Quentin Tarantino sold a couple of screenplays before becoming a director. In Tony Scott’s True Romance and Oliver Stone’s Natural Born Killers, it’s interesting to see other filmmakers’ interpretation of Tarantino’s distinctive material. While Natural Born Killers was heavily rewritten by Stone, Scott left the True Romance script more or less intact.
All Scott did to Tarantino’s original script was swap out the nonlinear structure for a more traditional linear one and swap out the bleak ending for a happier one. Outside of these changes, True Romance is pure Tarantino, exemplifying many of the hallmarks of his unique filmmaking style.
Verbose Dialogue
Tarantino’s gift for verbose dialogue is prevalent in True Romance. The movie opens with Clarence giving a long, unwieldy monologue about Elvis Presley’s star power.
The most memorable dialogue scene in the movie – and one of the greatest scenes Tarantino has ever written – is the Sicilian scene in which Dennis Hopper insults the mobster torturing him, played by Christopher Walken, by revealing some little-known history about his heritage.
Oddly Charming Villain
Tarantino has a knack for creating villains fans love to hate. Hans Landa, Calvin Candie, and Stuntman Mike are all evil, reprehensible people who also come off as strangely charming.
Alabama’s employer Drexl Spivey is a deplorable human being who commits callous acts of murder and shows little regard for others throughout the movie. But since he has a ton of wonderfully absurd lines and Gary Oldman plays the role brilliantly, he’s also oddly lovable.
Pop Culture References
With the opening discussion of “Like a Virgin” in his debut feature Reservoir Dogs, Tarantino established that pop culture references would be a huge part of his filmmaking. True Romance also features an abundance of Q.T.’s usual nods to popular culture.
Throughout the movie, Clarence interfaces with an imaginary incarnation of Elvis Presley, a reference to Humphrey Bogart’s Casablanca character visiting Woody Allen in Play It Again, Sam. Plus, Clarence meets Alabama at a Sonny Chiba movie marathon.
Torture Scene
Two of True Romance’s most violent scenes are torture scenes. Christopher Walken tortures Clarence’s dad, played by Dennis Hopper, and a mob enforcer played by James Gandolfini beats Alabama within an inch of her life while telling her his life story.
Tarantino has also featured torture scenes in a bunch of his other movies. Mr. Blonde tortures a cop to the sounds of “Stuck in the Middle with You” in Reservoir Dogs; Butch and Marsellus resolve their differences after being tortured together in a pawn shop basement in Pulp Fiction; and Aldo sticks a finger in Bridget’s gunshot wound to get her to talk in Inglourious Basterds.
A Highly Sought-After Briefcase
A briefcase filled with valuable property that everybody wants to get their hands on is a common trope from the film noir, but it’s found its way into the Tarantino oeuvre.
In True Romance, Clarence and Alabama are pursued by mobsters to retrieve the briefcase full of cocaine they stole from Drexl that they plan to sell in Hollywood. In Reservoir Dogs, it’s a briefcase full of diamonds. In Pulp Fiction, it’s a briefcase containing a mysterious glowing substance.
Tarantino-Verse Familial Connections
All of Tarantino’s movies take place in a shared universe, and that extends to the movies he wrote but didn’t direct. True Romance’s Hollywood producer character Lee Donowitz is descended from Inglourious Basterds’ Sgt. Donny “The Bear Jew” Donowitz.
Similarly, Vic Vega is related to Vincent Vega, Dr. King Schultz is related to Paula Schultz, and “English Pete” Hicox is related to Lt. Archie Hicox.
Elvis’ Sunglasses
Elvis Presley is one of Tarantino’s idols, which shows in the Elvis-inspired character he played in his unfinished directorial debut My Best Friend’s Birthday and the fact that Elvis is Clarence’s imaginary friend in True Romance.
Elvis Presley’s TCB sunglasses have appeared in a couple of Tarantino’s movies. They’re worn by Clarence in True Romance, and the Bride also steals a pair from Buck when she escapes from the hospital in Kill Bill: Volume 1.
Brad Pitt
Brad Pitt is one of the most famous faces in Tarantino’s regular company of actors. After playing Lieutenant Aldo Raine in Inglourious Basterds, Pitt re-teamed with Tarantino and earned his first Oscar for playing stuntman Cliff Booth in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.
In True Romance, an early-career Pitt plays Clarence’s actor friend’s pothead roommate Floyd. This remains one of the actor’s most hilarious performances.
Armed Standoff
A lot of Tarantino’s movies culminate in an armed standoff, like the one in the warehouse in Reservoir Dogs or the one in the diner in Pulp Fiction or the one at Candyland in Django Unchained.
As cops secretly listen in on Clarence’s coke deal with the producer of his favorite Vietnam War movie, True Romance culminates in a climactic shootout with the police.
Dark Comedy
While Tarantino considers his movies to be dramas as opposed to comedies, his work usually has a healthy dose of pitch-black humor. This can be seen in Pulp Fiction’s “Bring out the gimp” scene and The Hateful Eight’s morbid revenge flashback.
There’s plenty of dark humor in True Romance, primarily in the ludicrous things Drexl says. Although being helmed by Tony Scott, it doesn’t lean as heavily into its comedic elements as the average Tarantino movie.