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Pulp Fiction
Tarantino pushed storytelling to its limit to create this movie of interconnected stories, starring Bruce Willis, Samuel L Jackson, John Travolta and Uma Thurman
Could Tarantino fulfil the promise of his debut film? The answer was an emphatic, exhilarating yes. Where Reservoir Dogs was, for all its energy and action, an oddly theatrical thriller, Pulp Fiction is a resolutely cinematic work, awash, like its predecessor, with homages to Godard and film noir, boasting a knockout, highly quotable screenplay and a cool, eclectic soundtrack. In this genuinely original piece of cinema, Roth and Plummer are hopeless romantics and hopeless villains holding up a diner. Willis is a boxer invoking the rage of his employer Marsellus (Rhames) when he refuses to take a fall in his latest bout. Travolta, in a career-reviving role, and Jackson are two enforcers. The former has a dangerous dalliance with Marsellus's wife Thurman, while the latter contemplates going straight after what he takes to be a spot of divine intervention in his violent life. Tarantino expertly interweaves these individually simple stories, developed with old sparring partner Roger Avary, and creates a complex, sophisticated and hilarious whole. The only serious low point comes with the mercifully brief cameo from Tarantino himself, with the hipster director proving once again that he really should stay behind the camera. Verdict A modern classic, more memorable than the 1970s flicks that inspired it. |
