Implicitly dialogue driven, with a host of characters who delight in talking shit, and roll their eyes at the earlier introspective personalities popularised by films like 'Taxi Driver'. While 'Reservoir Dogs' was a very "first movie" kind of first movie for Tarantino, he hits his stride with 'Pulp Fiction' in a way that I don't believe he has matched since (though he has come close a few times).
Like his earlier work, the timeline of 'Pulp Fiction is all over the place, and we learn of our character's personalities through a jumble of their deeds rather than a linear story line. While 'Reservoir Dogs' presents us with a series of flash backs though, this movie is set up as a series of stand alone little stories, the characters of which just happen to have been woven throughout each one. The name 'Pulp Fiction' is, of course, perfect for this movie, as is the poster (on the right) which ties in with the theme. It's one of the most accurately and imaginatively named films of all time, and the poster for it is probably my favourite movie poster of all time too (the only one that I've ever included in a review, so far).
The script is also fantastic, and such joy has clearly been taken in its creation that reading it is almost as much fun as watching the movie. To date it's the only script that I've ever bought - an original copy that I found in a second hand furniture place, complete with a ticket for an original showing of 'The Exorcist' used as a bookmark (which I also kept, of course) - and it's a very cool little book. The characters of many crime movies have very limited dialogue, and their personalities lean more heavily on their decisions and actions for development. Here though Tarantino's characters delight in their dialogue, telling long rambling stories to one another and chatting mindlessly as they drive around. In the case of Jules and Vincent in particular, this connotes a sense of innocence. They live easily and fairly free, in a way that many aspire to.
I really like Vincent, and he is one of the reasons why I like John Travolta so much. This was one of the high points of his characteristically up and down career, and I like seeing him here even more than I did in his earlier classics like 'Greece' and 'Saturday Night Fever'. His character is inept where Jules (Samuel L Jackson) is more to the point, and most of the his drama stems from trying to fix problems that he's accidentally caused. He's also always going to the loo, spitting in the face of movie tradition (apart from Japanese movies, where they often seem oddly obsessed with the flushing of toilets) as he announces "I've got to take a piss" and buggers off every few minutes. He's also hugely unlucky, as every time he does pop to the john he misses out on something. This all stems from his passing off of what Jules took to be a miracle (the pair were shot at many times, but all the bullets missed, seemingly passing through him). After this point the two characters split apart with Jules (in a state of spiritual enlightenment) starts having all the luck.
I really like Vincent, and he is one of the reasons why I like John Travolta so much. This was one of the high points of his characteristically up and down career, and I like seeing him here even more than I did in his earlier classics like 'Greece' and 'Saturday Night Fever'. His character is inept where Jules (Samuel L Jackson) is more to the point, and most of the his drama stems from trying to fix problems that he's accidentally caused. He's also always going to the loo, spitting in the face of movie tradition (apart from Japanese movies, where they often seem oddly obsessed with the flushing of toilets) as he announces "I've got to take a piss" and buggers off every few minutes. He's also hugely unlucky, as every time he does pop to the john he misses out on something. This all stems from his passing off of what Jules took to be a miracle (the pair were shot at many times, but all the bullets missed, seemingly passing through him). After this point the two characters split apart with Jules (in a state of spiritual enlightenment) starts having all the luck.
Now Jules is somewhat more of a loose cannon, who likes to quote bible passages as he kills people and has "Bad Motherfucker" on his wallet. Despite this, he's also more competent than his partner, who has a habit of making rookie mistakes (leaving your gun on a counter while you go into the bathroom of a mark, shooting one of your guys in the face, etc.). He's far more open to the idea of being saved by a miracle, and this is ultimately what saves him from meeting the untimely end of his friend. Side note: did you know that the actor credited literally as "the fourth man" in 'Pulp Fiction' has since had a sex change? Funny, huh? She looks good now anyway, though I've never seen her in anything else.
Both men work for Marsellus Wallace, who's a crime lord in the LA area. We don't get a good look at him for a while, seeing only the big plaster on the back of his head. There are a few interesting theories about why he has this plaster, by the way. My favourite is that it's covering the hole through which his soul was removed (by the devil?), which is the mystery glowing thing in the suitcase (a MacGuffin that Vince and Jules are stealing back for Marsellus, which interestingly has the combination code of 666). Marsellus doesn't appear in many scenes, and when he does he spends most of his time being scary or being raped. Despite this he's a huge influence on the film, as everyone is ultimately either working for or against him. He also manages to make Bruce Willis (as Butch Coolidge) look wimpy; quite a feat.
