It is well-known that Quentin Tarantino has a thing for feet. So what’s watching his films like, for a person with a foot fetish? Dan Brader reveals all.
Breasts are obvious. Butts are obvious. Legs are obvious. But feet are niche. On the question of which body parts get you going the most, feet are a cult item.
In that sense it’s no surprise that Quentin Tarantino, a director famous for both consuming and creating cult movies, has a foot fetish. Just like me. Although I prefer to describe myself as a “foot nerd” rather than a foot fetishist. Sounds less sleazy.
I am such a foot…nerd that years ago I was thrilled to discover a website called Wikifeet. It is a repository that collects feet photos of celebrities from all over the world. Although we all know that the internet is a wasteland of outrage, racism and stupid cat videos, this website alone more than justifies its existence. Heaven, as the great intellectual Belinda Carlisle once opined, is indeed a place on earth.
Very soon after the release of Tarantino’s latest movie – the critically acclaimed Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood – amazing photographs were uploaded of key scenes from the film. They’re key because they’re the scenes with beautiful and (to mix metaphors and body parts) finger licking feet in them.
At two different points Tarantino’s camera lingers, like a leering bloke perving on people with binoculars, on his two leading ladies’ amazing feet. He is so completely absorbed by them that they are pushed up right into the lens. Which is totally fine by me.
In one, Margot Robbie is watching a movie her character (Sharon Tate) stars in. She has her feet rested up on the chair in front of her. Tarantino slides in for a big fat close-up of her soles. In the other, Margaret Qualley has her bare feet pressed up against the windscreen of Brad Pitt’s car.
These aren’t quick shots. They last for nearly as long as Tarantino’s famous opening monologue about the true meaning of Madonna’s “Like A Virgin” in the opening scene of his debut feature film Reservoir Dogs. You might recall that “Dogs” had an entire male cast, all playing terrible tough guys. Thankfully there were no prolonged shots of blood-soaked, bullet-ridden criminal feet.
But his second movie, the legendary Pulp Fiction, featured plenty of bare foot Uma Thurman action. My kind of movie. My kind of director.
Living in the “Me Too” era, it’s refreshing to hear that QT doesn’t take his foot fetishery too far. Actresses have his back, with Margot Robbie telling reporters that Sharon Tate was well-known for going barefoot in public and Uma Thurman even toasting his fetish at an event, where she drank champagne out of her Christian Louboutins shoes.
Although things could change and QT did work with Harvey Weinstein… But I have faith in him. Tarantino seems to be having his leading ladies display their feet on screen only, with no off-screen shady behaviour having been revealed so far.
There’s plenty on Wikifeet from other movies QT has showcased feet in – such as Deathproof, Kill Bill and Inglorious Basterds. Who wears the foot crown, you might ask me?
Firstly, crowns go on your head not your feet, so I reject the premise of your question. Secondly, well, that’s like asking what my favourite movie is. Tarantinto’s body of work contains just too many incredible female feet in such a variety of sizes and colours that I can’t pick only a single pair.
I’m really into feet, like Tarantino. And I’m a big movie nerd, also like Tarantino. So he’s the perfect filmmaker for me. If only he liked basketball too?
Perhaps he can direct a movie starring Margot Robbie and Margaret Qualley playing streetballers who play barefoot. Samuel L Jackson can be their fiery coach! The dialogue practically writes itself: “How many goddamn times have I told you ladies you need to be wearing motherfucking shoes!”
Yep. Feet + movie nerdom + basketball = a holy trifecta. The legendary director says he has one film left in him before he retires, so who knows? It’s possible. Please, Quentin, please, make it happen. The world of foot-loving movie nerds and basketball enthusiasts needs you.
