A fine, gritty, and fun film...

Rating: Null/10 (16 August 2008)

It's hard to gauge what Pulp Fiction means to me personally. In the world of cinema, however, Tarantino's film has been heavily influential; changing the language of American cinema in the 90's and onwards. Even today, PF's influences are everywhere. More than likely, you've seen homages to this film in many of the more recent films you see, without even knowing it.
It's not hard to see why the film was (and still is) as popular and highly regarded as it came to be. It's hip, to say the least. The dialogue is hip, the characters are hip, the cinematic technique is hip. Though what PF has that other "hip" films don't, is a freshness. It's a relief from the standards and conventions of what cinema seems to have become. Tarantino tried to defy the laws of making a Hollywood picture, all while maintaining enormous commercial success.
Pulp Fiction tells us four different stories. It follows two hit-men, a mobsters wife, a champion boxer, and two diner robbers. Their stories are intertwined out of typical chronological order.
Tarantino's writing is absolute genius. He seamlessly moves in and out of story lines, weaving back and forth in time. It's never confusing, and relentlessly entertaining. Though much of the film consists of long stretches of character conversation (most of which has nothing to do with the plot), the dialogue is so realistically written that we get caught up inside of it. Silent observers of two people engaging one another. Tarantino's Oscar was well deserved.
The cinematic technique is also quite fresh. The photography is close, gritty, and unflinching. The lighting is gloomy, and reflects a kind of magazine like feel (the film is inspired by pulp magazines). Tarantino pulls away from action, allowing us to observe all that is going on, but gets up close and personal during conversation, allowing us both viewpoints.
The cast is superb. John Travolta and Samuel L. Jackson play the hit men and strangely enough have a great chemistry. Their breakfast conversation is brilliant. Uma Thurman plays the mobsters wife, and though her part is short, it's quite excellent. Bruce Willis plays our boxer, and has the most demented story in the film, but he was great as usual. Tim Roth and Amanda Plummer are the robbers, who make their presence known despite their very short screen time. Other cast member include: Harvey Keitel, Ving Rhames, Eric Stoltz, Christopher Walken and Quentin Tarantino himself. The casting is stellar.
I honestly cannot think of any flaws whatsoever. It works as a black comedy (and boy is it hilarious), a crime thriller, as well as having something slightly profound about it, though the film says nothing. It doesn't need to say anything; it's pure cinematic perfection. It's one of the greatest American films of all time.
So, again, it's hard to say what about Pulp Fiction affects me personally. I appreciate it as a film milestone, but I also have a ton of fun watching it. It doesn't seem to get old. Though the film doesn't really have anything to say, it penetrated our culture in an interesting way. I think one could say that Pulp Fiction was the defining film of the 90's. Its influence still reverberates, even to this very day.
Someone once called it a boy movie; it's not. It's a film lover's movie. It's entertainment at it's purest and most joyously crafted form.
Maybe that's what it has to say. Maybe it's just there to remind us how perfectly visceral and downright fun cinema can be.
"They call it a royale with cheese." 10/10