Butch is a boxer who is getting over the hill, and is looking to retire in luxury. Rather than take the bribe from Marsellus to throw a game though, he bets heavily on himself and wins. The rest of his story consists of trying to get away with it and leave the country with his useless French girlfriend. I'm harsh on Fabienne, and she is annoying, but it's an excellent example of great Tarantino dialogue. The apparently trivial conversations she has with her boyfriend do in fact have hidden meanings that relate to the themes rest of the movie. There's a lot of dialogue, but it's very well delivered, and it's a real workhorse of hidden meanings. So much of Tarantino's best characters are revealed to use through their mindless chatter rather than when they're shooting each other, and I love that.
The sequence with the gimp and the hillbillies is an odd mix of difficult to watch, hilarious, and exciting. I loved the bit where Butch was going through possible weapons, referencing just about every action and horror movie with the cliche of each one. As he reaches the chainsaw anyone who doesn't know Tarantino may be thinking "oh, OK, here we go" but no, he hasn't made 'Kill Bill' yet but he is of course already in love with samurai movies, so Butch finally settles on a kick-ass katana.
Also that watch scene was legitimately hilarious, and Christopher Walken delivers his monologue to the young Butch perfectly.
Of course I have to mention Mia Wallace and her story with Vincent. The scene in the 50s diner is excellent, as is the pair's car ride up to it. We reference the movie's name here, as we do just about everything 50s. The green screens on the car windows are badly done, and the world outside looks rather noir (this is also somewhat the case with the scene with Butch in the taxi, but here it's more referencing 'Taxi Driver'). This theme is continued once they are inside the restaurant when the world outside of the windows doesn't look quite right, as if it's partially colourless and doesn't quite fit with the real-life view from the windows. The theme continues into the diner, obviously, and we even get to briefly see Steve Buscemi playing a Buddy Holly waiter.
Mia is a stark contrast to her husband, and interestingly in the only scene that we see them together, she's just sitting on a sunbed in the background with a completely blank expression on her face, not really looking herself. She's an interesting character: opinionated and judgmental, but in quite an irritating and childish way. She also takes pleasure in control, yet occasionally lapses back into acting like a little girl. A good example of this is when she playfully tries to roll her own cigarette while Vincent is in the bathroom. It's a very funny scene as Vince talks to himself in the toilet while Mia fucks around, and the mood switches with a jolt as she finds Vincint's heroin and ODs. As is a common theme in this movie, the rest of the story is taken up with Vincint trying to clean up a mess that he has inadvertently created.
And talking of cleaning up messes, have I mentioned Winston "The Wolf" Wolfe? He's the man to call when you accidentally shoot a guy in the face, and you can be sure that he'll turn up in nine minutes thirty-seven seconds. His quick quips and sharp humour are a good match for Jules, and thoroughly put Vincent in his place.
He disappears as quickly as he arrives, though. While things would be a lot easier if he was around more often, that's just not how it is. He's a bit of a miracle figure, an extension of Jule's newfound faith.
The film opens with a pair of small time thieves who call one another Honey Bunny and Pumpkin. They area couple of only briefly introduced yet intriguing characters: Pumpkin sounds English, and Honey Bunny is a weird mix of adorable and mental. They discuss robbing a diner instead of the usual liquor stores, kiss, and then she pulls out two pistols and starts shrieking. We don't see them again until the closing scene of the movie, when I've all but forgotten about the dynamic duo. There hasn't been any obvious way that they've linked into the story so far - but wait! Jules and Vince are at the diner too! (Fresh from their clean-up story at the start of the film, and still looking dorky in their surfing t-shirts). It's so nice to see Vincent again, and I was just so pleased to get to see them do another scene together. Especially as said scene is so brilliant. Vincent of course missed some of it because he's gone to the loo, but Jules handles the gunman and lady beautifully, and if I ever do get around to getting a wallet (and then maybe some money to put in it) it will almost definitely say "Bad Motherfucker" on it.
What a perfect movie; I can't imagine it getting much better than this. The acting is excellent and the script is perfect. Whenever I have a crack at fiction I try to give people something of the effortless yet meaningful banter that they all have here. Favourite American movie, hands down.
Both men work for Marsellus Wallace, who's a crime lord in the LA area. We don't get a good look at him for a while, seeing only the big plaster on the back of his head. There are a few interesting theories about why he has this plaster, by the way. My favourite is that it's covering the hole through which his soul was removed (by the devil?), which is the mystery glowing thing in the suitcase (a MacGuffin that Vince and Jules are stealing back for Marsellus, which interestingly has the combination code of 666). Marsellus doesn't appear in many scenes, and when he does he spends most of his time being scary or being raped. Despite this he's a huge influence on the film, as everyone is ultimately either working for or against him. He also manages to make Bruce Willis (as Butch Coolidge) look wimpy; quite a feat.
