Brilliant!

Rating: 10/10 (21 May 2010)

Writer and director Quentin Tarantino's "Pulp Fiction" qualified as a revelation when it came out in 1994, and time has not diminished the impact of this landmark film. This crime melodrama about a pair of philosophical hit men, a treacherous boxer, a cocaine-snorting drug dealer's wife, and a cleaner shifts back and forth between tragic drama and helium comedy with irony galore. If Tarantino had not made any other movie, he would still have been assured a niche in cinematic history with "Pulp Fiction." He juggles four complicated plot lines about an eccentric gallery of characters who are all low-lives in one way of another living on the fringe of society, whether they be murderers, thieves, narcotics dealers, sexual perverts, or small-time, pistol-wielding crooks. "Pulp Fiction" defies chronological time because Tarantino stages everything out of order. This fractured form of storytelling might alienate those spectators accustomed to chronological order. Not one minute of this marathon two hour and forty-five minute audacity is dull. Ultimately, Tarantino and co-scenarist Roger Avary received the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay, while the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences nominated Tarantino for Best Director, the film itself for Best Picture, John Travolta for Best Actor, Sally Menke for Best Editing, and Samuel L. Jackson and Uma Thurman respectively for Best Supporting Male and Female roles. Over ten years later "Pulp Fiction" is still outstanding, largely because it is such a timeless tale of amoral mayhem. Tarantino's quotable dialogue, his articulate underworld thugs, and his archly sardonic take on life retains its vivacity. Inspite of the scrambled up stories, Tarantino plots everything very carefully, foreshadowing situations and predicaments, with characters facing the consequences of their actions. Tarantino inspired a generation of movie makers, but none of them have come close to eclipsing his masterpiece.
"Pulp Fiction" opens in a restaurant with Ringo/Pumpkin (Tim Roth of "Reservoir Dogs") discussing the various problems involved in the art of robbery with his girlfriend Yolanda/Honey Bunny (Amanda Plummer of "The Prophecy")and their impulsive decision to rob the restaurant. Colorful credits follow and Tarantino introduces us to Jules (Samuel L. Jackson of "Shaft") and Vincent (John Travolta of "Saturday Night Fever") as Vincent talks about the difference between what hamburgers are called in Amsterdam. A quarter-pounder is called a Royale with cheese and most food is referred to using the metric system. They arrive at an apartment where they are supposed to pick up an attaché case from four twentysomething guys as a part of a deal that went south. Jules questions Brett (Frank Whaley of "The Doors") about the guy's questionable business practices with Jules' boss Marsellus Wallace. All the dumbfounded Brett can utter after he witnesses Jules shoot one of his friends on a sofa in cold blood is the word "What?" Jules warns him not to say "what" again. Nevertheless, Brett says "What" five times and Jules puts a bullet in his shoulder. Vincent and Jules retrieve the mysterious suitcase, but not before another guy bursts from the bathroom with a "cannon" like revolver and fires indiscriminately at them. The guy misses each time and Jules and Vincent blow him away and leave with the case and another bystander, Marvin (Phil LaMarr of "Old Dogs") after they kill Brett.