It has now been over twenty years since Quentin Tarantino’s sophomore effort; Pulp Fiction first blazed onto the screen and in the years since, Tarantino has become the most influential director of his generation and one of the few directors who have become celebrities in their own right. And in the years since, even as Tarantino has moved away from Crime films that so characterized his early work to indulging more in his love of Exploitation movies, Pulp Fiction still feels as original and fresh as it did in 1994. And when one thinks about it, this is surprising thanks to 1) the sheer amount of films that have come out since then that owed a lot to Pulp Fiction and ) the fact that Pulp Fiction is itself so indebted in the cinema of the past, in particular the Crime films of the 1940’s and 1950’s.
The key to this paradox I believe is not in what stories are being told, but how they are being told. Each of the three stories, the gangster who has to take his boss’s wife out to dinner, the boxer who double crosses a gangster, and the hitman who contemplates retirement after a religious awakening, are some of the oldest stories in the Crime genre. But what makes it feel so fresh is how these stories are told. One of the key ways this stands out is the little extra bits that are shown that may not change the narrative, but do add some depth to the movie that makes it feel like a more satisfying cinematic experience overall. This feeling is mostly achieved through the dialog. Much has been made of this beforehand, but it is interesting to note that relatively little of the dialog in Pulp Fiction actually is about the plot. Instead much of the dialog exists to build up the characters by having them talk about daily occurrences, i.e. workplace gossip, movie, television, etc. One long standing problem the Crime genre has historically had is that the characters because they talk about things that the vast majority of the audience has no experience with. In most Crime movies, hitmen talk about, well, doing hits, something that is thankfully foreign to the vast majority of movie goers. But the hitmen of Pulp Fiction are different in so far as they spend little time talking about their job and instead talk workplace gossip, the differences between Europe and America, television, and a whole bunch of others things that make up the average day to day conversations of most people. And because of this, these characters can become fully fleshed out as characters that can be humans who happen to be hitmen, rather than just hitmen.
The script to Pulp Fiction is perhaps the single best aspect of it, and it is one of the few scripts that is so well written, the final product would be good no matter who directed it. But because of Tarantino’s sharp direction, the film is able to rise to the level of masterpiece. The camerawork here is incredible and it is clear that above all else, the hours Tarantino has spent watching movies has instilled in him a deep knowledge of camera movement and how to make it convey certain emotions. In particular, his use of the tracking shot is quite good. Here the camera works to skillfully push the audience in a scene, suggesting movement beyond one’s own control. This is particularly noted in the Jack Rabbit Slims scene, where Vincent Vega (John Travolta) is asked to take his boss’ wife, Mia Wallace (Uma Thurmond) out to dinner, a situation which he is uncomfortable with because if Mia does not have a good time he is in trouble, but if she has “too good of time” he is in trouble as well. The threat of this situation getting out of hand hovers over their entire dinner and the camerawork does an apt job at driving this point home. But more than just the camerawork, this is an extraordinarily well paced film. It is highly engaging and is never boring, but more importantly it has enough confidence in itself and in its own narrative to chill out on occasion. I know I have discussed the concept of the Hang Out film before (a concept that originated with Tarantino), but Pulp Fiction fits this bill nicely and while the film’s stellar script is a large reason for this, so is the direction. Tarantino also shows a strong narrative talent here, particularly as it relates to the film’s non-linear storytelling technique. Here he is able to weave in and out of the interacting lives of a group of Los Angeles criminals, but the story never feels confusing, a move that can be credited to the film being deceptively straightforward in the sense that while the movie does tell a non-linear story, its narrative voice is so strong when telling each of its separate stories, it all feels natural.
And then there is the acting. Pulp Fiction has been credited with revitalizing John Travolta’s career, and while he never was as big as he was during the late 1970’s and early 1980’s with films such as Carrie, Saturday Night Fever, Grease, Urban Cowboy, and Blow Out to his credit, it certain did show he was far from a has been. But beyond that, it really needs to be emphasized just how good he is here, particularly in his highly naturalistic movements. Bruce Willis is also great here, particularly in just how well he is able to capture the magic of a 1950’s character actor. And of course Samuel L. Jackson is also a real joy to watch, perhaps better than anyone gaining a hold of the film’s clever and complex dialog and running with it. Uma Thurmond is also great here, and much like Bruce Willis is able to perfectly capture the feel of a character archetype of a different era, in this face the femme fatal of Film Noir. Even the supporting actors are great, with special mention being given to Eric Stolz as Lance, Vincent’s slacker drug dealer.
Still, a lot of movies has a well-written script, great direction, and fine acting, but have not quite become as culturally transcendent as Pulp Fiction, so there must be something else at play here. And what is at play here is a film that captures the 1990’s. One thing that makes the 1990’s stand out is just how much of the culture produced in that decade was about nostalgia for pervious decades. Just look at some of the biggest films that came out, such as Dazed and Confused, a virtual love letter to the mid-1970’s or Forrest Gump, itself a love letter to the major events that defined the Baby Boomer generation. But this goes beyond movies as both Disco and Punk Rock made comebacks and even many of the toys, such as Stretch Armstrong, the Troll dolls, and Creepy Crawlers made comebacks. Into this unique moment in culture stepped a film that was crawling with nostalgia and references to the films of the past. The most obvious example is the Crime films of the 1940’s and 1950’s, but the film also shows a good deal of appreciation towards the cinema of the 1970’s, and of course the characters in this film frequently make reference to 1970’s television. Part of this can be laid at the feet of a generation of movie geeks that had been raised watching movies on video and thus had nowhere near the time period or genre constraints that has so characterized their older peers. Back in the days before video, watching older movies often required luck (i.e. a revival or television showing) or even going to film school to study the great films of the past. But now, thanks to video film geeks were no longer constrained and to watch The Killing and The Texas Chain Saw Massacre on a single weekend was now possible. And as these film geeks grew up, the eclectic tastes they developed here was able to go with them and would influence the style of those that became filmmakers in their own right. And into this world, a world that was largely defined by its nostalgia, Pulp Fiction was able to come in as a supercharged representation of this trend, and because of this it was able to make a real impact on the culture. This I feel is at the heart of why Pulp Fiction is not only a great film, but also an iconic one.
Pulp Fiction is one of those films were everything that could go right, went right. The film does serve as a love letter to the cinema of the past, this is plainly obvious, but it is more than just a bunch references thrown together, from the first frame to the last, it is clear Pulp Fiction is made by a man who deeply understands what made the films being referenced here so memorable. Combine this with some great acting and clever writing and it becomes clear why this film works as well as it does, even now over twenty years after its initial release. Check it out!
10/10
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