All Eyes On Darryl

Rating: 9/10 (21 May 2004)

I have never seen Splash, nor can I even recall Darryl all that well in her early years. But mama look at her now.
Uma Thurman in the same get up as Elle Driver wouldn't cut it; there aren't a handful of women, not discounting Hollywood actresses that could pull off what Darryl does here. She is the best villainess we've seen, perhaps ever.
Never warmed by Uma, I am a fan of hers now. She indeed shows us talent we never expected or frankly even demanded. Usually the most wooden of actresses, she redeems all her career just speaking to us through the windshield of her car as the movie opens. But she is never as riveting as her co-star; Ms. Hannah is a total showstopper in every frame in which she is visible, and that includes phone calls.
This by way of introducing THE FIGHT. When Uma and Darryl have at it, as we hope they will, all girlfights ever recorded are left in Mohave trailer dust. Even the superior opening fight of Vol. I pales in comparison to this frenetic kinetic combat. We've never seen anything like this.
And so it goes for all of the film. Interspersing humor, raw violence and quiet introspective minimalist dialog we get a stew of visual and aural greatness. Of course this movie is all about style. Why would you want or expect otherwise from a Tarantino flik?
None in the audience spoke, looked at their watch or even wiggled. And what more can you say of the hypnotic powers of film?