True Romance (1993): QT Retrospective Part 1

By Jody. Score 9/10

When one hears “Quentin Tarantino”, one tends to think: “Pulp Fiction”, “Kill Bill”, or even “Inglorious Basterds”. What one often doesn’t know is that he actually wrote 3 movies in the 90s that he didn’t direct for various reasons.

The first one, True Romance, is an unsung masterpiece and one of QT’s finest scripts, which is the story of Clarence (Slater) and Alabama (Arquette), two newlyweds who inadvertently steal a suitcase of cocaine and try to unload in in Hollywood while on the run from drug dealers, the cops, and the mob.       

All the QT staples are present: brilliant dialogue filled with pop culture references, intertwining references to characters and events from his other films, unabashed used of racial slurs, and classic pop tracks on the soundtrack (though these were overpowered by the same very recognizable marimba theme that plays throughout half of the film).

That is one way that Quentin’s version of the film would have played out better. His films always have the perfect blend of pre-recorded pop tracks with unique instrumentals. Many criticize Romance’s soundtrack stating that it sounds more like a jungle adventure that a gritty action love story.

On the other hand, according to the commentary, while Tony Scott kept Quentin’s script completely in-tact, he did change the ending. This actually was a good change as Quentin’s ending was much darker, and didn’t fit with the otherwise fun and almost whimsical general tone of the film.

This film is chock full of stars in small roles but fantastic performances, most notably Dennis Hopper as Clarence’s father, Brad Pit as a stoner, and a younger, thinner James Gandolfini as a mob hitman.

Though inexplicably a commercial failure at the box office, True Romance is a great movie for anybody because the intense and well-edited climax is worth the payoff for those potentially disinterested in the slower romance and dialogue-focused scenes early in the film, and those engaged by the latter will want to stick around to see what happens to the star-crossed lovers. I love all aspects of the film.

Starring: Christian Slater, Patricia Arquette, Dennis Hopper, Gary Oldman, Brad Pitt, and Val Kilmer
Directed by: Tony Scott
Budget/Gross: $13 mil / $12.3 mil
IMDB Score: 7.9/10
Tomatometer: 91% critics and 90% audiences liked it