So maybe I have to conclude that I simply don't like that aspect of Tarantino's style because I find it cruel and torturous and uncomfortable and unnecessary and sadistic, and have to live with the fact that this might spoil my enjoyment of all his other qualities as a filmmaker. On the one hand I don't want to stop watching his films because I appreciate so many of the films' other facets, but the violence might very well be a dealbreaker. Hm.
These thoughts resonate with me, and I have to question, too, how much does violence (including the way its handled) does it take to ruin my enjoyment of the other great things about his films? So far, the violence has seriously jeopardized my enjoyment.
And I think it's not just the violence that puts me off; the writer in the article sam linked to said this, "
Tarantino is, at times, like one of those popular, flamboyant, egomaniacal orchestra conductors, gesticulating wildly and turning to the audience to make sure we know that the show’s about him. It’s a shame, because the concert really is impressive." His films so often feel like a showcase of himself, and I can't concentrate on the story or the characters without seeing him, without seeing him seeing himself, to be more specific. It's a little bit like the complaint I've heard with Michael Moore, I guess - somehow in his films since
Roger and Me, he is so present that I get really distracted and put off. His presence, for me, overwhelms what I think he's trying to say, overwhelms the people the film is about so much that the film doesn't really seem about them anymore. I loved
Roger and Me and I quite liked
Jackie Brown (though it had some elements that made me intensely uncomfortable) - both of those films have less of the filmmakers' egos present, I think. I think about the story and the people in those films, more than the filmmakers. I can see how other people wouldn't be bothered by the way these particular filmmakers are present in their films, but for me, I find it very hard to get past. (I've been thinking a bit about Herzog - 'cause he's definitely very present in his films - some might say (skjerva?) in an egomaniacal way - but I've loved everything I've seen of Herzog, and I can't help but be absolutely fascinated by Herzog as a person. I'm trying to figure out what makes Herzog different for me.)
So QT's ego coupled with the in my face violence? So far, those things (generally, not always) overwhelm and quell my admiration for genius of his films.