Friday Feeling - Pulp Fiction
Friday, July 11th, 2008“And you will know my name is the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon thee…”
Following up on his reputation-making debut, “Reservoir Dogs,” Quentin Tarantino has a field day in this overblown Oscar-winning crime comedy is set in the seedy LA underworld, and in three interweaving storylines, told in a circuitous, fractured manner, follows Los Angeles mobsters, hitmen, petty thieves, and a mysterious glowing briefcase.
The first story kicks off with Vincent Vega (John Travolta) and Jules Winnifield (Samuel L. Jackson), two hitmen working for “big boss” Marsellus Wallace (Ving Rhames). After doing in a Yuppie drug dealer, Travolta as a courtesy takes Marcellus’ towering wife Mia (Uma Thurman) out for a meal at an 1950’s style diner in a bizarre sequence which makes up the biggest set piece of the film. The scene ends in a drugs fest that sees Vega saving Mia’s life. Meanwhile professional boxer Butch (Bruce Willis) has been instructed by Marcellus to take a fall, but didn’t, and is now on the run for his life along with his naive girlfriend Fabienne. The final storyline follows a pair of lovers, ludicrously inexperienced in the world of crime, (Amanda Plummer and Tim Roth) as they plan to hold up a diner.
Like the double and triple-crossing characters that inhabit the bizarre and unpredictable LA underworld, the film’s plot is jerky and non-linear, darting precariously if self-consciously between its various interlocking storylines of people for whom one day is never the same as the next. The films lurches between unscrupulous comedy banter and horrific mass-murder, often combining both at once. Many key events in the film revolve around averting a crisis or getting out of a sticky situation only to end up in an even stickier one, such as when Butch, on the run from Marcellus, goes back to his flat to find his watch, toasts a pop-tart, only to find Vega on his heels. The film is a treat for buffs, constantly making references to pop-culture and Hollywood history.
Screenplay is bold and confident with each character wallowing in his own words. Characters are brought to life by their disctinctive dialogue, from Jules’ Biblical wrath to Mia who learnt to sound like a moll by imitating soap stars. Performances are at times breathtaking, particularly Jackson’s all-absorbing stage presence which sky-rocketed his career. Brilliantly written and wickedly funny, Pulp Fiction is definitely the one to watch this week.
Sunday 13 July 10:20pm - 12:45am BBC2
August 11th, 2008 at 12:22 pm
Thanks! Really interesting. Big ups!