Quentin Tarantino is known for his forthright opinions. This is quite on display when he openly says he did not like Christopher Nolan’s critically acclaimed Dunkirk at first.
“Another film that I didn’t initially like […],” he earlier tells The Bret Easton Ellis Podcast. However, over time, the filmmaker notes that he watched the movie several times and came to like it.
“What I now love about it is that I feel there’s a real mastery to it, and I came around to it watching it again and again and again.”
He continues, “The first time, it’s not like it left me cold — it was so kind of gobsmacking, I didn’t really know what I saw, it was almost too much, and then the second time I saw it, my brain was able to take it in a little bit more, and then the third time and the fourth time, it was just like, wow, it just blew me away.”
Elsewhere in the discussion, Quentin also shares his thoughts on There Will Be Blood, where he slams Paul Dano’s performance as preacher Eli Sunday.
“Daniel Day-Lewis. The old-style craftsmanship quality to the film. It had an old Hollywood craftsmanship without trying to be like that. It was the only film he’s ever done, and I brought it up to him, that doesn’t have a set piece,” the director adds.
“The fire is the closest to a set piece. This was about dealing with the narrative, dealing with the story, and he did it f****** amazingly. ‘There Will Be Blood’ would stand a good chance at being #1 or #2 if it didn’t have a big, giant flaw in it … and the flaw is Paul Dano.”
“Obviously, it’s supposed to be a two-hander, but it’s also drastically obvious that it’s not a two-hander. [Dano] is weak sauce, man. He is the weak sister. Austin Butler would have been wonderful in that role. He’s just such a weak, weak, uninteresting guy. The weakest fcking actor in SAG [laughs],” Quentin concludes.
