Classic Movie Review: Pulp Fiction

In 1994, some well-dressed hitmen, a non-linear plot and a killer soundtrack sent Pulp Fiction and Tarantino into the pop-culture stratosphere. Has it aged since then? Not a chance. Some movies retain a cult status in the decades after their release, but Tarantino managed to create a film that was the 3 best things a filmmaker could ask for: commercial and critical success, as well as a rabid fanbase who can quote its razor-sharp dialogue like it’s scripture. It was an instant classic. The plot is made up of several interlocking stories, often jumping back and forth in time, featuring some of the same characters in various ‘inconvenient’ circumstances. There’s Jules Winnfield (Samuel L Jackson in his most iconic role) and Vincent Vega (the role that rejuvenated his career which had dwindled since his Saturday Night Fever days). They are two hitmen sent to visit some young men who stole from a gangster named Marsellus Wallace, with some explosive consequences. They’ll appear again later on, along with Mia Wallace, the classic femme fatale played by Uma Thurman. There’s also Butch Coolidge, played by Bruce Willis: a discontented boxer who just fixed a fight. These characters and more will cross paths, and you better believe that there will be violence, dark humour and witty dialogue that’s been called ‘Tarantinoesque’. This dialogue, along with impeccable acting by everyone in the cast has helped craft timeless characters you can now see as Halloween costumes, parodied on the Simpsons, and on posters on every modern film lover’s wall. The movie is also filmed in a way that looks like the exploitation films of the 1970’s which influenced Tarantino and his entire career to date. You even see ‘burn marks’ appear in the corners of frames. Oh, and there’s the soundtrack. From the very first moments, when you see the main title’s in yellow and feverish ‘Misirlou’ plays, you know you’re in an experience in every sense of the word. Because when Tarantino makes movies, he lets you know that you’re watching a movie. He loves to play with the audience in a visceral way. Other directors want you to get lost in the story, but not Tarantino. His films are meta, reference pop-culture and eventually, even his own films. One could call Pulp Fiction a comedy, a crime film, even an ‘action’ film in a non-traditional sense. But Tarantino the writer and director is not interested into sticking to genre formulas: he’d rather mix and mash them, turn them on their heads, make them collide in a way where the end-product is impossible to truly define. Whether or not you’re a fan of crime films or can stomach the violence in Pulp Fiction, one thing is for sure: it was a landmark film which sent indie-film resurgence in the 1990’s to new heights which his previous film Reservoir Dogs helped to kick off. In all its madness, eclecticism and unforgettable characters, does Pulp Fiction have something deep to say? Who cares - it’s a wild ride which changed cinema forever.