Conversely, Kruger’s superior performance doesn’t prevent Shoshanna from being a more interesting character to delve into. The film, perhaps, should feel more male-driven but there are two women at opposing ends. Both of them are, for the most part, well characterised, a sort of perfect encapsulation of female cinematic courageousness: Tarantino Style.
previously: Francine Evans in New York/New York; Deanie Loomis in Splendor in the Grass; Helen and Margaret Schlegel in Howards End
Shoshanna or Bridget? Diane or Mélanie? How courageous do you find Tarantino’s women in Inglourious Basterds?
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