Pulp Fiction changed the way cinema looked at movie dialogue

Rating: 10/10 (21 June 2005)

Writer and director Quentin Tartentino reportedly worked in a video store for a time. No doubt it was during this period when he decided he'd had his fill of formulated and prosaic conversations between actors. And contrived plots which plodded towards unsatisfying finales wrought with gunfire and unnecessary explosions. You will find no such nonsense in Tarentino's masterpiece 'Pulp Fiction' With a complex and extremely entertaining plot, which is filmed out of sequence, a device which sometimes confuses audiences. Not here as the whole thing plays out and comes together like a puzzle which everyone is having a lot of fun putting together. It is the story of a boxing fix. two handgun wielding robbers and two hit men all interwoven together and connecting at some point. But the most amazing thing about Pulp Fiction is the dialogue. The actors talk about normal everyday things, not just points to move along the plot or set up a conclusion. A good example of this occurs early in the film while the two hit men, played by John Travolta in his Academy Award nominated come back roll as Vince Vega, and Samuel L. Jackson, also nominated for Hollywood's biggest prize, as Jules, the second of the contract killers, are driving in a car on their way to an ordered murder. They begin talking about Vega's recent trip to Europe. There is a reference to various fast food restaurants. And Vega comments that because of the metric system in France the Quarter Pounder at McDonald's is called a Royal with cheese. The ease at which the actors speak the dialogue freely helps to create a realistic atmosphere where it seems like two people are just talking. Someone might say that two men on their way to a brutal execution might not be on the subject of fast food. But who's to say where normal or abnormal conversation might lead. Tarentino caught on to this before anyone else. And this is the most ingenious thing about the film. That and the fact that the scenes are funny, original and thrilling all at the same time. The film also has fine performances from Tim Roth, Eric Stoltz, Ving Rhames, and Bruce Willis among others. But none better than Jackson, who's roll as the repentant hit man developing a conscience was
the breakout part this tremendous American actor needed to finally achieve the recognition he deserves. He is comical and reverent in his newfound religion all at the same time. Also look for Harvey Kietel, in a swell cameo as 'The Wolf' a man called in to clean up messes which you can't tidy up yourself After this film came out, many imitators cropped up and tried to copy Tarentino's writing style. Along with his obsession with 70s black exploitation films and karate movies. But this film is positively one of a kind. It could easily be the best film of its decade. Groundbreaking. 10 out of a possible 10 T.H.