It has been many years since I actually sat down and watched True Romance, but somehow it is still one of the most unique movies I remember watching.

Calling it a romance movie feels almost funny because there is so much happening around the romance. Drugs, gangsters, guns, murder, people getting beaten half to death…

You know, the usual romantic stuff.

But underneath all of that chaos, Clarence and Alabama are actually really sweet together. They meet, fall in love almost immediately, and then basically decide that whatever horrible situation comes next, they are going through it together.

Probably not the healthiest example of a relationship to follow in real life, but still. 🙂

And you can definitely tell that Quentin Tarantino wrote the screenplay. The dialogue alone gives it away, and if that somehow does not convince you, the increasing number of dead people probably will.

There is one little line from Alabama that I actually think is worth keeping here:

“You’re so cool. You’re so cool. You’re so cool.”

It is such a simple thing to say, but for some reason it fits their relationship perfectly. Clarence is doing increasingly insane things, and Alabama is basically looking at him like he is the greatest man who has ever lived.

And then there is the music.

Hans Zimmer’s main theme is also called You’re So Cool, and I absolutely love the contrast. The movie can be violent, dirty and completely chaotic, while this cheerful little melody is playing as if Clarence and Alabama are just two characters in some strange fairy tale.

There is actually a nice reason for that feeling too. Zimmer’s theme is based on Gassenhauer, and the combination of the music and Alabama’s voice-over was intended as an homage to Badlands, another film about a young couple on the run.

I did not know that when I first watched the movie, but it makes the music fit even better.

Anyway, instead of trying to describe it:

Just listen to this heart-warming song while remembering that a ridiculous amount of people die in this movie. 🙂