“THREE STORIES ABOUT ONE STORY” so director legend Quentin Tarantino described his 1994 film – and with the last of his films due soon (he is scheduled to only make ten) without question the movie that defines this director is PULP FICTION (1994)
Not so much as an independent film ground-breaker as a truly cinematic event in a landscape defined by high concept and simplistic blockbusters at times, PULP FICTION flipped everything over from the moment it won the Palme D’Or at Cannes in 1994) . At the time, it was coming off the back-end of Robert Altman’s multi-character adaptation of the works of Raymond Carver, SHORT CUTS, in which characters came in and out of each other’s story arcs.
So, what is the plot of PULP FICTION? Essentially, it is the tale of a mysterious case belonging to Marsellus Wallace (Ving Rhames), which hit-man Jules (Samuel L. Jackson) and Vincent (John Travolta) have to collect from wimpish client Brett (Frank Whaley). In the midst of all this, Vincent needs to take Wallace’s wife Mia (Uma Thurman) to dinner and boxer Butch (Bruce Willis) is risking his career and life to throw a fight.
That is about the long of short of what you need to know about the basics, because you have to sit down and absorb every detail. Tarantino switches things around as the plot is a non-linear affair.
First time around, the violence will shock you as it is against the grain. More viewings later, it is the dark humour of the piece that make it all the more hilarious. The performances are all faultless working from a near-perfect script, but it is Samuel L. Jackson quoting Ezekiel amongst other reflections throughout the film that steals the show.