Energetic and imaginative - making up for it's lack of real heart with a great wealth of dialogue and characters

Rating: Null/10 (28 January 2004)

Pumpkin and Honey Bunny are thieves who plan their next job whilst drinking coffee in a diner. Jules and Vincent are hitmen in the employment of top man Marsellus Wallace who must retrieve a stolen suitcase for him. Butch is a boxer near the end of his career who is ordered to take a dive by Wallace. Mia Wallace is Marsellus' wife who Vincent must show a good time while her husband is out of town. In a flurry of violence, double crosses and accidents their stories collide in their world of murder, theft and drugs.
It is perhaps easier to view this film now than it was when it first came out in the cinema. At that time the TV schedules were full of interviews with Tarantino and lots of hype. While it is still considered one of the best films of the 1990's, it is easier to watch it with a fresh eye now. The best film about the film is just how striking each part of it is. The plot is well constructed in a weave of stories that all stand up well on their own but support other strands. Often films that jump around within time will be hard to follow but here Tarantino does a great job of not only avoiding this but actually using his structure to propel the film forwards to good effect.
The stories are never dull and, although some are better than others, they all pretty much stand up well. The dialogue in the film could have been annoyingly inane - indeed at points I did tire of the constant pop culture references, but it mostly manages to engage and add to the characters. It is consistently witty but open to sudden moments of action or violence that are all the more shocking for their suddenness. There is a point where the film could have been better in the area of emotional involvement. Most of the violence is met with laughter or interest by the audience rather than real shock or loss; the reason for this is simply that we don't ever really care about the characters on that emotional level - they are players rather than friends. This is not a major problem as it is something that the pulp genre is happy without and in fairness Tarantino never pretends he is trying to do that.
The only other problem with the film is it's glamorisation of both drugs and crime. This would be a bit of a problem if I wasn't aware of the type of film it was, but I was and I just accepted it; like the man himself said `you don't go to a Metallica gig and tell the f**kers to turn the volume down', so too you don't watch this film expecting it to be anything other than darkly funny, violent and so on.
The cast are very good in their various roles; nobody plays it totally straight and they all seem aware that they aren't playing this story in the real world but in a trashy world of pulp fiction hitmen, gangsters and their molls and so on. Travolta is very good, it's easy to forget now that he had been in the wilderness before this film. He gives a good performance and manages to make his character likeable without making him pleasant. Jackson impresses more in support and he deserved to win the Oscar that alluded him (`sh*t' he was seen to mouth in place of the usual `oh well done' fake smile!). His character drive the main part of the film well and is enjoyable. Willis actually acts here and does well despite not having that much of a range to deliver across. Thurman is much better here than in Kill Bill and she brings her character to life reasonably well. Rhames is imposing in his small role and the rest of the cast includes actors such as Whaley, Arquette (times two!), Stoltz, Gallagher, Buscemi, Walken, Greene and a wonderfully enjoyable turn by Keitel. Tarantino makes a cameo himself and reminds the world why we prefer him not to act, but in fairness he is not as bad as he can be.
Overall this is a great film. It may be a little soulless and cruel if you are not expecting it to be a film that lives up to it's title and is `pulp fiction' but if you know what to expect then you will enjoy it a great deal. The interweaving stories and witty dialogue all keep the film moving forward and, while not a serious or worthy film in any way, it has a great narrative to it and is exciting and enjoyable.