The term "diptych" designates visual artworks in two halves that are
simultaneously united and separated by a hinging mechanism. This article
explores the form's adoption by narrative film through the double case
study of Grindhouse (Quentin Tarantino and Robert Rodríguez, 2007) and Tarantino's Death Proof, one of Grindhouse's
constituent halves. Considering the diptych's relevance both to the
history of film exhibition and to the logics of revenge and masochism, I
argue, first, that the diptych stages especially fruitful encounters
between material and narrative concerns and, second, that as a narrative
form, the diptych is particularly apt at making ethical paradox
accessible.