In a previous essay I mentioned how Travolta s portrayal of Vincent Vega in Pulp Fiction was anything but convincing heck, we all knew it was just that goofball Travolta pretending to be a criminal. Robin Williams suffers the same problem whenever you see him onscreen, you can never escape the feeling that it s just good ol madcap Williams, playing a role. Sean Penn playing his usual hard-ass self, Woody Harrelson pretending to be a grunt, and even, Lord help us, our good friend Travolta manning the helm of a navy cruiser. That s without even mentioning George Clooney s totally inappropriate 60 second cameo, which somehow manages to earn him fourth billing on the cover of the re-release of the novel. What we have here is a clear-cut case of inappropriate casting, and it serves merely to prevent the viewer from fully immersing themselves in the film.
Next problem is the annoying voiceovers which pepper the film s narrative.
Voiceovers can be used to good effect, as in GoodFellas , The Shawshank Redemption and Apocalypse Now . This is because they help elucidate the events taking place on the screen, and also serve to create an affinity with the character doing the talking. In the final reckoning they are heavy-handed, unnecessary and go a long ways to making this film the unapproachable behemoth it turned out to be. And that, friends, is the major flaw with this work of art, which is to say that it is a work of art. It is something to be admired from afar, strangely sterile, depressingly clinical, devoid of characters you can really give a damn about.