Excellent Performances Marred by Buffoonery

Rating: 5/10 (22 August 2010)

The movie starts with promise. I knew enough about the movie to know that it involved Nazis. We see the proverbial dairy farm in France, a father and three daughters, then the Nazis make their debut. The opening scene is gripping and terse, very legitimate. It is also brutal and believable. All throughout Christoph Waltz shines as the brilliant and merciless Col. Landa. He is truly the bastard of the film. Others submit masterful performances: Mélanie Laurent, Diane Kruger, Daniel Brühl. I especially fell in love with Mélanie's character, her mix of strength and tragedy (and beauty) was very well done. That red dress!
There are some great looks (scenery) and some well crafted sets. Kudos to the set designers. There were moments when this movie had award-winning flair, dialogue, etc. But...
Brad Pitt was a buffoon, and this was intentional. It was painful to watch Pitt ruin the mood and the movie. His accent was ludicrous, his behavior entirely unbelievable. His character, as well as all the "basterds," were wholly out of place. Theirs was a comedy, a joke, a mockery which had no place with the rest of the film.
So this movie gets a 5. It gets a perfect score for the serious parts of the film, a zero for the abject ridicule of the dire and serious subject matter. I may actually watch this movie again - but I will not tolerate the insolence Brad Pitt participated in. Hopefully the chapters (DVD) will allow me to skip through and witness only the acceptable cinema. Trash the basterds.
Alas, what else could be expected from Quentin Tarantino? Brad Pit and Tarantino can now put on their resumes: "I made light of WWII, the Holocaust and the deaths of millions upon millions of innocent people."
EDIT: I reread my review and worried that people might misconstrue how I feel about Brad Pitt the actor. Brad has put in some masterful performances in his time: Se7en, Legends of the Fall, Fight Club. There are others too. Brad is easily one of the better actors of our time. So much more the reason to hammer him for his part in this film. You reach the heights - be careful not to fall.
As for Tarantino, I loved "Reservoir Dogs" and "Pulp Fiction," the latter being one of the best of the decade (my opinion). His later stuff... not my bag.