Death Proof

Oh my lord... The best film of 2007 has landed... I know, I'm shocked too that anything could top Shoot 'Em Up (last week's selection) but Tarantino has done it again. I laughed; I gasped; I cringed; I actually danced in my seat.

Now there are going to be plenty of people queuing up to knock Death Proof, because - quite frankly - they won't get it. And I wouldn't want them to. Those people are not like me and I don't want them liking the same films as I do.

I don't know why I read the reviews in the nationals before I went because I *knew* it would get bad reviews, and the ones I read were not praising it. But I like to make my own mind up about films and usually if a film is slated, I'm gonna like it.

Death Proof purports to centre around a character played by Kurt Russell, called Stuntman Mike, who basically stalks pretty girls and then chases them in his reinforced car... to death. And my what a gruesome - and graphic - death it is. Sorry, I digress. As I say, it's supposed to centre around Stuntman Mike but in fact what is really striking about it is what is great about all Tarantino films, which is the day-to-day conversation. There's a lot of dialogue which doesn't move the plot forward, and there are elements we never find any more about. For example there is a scene where Jungle Julia is sending a text to a guy called Chris, telling him she can't wait to see him. Now, unless I blinked and missed it, we never meet Chris; we never learn any more about their relationship and you kinda forget about it when the action kicks off. But it's set against the typical whimsical music one would expect an action of great romantic importance to feature alongside.

The story is a great one. It's typical of the late-night films I used to watch as a child. And it's actually quite scary when you think about it. Just because it's told in the style it is, people seem quick to dismiss it. But think about it for a while, and it's really pretty terrifying.

As always with Tarantino films, there is an incredible soundtrack. Seriously, if this guy knows all these songs himself, he must have an incredible mental musical archive, and I feel really lucky to have been introduced to these songs. I rushed out and bought the soundtrack as soon as I left the cinema (yes, on a CD and everything! which leads me to ask, when is someone going to start to offer a facility to upload your new CD purchase onto your iPod for the bus journey home? I still want the physical album).

I guess there's probably been some rumblings about the portrayal of women in the film but, you know what, it's an exploitation film, so you get what you're promised. And actually I think the women portrayed are really strong. Certainly in the final scenes it's feminism all the way, with gratuitous violence!

And I imagine some people will be annoyed by the visual tics, like the jumping (altho I couldn't figure out where the 'missing reel' supposedly takes place) and the grainy quality, but I just think it shows someone who is willing to do whatever he wants to make something he would enjoy. It's a pretty joyful film to be honest.

However, one thing really surprised me. No, it shocked me. This is a Quentin Tarantino film. As far as I can see it's the biggest release this week. I went to the showing at 3.10pm; in the cinema's biggest screen and the total audience was... me and an old man in a tank top (and I don't mean the American meaning of this, I mean a jumper or pullover). I can't believe no-one else wanted to see it. Perhaps it was a weird time to go, and the fact it's an 18 certificate meant (blissfully) there weren't masses of kids in there, which you might have got for a 15 certificate. My brother's watching it in Norwich as I write and he tells me there are about 40 people in his screening. But seriously, this poses a serious question for the Haverhill multiplex. If the biggest blockbuster of the week only attracts two people on a Saturday screening, in Cambridge, how do they propose to fill the cinema here, or will they not show controversial or 18 certificate films. I know the arts centre doesn't attract an audience to 18s. It's worth thinking about.

Ice cream consumed, none. I'm on a diet. Today.

I'm off to dance to the soundtrack.