one of the best of the nineties

Rating: 10/10 (2 February 2002)

This is an amazing film. Reservoir Dogs was more violent and gritty. Jackie Brown was more stylish. This is a perfect mix of both.
The film's music plays an important role in establishing a large part of it's style that's not made from the clothing, dialogue or violence. Notice how there is never a CD playing. The music is played on car radios, records, etc. I actually didn't know whether or not the film took place in the 90's or the 70's the first time I watched it. I had to go back and look for date elements (cars, cigarettes, etc.).
The dialogue is very witty, and it gets a lot of its points from is observations. "Awkward pauses", "coming back from the bathroom with your food waiting for you". I think that Tarantino's most valuable talent is his ability to observe human behaviours.
The narrative construction is another note. I liked the way the film was cut up. But it's important that the construction benefits the film, rather than trying to hide its weak spots, like some other films do. I think that Tarantino was walking a fine line between cutting edge filmaking and exploitation, and crossing the line of having too much of everything.
I think people need to realize that this film is at first a comedy. We can't take it seriously. Some of the events are probably very true to the crime life, but they're handled in a way that make the film live in another world. Obviously the film is not reality.
I also think that people get upset about the violence, which if you think about it, takes place mostly off-screen. So it could be taken as praise by Tarantino, making people think they're seeing more violence than is actually there.
I could go on for hours writing. I've come up with a religious theory about the film too. How Marcellus waves his hand at Butch after he rescues Marcellus from the rapists in an almost absolving manner. The Biblical passage. How we are left with the feeling that Vince and Jules are the winners when they casually walk out of the diner at the end of the film, until we remember that Vince was killed about 45 minutes earlier in the film and that this scene is actually taking place before that. Vince laughs at Jules in the coffee shop when he says he's done, he's out of the crime life, and then after laughing at him, gets killed when he (Vince) decides to continue with the life.
I think that both the critics are the fans of this film should look a little closer, to realize that it's not as one-dimensional as they may think.
The only negative effect this film has had on me is the amount of post-Tarantino rip-offs there have been. There's a difference between being influenced by a film and just trying to copy it. Too many new film makers are making flash-bang films, without Tarantino's talent to be able to pull it off.