True Romance

So Christopher Walken is a Sicilian gang boss, see. He has arrived at Dennis Hopper’s trailer with two of his goons with the intention of finding out where Hopper’s son is, so he can kill him. They have tuned Hopper up a bit, slapped him around, as a prelude to some serious torturing. It is clear that Hopper has no hope of coming out of this alive. So … Hopper starts in on this monologue concerning Sicilians, and how they are part nigger. Therefore, Walken is part nigger. As the tale grows, Walken is clearly coming to reluctantly admire this crazy fellow. He looks around at his henchmen from time to time, big grin, Can you believe what you’re hearing? The balls on this guy! Then he pulls his gun and pumps several bullets into Hopper.

… and thus, Hopper wins. He has avoided more torture, hasn’t revealed where his son is. He knew Walken could not let these words be spoken in the presence of his goons without killing him, else he would lose face.

Even if I had not seen Quentin Tarantino’s name in the credits as the screenwriter, I would have known instantly that he wrote it. It is a simple fact that no other writer anywhere could have written it, could have even approached it for sheer perverse brilliance. There are several other amazing scenes, too, such as the incredible fight between James Gandolfini and Patricia Arquette, and the confrontation between Christian Slater and a Negro-wannabe drug dealer played by Gary Oldman. There is also one of the funniest scenes ever involving Bronson Pinchot being stopped by a cop with his face completely white from cocaine powder. I almost choked to death on my popcorn. This is a violent classic, and I love it.