‘Kill Bill’, Uma Thurman and Quentin Tarantino’s oddly specific hair rule
Out of every character Quentin Tarantino has created, few are as iconic as The Bride, also known as Beatrix Kiddo, from Kill Bill. While she might not have as many quotable lines as Vincent Vega and Jules Winnfield in Pulp Fiction or possess the pure evil of someone like Hans Landa from Inglorious Basterds, she is every bit memorable. From her unstoppable determination to her famous yellow and black outfit, The Bride is a fascinating on-screen presence.
Played by Uma Thurman, Tarantino worked with the actor to refine the character, finding inspiration in her new life as a mother to her daughter, Maya Hawke. This was incorporated into the script as the driving force for The Bride’s revenge – she wants to avenge those who tried to kill her while she was pregnant. The protagonist later finds out that her daughter is alive, having been delivered while she was in a coma. Tarantino allowed his screenplay to morph to incorporate a stronger mother-daughter dynamic, leaving Kill Bill full of extra warmth; all The Bride wants is to be reunited with her child.
The film sees her fight her way towards Bill, her former lover and the leader of the Deadly Vipers squad, taking down the other members first. The most unforgettable scenes come at the end when The Bride defeats Yazuka leader O-Ren Ishii and her fighters, slicing the top of her head clean off.
While Kill Bill is undoubtedly an enjoyable movie full of thrilling action and compelling characters, some critics have questioned whether it is as feminist as it appears to be. While there’s a powerful leading woman at the forefront doing whatever she can to seek revenge on a violent man, giving us a rare example of a legendary action hero who isn’t male (nor does her outfit sexualise her, unlike a character such as Lara Croft), several aspects of the film feel intrinsically linked to the male gaze.
It often feels like Tarantino is presenting us with a male fantasy, one where a powerful woman effortlessly fights off her components, remaining flawlessly beautiful as she gets covered in blood and thrown about. The Bride is routinely subjected to violence, and if we look at Tarantino’s lack of safeguarding behind the scenes – Thurman was forced into a stunt that left her severely injured – it becomes clear that the director’s main aim when making the movie was not promoting a feminist viewpoint.
In an interview with IGN, Thurman revealed Tarantino’s obsession with how her character’s hair looked in the film, which was inspired by the work of John Woo. She explained that when she and Tarantino started planning out Kill Bill, “He got a print, hired a screening room and took me and sat down and showed me [Woo’s] The Killer, and talked me through this moment and that moment.”
One of the things Tarantino pointed out was how Woo filmed women’s hair. “That’s why I have long hair. He wouldn’t let me mess with my hair in Kill Bill because he loved the way John Woo [used long hair] in The Killer. The woman’s hair would fly in slow-mo.”
She continued, “He was, like, ‘You’re not going to take that hair from me.’”
As a result, there are many scenes where The Bride’s hair flows in the wind as she fights, even though it would be considerably more convenient for her to tie it back. Yet, by letting her hair flow freely, Tarantino ensured that, regardless of her circumstances, The Bride would always look attractive and feminine. At the same time, it’s hardly surprising that someone as meticulous as Tarantino knew exactly how he wanted the character’s hair to move – there’s nothing out of place within his cinematic world.
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