What Goes Around Comes Around

Rating: 10/10 (13 September 2012)

The plot of Pulp Fiction contains three separate but intertwined stories about people living a criminal lifestyle.
There is a boxer, Butch Coolidge, who is played by Bruce Willis and a gangster, Marcellus Wallace, who is played by Ving Rhames. Butch and Marcellus are conspiring to fix a boxing match so that Marcellus can profit by placing a bet on the match. There is the wife of Marcellus, Mia Wallace, who is played by Uma Thurman and a hit man, Vincent Vega, who is played by John Travolta. While Marcellus is out of town on business Vincent is tasked with entertaining Mia for the evening and they manage to get into trouble. There is Vincent Vega and another hit man, Jules Winfield, who is played by Samuel L. Jackson. Vincent and Jules are tasked with collecting a valuable package on behalf of Marcellus and that turns out to be a very violent encounter.
The theme of Pulp Fiction is one reaps what one sows. In several instances main characters that seem to be living a comfortable lifestyle get involved in some risky behavior and each of them ended up suffering dire consequences as a result. A motif which is repeated in Pulp Fiction is the bible verse Ezekiel 25:17. Over the course of my life I have spent far more time attending church services than I have watching Pulp Fiction, but this motif is so memorable that it has become the only bible verse which I have memorized. The initial citing of the verse was near the beginning of the film and it was told in a vengeful manor. When the same verse was repeated at the very end of the movie the same words told a tale of redemption. The lighting in Pulp Fiction is quite bright through the film. Even in scenes such as a darkened bar or a convertible with the top down at night where one would expect the characters to be cast in shadows they are illuminated to the point where it almost feels as though they are facing a spotlight.
There is a significant amount of violent content in Pulp Fiction and the entire story revolves around characters engaging in illegal conduct. Despite those facts there is a definite comedic sense which emanates from the film. Some of the violent scenes were so outrageous and over the top that I found myself reacting as though I was watching a cartoon where Yosemite Sam was firing a shotgun at Bugs Bunny. It doesn't get much more violent than firing a gun in the direction of another being but the audience tends to laugh it off because the action is clearly not real.
Another movie which intertwines the separate stories of people engaging in criminal activity is Heat. Heat was directed by Michael Mann and was released in 1995. Unlike the over the top violence in Pulp Fiction, Heat has a tone which is quite serious, and it is realistic to the point where the viewer feels as though they could be watching a live portrayal of actual events.