Ranked: Quentin Tarantino’s 50 Best Characters

5. Jackie Brown – “Jackie Brown” (1997) 
40something and lacking any future prospects, Pam Grier’s Jackie Brown earns our respect for standing up to the shit thrown her way, and for daring to take a chance at the best retirement plan she’s ever going to get. It’s unfortuante that a character like Jackie is so rare in cinema, but Grier and Tarantino bring her to life as a fully-realized, nuanced woman.

4. Shoshanna – “Inglourious Basterds” (2009)
The tense opening of “Inglorious Basterds” sets up this Jewish refugee like a fairy tale heroine. She’s the young girl who escapes monsters before growing to confront them once again. With wit, intelligence and a reliable moral compass, Shoshanna is one of Tarantino’s most pure, even admirable creations.

3. Mr. White – “Reservoir Dogs” (1992)

A hardened criminal whose bluster hides a paternal quality, Harvey Keitel’s Mr. White, always ready to make more of a human connection than his job allows, is the most fascinating criminal in the motley crew in “Reservoir Dogs.” He gives his trust utterly, especially when he’s on the upper end of a mentor/mentee relationship, and his keening anguish at Orange’s final confession is a tragic highlight of crime cinema.

2. Jules – “Pulp Fiction” (1994)
Using a bible verse (one mostly made up by Tarantino and Samuel L. Jackson) as pre-emptive eulogy for his victims is an ear-catching trick, but Jules is distinguished by his understanding of the difference between his public and private personas (“let’s get into character”) and the crisis of conscience ultimately created by his actions. Jules aspires to be a better person than he is, and achieves nobility by acting on his maturing beliefs.

1. Beatrix Kiddo – “Kill Bill” (2003-4)
As the primary focus of a two-film cycle, we see and learn more about Beatrix Kiddo, aka the Bride, than any other character in Tarantino’s pantheon. Her mission may be simple —revenge— but that mission is complicated by all the aspects of her life. She faces betrayals as a friend, partner, mother and a warrior. Just as the weight of Jules’ actions pushes him in a new direction, Beatrix recognizes the need for a life change, acts on it, and then faces the brutal task of destroying the ghosts of a past that isn’t ready to give her up. Beatrix is a vibrant depiction of maturity, played with astonishing dedication by Uma Thurman, a role that eclipses all many of the influences that played upon her creation.

And The Rest?

So where are the characters from “Natural Born Killers,” the script shot by Oliver Stone? Tarantino’s influence is palpable in the final film, sure. Tom Sizemore’s character Jack Scagnetti is even named after Tarantino’s one-time agent, and shares a surname with Mr. Blonde’s parole officer in “Reservoir Dogs.” I considered including him, or Robert Downey Jr’s. television host, or some combination of Mickey and Mallory Knox.

In the end, revisions by Stone and his collaborators are so heavy that the final characters play like simplified and exaggerated Tarantino ideas —essentially the first and most legitimate example of the many copycats that would follow in years to come. Where “True Romance” hit the screen as a relatively pure version of Tarantino’s ideas, Stone’s film belongs far more to its director.