The Wild Women of Quentin Tarantino’s World

By Sherrie Gulmahamad on September 7th, 2009

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Tarantino might be most known for his unique dialogue, the “Mexican standoffs”, the guns and the gimp, but now with a pretty decent amount of movies under his belt, another side of Tarantino emerges – his lady-boosting, kick-ass chick worshiping side!  It’s been there all along, running under the surface of most of his movies, but now especially with Inglourious Basterds, we can rest assured that at least one director in Hollywood makes movies that portray women as strong, sexy, and often lethal.  And that’s a heap-load better than being obsessed about weddings, high heels, and Mr. Big, okay?  Here are the strongest ladies in Tarantino’s ouvre, and if you haven’t seen these movies…man, sister, you’ve been missing out.

1- Uma Thurman in Pulp Fiction

No other female is more associated with Tarantino’s ouvre than Uma Thurman in her sleek black bob, crisp white collared shirt, bare feet and black pants – all of which are a tribute to Godard’s muse, Anna Karina – rent those movies too!  One might say that Mia Wallace is barely a character in this film, is talked about like a possession of her husband when she is off screen, and of course, she has a nose for heroin!  But after Mia survives her near-overdose, she has the pluck and audacity to tell John Travolta’s character a bad joke.  As she turns and walks away from her Travolta, and her harrowing evening that started with dancing and milkshakes and ended with a syringe, you can’t help but admire this mysterious woman.

2- Pam Grier in Jackie Brown

Casting Pam Grier as Leonard Elmore’s down-on-her-luck but ballsy airline stewardess was a stroke of genius on Tarantino’s behalf.  Tarantino wanted to show the world Pam still had it going on; this was the same woman who was Foxy Brown and Coffy, who defined an era of African American feminine power! Tarantino seems to shout at us, “Do you think a woman like this just fades away?”  Jackie Brown can shoot a gun, play two or three men against each other, and look great in a suit – total empowerment from head to toe.

3- The Various Ladies of Kill Bill, Vols. 1 & 2

There is no way you can *only* give props to just Uma/The Bride in this double feature, even though it was downright inspirational to see Thurman doing her best at crane style right next to martial arts cinema legend Chia Hui Lui.  But remember Vivica Fox as Vernita Green, the mom who has time to stop a knife fight to reassure her daughter?  How about Lucy Lui as the head decapitating yakuza boss who won’t take any sh*t from any man making her feel bad for being half Japanese, half Chinese?  Don’t forget Go-Go (Chiaki Kuriyama), the mace wielding Japanese schoolgirl who giggles behind her hand but is ready to disembowel you in less than a minute?  Uma’s nemesis during the series was indeed the laconic David Carradine (RIP), but the real person who gave her plenty of trouble was Elle Driver (Darryl Hannah).  Who else is a good match against a statuesque killer blonde – but another statuesque killer blonde?  Tarantino gave birth to a whole litter of strong women in this film, and its empowering messages of strength in the face of adversity are going to make it a chick classic for years to come…

4- Zoe Bell of Death Proof

This film is clearly the weakest in Tarantino’s filmography.  We spend a good chunk of the film just watching girls talk to each other, and he isn’t even that good in writing dialogue for women (for this, see Pedro Almodovar’s entire body of work).  Then, the deaths of several female characters are portrayed in an extremely graphic and violent fashion to the point where it almost feels misogynistic and pointlessly destructive.  But then Zoe Bell arrives to save us all!  Zoe Bell was Xena the Warrior Princess’ stunt double for many years, and Uma Thurman’s stunt double on Kill Bill.  Tarantino took her out from behind the scenes and plopped her down right in front of a camera, where she rides triumphantly on the hood of a white Dodge Challenger (in an open homage to the film Vanishing Point), and then later, gives the film’s murderous woman-hating villain played by Kurt Russell, something to really cry about.  A so-so movie is completely saved by Zoe Bell’s death-defying prowess as a true action heroine.

5- Diane Kruger & Melanie Laurent in Inglourious Bastards

Much has been said about how Tarantino’s latest spaghetti western WWII action-drama is one of the most satsifying revenge fantasies ever made (especially if you’re Jewish!).  In this film, it is Shosanna Dreyfus’ (Laurent) one desire to strike back at the Nazi colonel who massacred her family years ago, and it is her headstrong unquenchable lust for revenge that is probably the only “real” and “grounded” emotion in the film.  The other beauty to be reckoned with is the double-agent spy Bridget Von Hammersmark, who risks everything to assist the Bastards in their quest to destroy the highest ranking officers in the Third Reich.  She looks beautiful, carries a gun, can drink with men, and talk her way out of bad situations.  Two tough broads that hold their own ground in this film full of manly men, bludgeonings, and machine guns.

So, does it surprise you a bit that the fast-talking big-headed man of cinema has such respect for women?  What other working writer-director out there creates these kind of empowering roles for chicks besides him?  Shout back at us and give us some examples.  The only person I can think of right now off the top of my head is Nicole Holofcener but, her chicks certainly don’t kick as much ass.

Extra Films for Movie Comprehension
Faster Pussycat, Kill, Kill!
Come Drink with Me
Vanishing Point
Band of Outsiders

PS True Romance excluded because he did not direct it!