Make way for the King... Review on Pulp Fiction Movie

Caution: The Review is about a movie that is not suitable for sensitive audience and those who are minors.

Pulp Fiction’s opening scene shows an incident that happens somewhere the mid section of the movie’s story (if the story were to be narrated in chronological order) and this you realise only after you have sat through almost three fourth of the movie. But what the heck, its last scene is not its climax either, as that too shows an incident that occurs somewhere in the earlier part of the story. For days after the movie is over you can try and figure out the jigsaw puzzle that Pulp Fiction is, to put in a few words, Pulp fiction is the epitome of non-linear episodic narration. The movie is also broken up into three sub plots. While some characters play a vital role in one sub plot, the same characters are of passing significance in others. There are also characters that specially appear in each of these sub plots that leave you wishing they show up again in the others, for you haven’t had enough of them.

The Opening:

The opening scene is set in a restaurant, where two small time crooks (Amanda Plummer and Tim Roth) are having breakfast and debating the advantages of robbing a restaurant as opposed to a gas station or a bank.

Vincent Vega and Marsellus Wallace's Wife

A hit man Vincent(John Travolta)will have to “baby sit” his boss Marsellus’ (Ving Rhames) wife Mia (Uma Thurman), as the boss is going out of town. Vincent knows it is going to be tough night ahead, as he should keep himself restrained, for he has learnt from his friend Jules (Samuel L Jackson), that Marsellus threw another hit man of his off the fourth floor for giving his wife a foot massage. Towards the end of what can be called a perfect evening, things get out of control as Mia has an overdose of drugs after the couple’s successful attempt at winning a dance contest at a theme restaurant…

The Golden Watch

An aging prize fighter Butch Coolidge (Bruce Willis) is paid by Marcellus to throw away a boxing match. While Butch accepts the deal, his pride does not allow him to lose the match. Now on the run from the notorious Marcellus, he has to make one last visit to his apartment, as his girlfriend has forgotten to take his Golden Watch which incidentally came to Butch from his Great Grandfather through three generations of War Veterans (not always worn on their wrist mind you). A brilliant cameo by Christopher Walken (as a Vietnam War Veteran) provides the perfect start to this episode that ends with an equally unforgettable dialogue “Zeds dead baby, Zeds dead”

The Bonnie Episode

Is about how Wolf (Harvey Keitel) takes control of a messy situation, which involves cleaning up of a car that’s strewn with remains of a smashed head, caused by accidental firing of Vincent’s gun (“I think the car hit a bump”) on their way back from a “job” that has Jules wondering if it was “divine intervention” that has kept him alive. The clean up is successful and leads to the opening scene at a restaurant, where two small time crooks are planning a robbery…

Technicalities

Pulp Fiction is up among the best movies. Photography (Andrzej Sekula)is almost poetic, if I may say so. The way the lighting has been handled coupled with some brilliant angles, makes viewing a pleasure. There is also a very judicial mix of extreme close-ups and long shots adding to the mood the movie wishes to create. A particular scene when the camera is trained on the face of the character played by Bruce Willis (actually his introductory scene) for a long long time, as he listens to a Mafia boss who is giving him instructions, is a very daring attempt.

Directed and Co-written by Quentin Tarantino, the movie moves at a breath taking pace. Personally, I never felt a dull moment sitting through this one. Even when nothing much is happening in terms of action and the scene is about a casual conversation amongst two characters, dialogues are so crisp, witty and profound that you just can’t let up on your attention, for the fear of missing something interesting. The discussions range from as trivial as “what the French call a Mac burger and why?” to the nonsensical as to “If Pigs are considered dirty why not Dogs”, to something sensual as “the sexual implication of a foot massage” to the mundane “what is a pilot show for a TV serial” to the more deep, reflective and philosophical as the “divine intervention”…. Now remember that most characters having heated debates on the above mentioned issues are professional killers and gangsters either on their way to kill someone or on their way back from doing so…!!!

Music is another magic ingredient in this epic movie. Mostly made up of 70’s surf music the movie also serves up a few classics like “Girl, You'll Be A Woman Soon'' (Urge Overkill), ''Lonesome Town''( Ricky Nelson), ''Flowers On The Wall'' (The Statler Brothers) and Son Of A Preacher Man''(Dusty Springfield) and You Never Can (Chuck Berry). The music with which the movie opens - Misirlou (Dick Dale and His Del-tones) sets the mood for the movie, as much as anything else.

Performances:

Top class performance by everyone in the cast. The movie is supposed to have revived the sagging careers of John Travolta and Bruce Willis. It was also a movie that put Samuel L Jackson in the limelight. His is probably the most interesting role in the movie. Uma Thurman is HOT as hot can be in a brief but very impressive role. Harvey Keitel comes into the movie almost at its closing stages but gives a power packed performance. Christopher Walken has only one dialogue in the movie, it is also probably one of the longest dialogues of the movie. The fact that you will remember this war veteran (with a few chuckles of course) is a tribute to how well he has done the role.

Verdict:

Pulp fiction is not just another movie, it is a cult classic. You may either love it or hate it but one thing you can’t deny is the fact you will never club it as just another movie you saw. Oozing with style, filled up to brim with wicked humour, slick editing, unforgettable performances and steeped in profanity (if you have an allergy to the “F” word, you will probably be “F”ed by the time you have seen half the movie). Drug abuse and excessive violence are two other issues that will turn off the sensitive viewers from this movie. But if you are one who would not mind these, PULP FICTION, will probably hold you and keep you riveted to the screen, for its entire running length of 2 Hours and 34 mins ( considered too long for an average Hollywood Movie). Chances are that, you will switch off the movie after the first 20 minutes are played (it happened to me when I watched this the first time about 5 years back), but then chances also are that, you will want to watch this much more than just once… if you are a person who likes a movie to do something more than just entertain you, chances are you will fall in love with PULP FICTION.