These two brilliantly dramatic episodes have transformed the way I regard Quentin Tarantino. I had previously dismissed him (from my viewings of Reservoir Dogs and Kill Bill) as being interested purely in shocking his audience. I have to apologise to him, and would be glad to see any more of his work where the emotions of the audience are given as much weight as their fight-or-flight response. The major question raised for me by these episodes is "Why is it necessary?" That is to say, the villain here seems to be motivated by his anger over his daughter's imprisonment. It would seem possible that there are many people in the USA similarly angered by the workings of the justice system. Working from figures in Wikipedia (and therefore sorry if I've got it wrong!) about 3% of the population are under correctional supervision of some sort (probation, parole or imprisoned) and about 1% are actually behind bars. This gives rise to a direct cost to the US taxpayer of $81b per annum, and a possible overall cost to the economy of $181b. The US has the highest per capita imprisonment rate in the world - about twice that of Turkey, five times that of the UK, and nearly seven times that of Canada. Can "The Land of the Free" not work out some system that will allow a more efficient (perhaps even less penal!) approach to its less law abiding citizens? Maybe even demonstrate to them that obeying the law is in their best interest? I have to say that I think that shooting them is not going to do that!
Review of Grave Danger (2)
