Pulp Fiction

UK Release Date. 21 October 1994
Certification. 18
Running Time. 2 hours 34 mins
Director. Quentin Tarantino
Cast. Rosanna Arquette, Steve Buscemi, Maria de Medeiros, Samuel L. Jackson, Harvey Keitel, Amanda Plummer, Ving Rhames, Tim Roth, Eric Stoltz, Uma Thurman, John Travolta, Christopher Walken, Bruce Willis.
Rating. 90%

Review.

While Reservoir Dogs announced Quentin Tarantino as a new, significant voice in US cinema and introduced independent cinema to the mainstream audience, it was Pulp Fiction that cemented the genre's newfound prominence in the cultural zeitgeist of the 1990s. Few films have had such a palpable and enduring impact on their time as Pulp Fiction. Tarantino picked up the 1995 Academy Award for Best Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen and his sophomore effort acted like an adrenaline injection that revitalised a lethargic film industry.  

Deftly merging morbidly black humour with a hyper-violent crime drama populated with unforgettable characters and a retro sense of cool, Pulp Fiction crystalised the Tarantino aesthetic. Tarantino is a director with a sixth sense for style.  

True to its title, Pulp Fiction is a collage of various cinematic and TV influences from the 1950s through to 1980s in a non-linear storyline. Indeed, the storyline increasingly resembles that of a novel as opposed to the standard three-act structure of a film. A massive ensemble cast explore several primary intertwined narratives, including,

• A prologue featuring an impromptu diner robbery by petty criminals Ringo (Tim Roth) and Yolanda (Amanda Plummer).
• The second segment centres on the retrieval of a briefcase belonging to crime lord Marsellus Wallace (Ving Rhames) by two of his more unsavoury staff, Vincent Vega (John Travolta) and Jules Winnfield (Samuel L. Jackson).
• The next instalment involves Vincent Vega and Marsellus Wallace's wife, Mia Wallace (Uma Thurman) on a visit to a 1950's-themed restaurant, Jack Rabbit Slims, where all the waiters and waitresses look like icons from the period (Buddy Holly, James Dean, Dean Martin, Marilyn Monroe, Mamie van Doren and Richard Nixon). The couple memorably take part in the Jack Rabbit Slims Twist contest with a delectable, and now iconic, Watusi.
• Somewhat late in the film the audience is introduced to a boxer named Butch (Bruce Willis), whose slow-burn storyline over the next few hours is wildly unpredictable.
• The final chapter is Jules' epiphany following, what he believes is, divine intervention and an explanation of his infamous fire and brimstone monologue - Ezekiel 25:17. "The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men."

Then, there’s also the question of Marsellus Wallace's briefcase - one of the most iconic MacGuffins in film history. What does the briefcase represent, if anything? Wild theories range from the diamonds purloined in Reservoir Dogs to a stolen Oscar for failed actress, Mia Wallace, and even Marsellus Wallace's soul. The evidence supporting this final theory includes the fact that the combination of the briefcase is '666' and that there’s a Band Aid on the back of Marsellus’ neck, which is apparently where the devil steals your soul from. An impudent Quentin Tarantino gleefully poses this unanswerable question that acts as Pulp Fiction's centrepiece.

The flow of Pulp Fiction never ceases to amaze me - every sequence slots perfectly into place. Tarantino beautifully strikes the balance of leaving the viewer in the dark and queuing them in just enough so that they can follow what's going on. The rich, protracted conversations that take place between characters seldom detracts from the perpetual motion of the film, but rather ingratiates the characters' personalities further. Each character in Pulp Fiction is truly unforgettable, even if they're only on screen for a few minutes.

Pulp Fiction is a spectacularly entertaining piece of pop culture. The power comes from the whole film affecting a deliberate and unmistakeable level of charm across every element. From the delicious dialogue to the indelible characters, the film manages to captivate the audience while offering a thought-provoking exploration of nihilism and human nature. Impressively clever and remarkably creative, Pulp Fiction is an incendiary triumph.