Who said romance is dead?

Rating: 9/10 (19 October 2005)

True Romance is a very famous film which benefits from possibly the greatest cast there has ever been, almost every single role is played by a well known actor, even some of the extras. The cast is lead by Christian Slater and Patricia Arquette who aren't the biggest names True Romance has to offer, but do a fantastic job here in probably the biggest and best film they have been in. Clarence (Slater) and Alabama (Arquette) immediately have the care of the audience as they have a love that's so pure that are prepared to kill in order to protect one another.
It is clear that Tarantino wrote this, as many scenes are very violent, brutal and uncompromising. The scene between James Gandolfini and Arquette really highlights this due to the shock factor of violence towards a woman and then her bloody revenge. The contrast of the characters in this scene makes it incredible to watch, he is deadly calm whilst she is borderline hysterical.
The 'Tarantino Dream Scene', as I like to call it, is a conversation between veterans Christopher Walken and Dennis Hopper. It is an essential scene as it tells the audience and Hopper's character that Clarence and Alabama are in more trouble than they could have ever imagined. The dialogue in this scene is very clever and gives Walken and Hopper a real chance to show their charisma.
In order to prevent the audience becoming bored by the violence, there are some comedic characters thrown in the equation which do wonders to lighten the mood and increase the enjoyment level of the film. The best example is Brad Pitt as Floyd, the permanently stoned room mate who constantly gives away the position of the lead characters.
Tony Scott is not the greatest director of all time but considering the screenplay, he couldn't go far wrong. I believe he was a better choice than Tarantino for this film however, as he changed the original ending which Tarantino wrote. Tarantino has a stubborn desire to make films 'non-Hollywood' which would have ruined this film.
Entertaining, touching and funny, this is one of the films of the 90s.