Pulp Fiction

Pulp Fiction was directed by Quentin Tarantino in 1994. The screenplay was written by Tarantino and Avary who tell a convoluted story in the life of some mobsters. Jules (Samuel L. Jackson) and Vincent Vega (John Travolta) play the roles of the hit men, Butch (Bruce Willis) is a boxer who is just trying to get by, and Mia Wallace (Uma Thurman) is the Mob boss's wife. Andrzej Sekula was in charge of photography, while Lawrence Bender produced the film. Together, these guys made a movie for the ages.

Pulp Fiction is similar to Tarantino's other big film, Resevior Dogs, in that the order of events shown are not in chronological order. We see events that happen later on first at times. In fact, the opening seen is what all other clips are working there way back too. In this way, Tarantino does an amazing job keeping viewers on their toes. In the streets of Las Angeles, Vincent Vega and Jules go around doing jobs for their boss. Butch is preparing to fight his last fight before he retires, and Mia is living the life of a Mob boss's wife. So how are all these people related? That is where the fun begins. Butch is approached by Vincent and Jules boss in a proposition to throw his fight for a cash reward. Separately, Vincent is asked by his boss to take Mia out on the town. In a series of twisted turns, and shocking surprises Pulp Fiction will memorize you for two hours. The conflict throughout the story is to figure out what the significance of the opening clip is. It appears unrelated to most of the film. A mysterious briefcase is sought after and becomes a major conflict. Symbols invoked in the movie are the briefcase, but also a watch that Butch was given. The background to the watch is another Tarantino specialty.

More so than the great screenplay and directing by Tarantino, the acting stood out above all. It was beyond superb. In fact, Travolta, Jackson, and Uma Thurman all received Academy Award nominations. Throughout the movie you get in the mindset that these are the actual characters, not actors playing the roles. I thought the costumes fit the roles of the individuals well. Butch was scruffy, while Jules and Vincent wore suits. I was impressed by the cinematography, too. Shots were far longer than what I was used to which gave the movie an uninterrupted feel to it. Furthurmore, the low angled shots showed the power of Jules, Vincent, the Boss, and Wolf well.

In summary, this is a movie that not a single person should go through their life without seeing. The directing style of Tarantino is a refreshing new style. The out of placed sequence of events is puzzling but comes together brilliant at the end. The acting is exceptional and the cinematography held it’s own. Nice job to the Pulp Fiction crew!