Butch is a boxer who is getting over the hill, and is looking to retire in luxury. Rather than take the bribe from Marsellus to throw a game though, he bets heavily on himself and wins. The rest of his story consists of trying to get away with it and leave the country with his useless French girlfriend. I'm harsh on Fabienne, and she is annoying, but it's an excellent example of great Tarantino dialogue. The apparently trivial conversations she has with her boyfriend do in fact have hidden meanings that relate to the themes rest of the movie. There's a lot of dialogue, but it's very well delivered, and it's a real workhorse of hidden meanings. So much of Tarantino's best characters are revealed to use through their mindless chatter rather than when they're shooting each other, and I love that.
The sequence with the gimp and the hillbillies is an odd mix of difficult to watch, hilarious, and exciting. I loved the bit where Butch was going through possible weapons, referencing just about every action and horror movie with the cliche of each one. As he reaches the chainsaw anyone who doesn't know Tarantino may be thinking "oh, OK, here we go" but no, he hasn't made 'Kill Bill' yet but he is of course already in love with samurai movies, so Butch finally settles on a kick-ass katana.
Also that watch scene was legitimately hilarious, and Christopher Walken delivers his monologue to the young Butch perfectly.
Of course I have to mention Mia Wallace and her story with Vincent. The scene in the 50s diner is excellent, as is the pair's car ride up to it. We reference the movie's name here, as we do just about everything 50s. The green screens on the car windows are badly done, and the world outside looks rather noir (this is also somewhat the case with the scene with Butch in the taxi, but here it's more referencing 'Taxi Driver'). This theme is continued once they are inside the restaurant when the world outside of the windows doesn't look quite right, as if it's partially colourless and doesn't quite fit with the real-life view from the windows. The theme continues into the diner, obviously, and we even get to briefly see Steve Buscemi playing a Buddy Holly waiter.
Mia is a stark contrast to her husband, and interestingly in the only scene that we see them together, she's just sitting on a sunbed in the background with a completely blank expression on her face, not really looking herself. She's an interesting character: opinionated and judgmental, but in quite an irritating and childish way. She also takes pleasure in control, yet occasionally lapses back into acting like a little girl. A good example of this is when she playfully tries to roll her own cigarette while Vincent is in the bathroom. It's a very funny scene as Vince talks to himself in the toilet while Mia fucks around, and the mood switches with a jolt as she finds Vincint's heroin and ODs. As is a common theme in this movie, the rest of the story is taken up with Vincint trying to clean up a mess that he has inadvertently created.
And talking of cleaning up messes, have I mentioned Winston "The Wolf" Wolfe? He's the man to call when you accidentally shoot a guy in the face, and you can be sure that he'll turn up in nine minutes thirty-seven seconds. His quick quips and sharp humour are a good match for Jules, and thoroughly put Vincent in his place.
He disappears as quickly as he arrives, though. While things would be a lot easier if he was around more often, that's just not how it is. He's a bit of a miracle figure, an extension of Jule's newfound faith.
The film opens with a pair of small time thieves who call one another Honey Bunny and Pumpkin. They area couple of only briefly introduced yet intriguing characters: Pumpkin sounds English, and Honey Bunny is a weird mix of adorable and mental. They discuss robbing a diner instead of the usual liquor stores, kiss, and then she pulls out two pistols and starts shrieking. We don't see them again until the closing scene of the movie, when I've all but forgotten about the dynamic duo. There hasn't been any obvious way that they've linked into the story so far - but wait! Jules and Vince are at the diner too! (Fresh from their clean-up story at the start of the film, and still looking dorky in their surfing t-shirts). It's so nice to see Vincent again, and I was just so pleased to get to see them do another scene together. Especially as said scene is so brilliant. Vincent of course missed some of it because he's gone to the loo, but Jules handles the gunman and lady beautifully, and if I ever do get around to getting a wallet (and then maybe some money to put in it) it will almost definitely say "Bad Motherfucker" on it.
What a perfect movie; I can't imagine it getting much better than this. The acting is excellent and the script is perfect. Whenever I have a crack at fiction I try to give people something of the effortless yet meaningful banter that they all have here. Favourite American movie, hands down.
Pulp Fiction: 95.8