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Quentin Tarantino's "Pulp Fiction" has been hailed by national critics
as the
year's best, most innovative film, with writer-director Tarantino being
called a
genius. And he truly is a remarkable filmmaker - and "Pulp Fiction" is
indeed a
remarkable film.
But it's also way over the top in terms of its R-rated excesses - wall-to-wall
foul
language and more than a few off-putting moments. And though the film is
not as
graphically violent as "Reservoir Dogs," there's no question that both
came from the same mind.
Still, if you can get past all of that, "Pulp Fiction" is a wildly entertaining
film, which never sags,
even at a staggering 2-hour, 40-minute running time.
After a prologue of sorts, involving a pair of small-time hoods who call
each other Honey Bunny
and Pumpkin (Amanda Plummer, Tim Roth) as they prepare to rob a diner,
the film is essentially
broken into three acts, with members of the ensemble cast woven into the
background when they
are not essential players in the story.
The first act focuses on a philosophizing, drug-addict hitman named Vincent
(John Travolta).
We meet him as he is in conversation with his partner Jules (Samuel L.
Jackson), another
thinking-man's killer. They are driving to a job and discussing McDonald's
restaurants in Europe.
The job is a hit on a trio of young punks who have made the mistake of
stealing from mobster
Marsellus Wallace (Ving Rhames), for whom Vincent and Jules work. But the
bulk of the story has
Vincent being assigned to spend an evening with Marsellus' wife Mia (Uma
Thurman). They go to a
hilarious '50s-themed restaurant, where they eat in vintage cars and are
served by Buddy Holly and
Marilyn Monroe. Eventually, they twist the night away.
The second act has Marcellus bribing a two-bit boxer named Butch (Bruce
Willis) to take a
dive. But Butch double-crosses Marcellus and tries to get out of town with
Marcellus' money. This
story has some wonderful twists and turns, and it also has the most bizarre
(and potentially
offensive) sequence, involving a pair of homosexual rednecks who kidnap
innocents, dress them in
leather and chain them to a wall in the basement. When their latest victims
are less than innocent,
however, revenge is ugly.
The third act doubles back to Vincent and Jules and the three young men
they are assigned to
kill, then goes through a convoluted journey involving a "cleanup" man
(Harvey Keitel) and
eventually returns to the film's prologue, the diner where Honey Bunny
and Pumpkin pull their guns.
The stories are clever and witty - and so is the dialogue, loaded with
pop-culture references and
wry humor. And Tarantino has chosen the perfect song score soundtrack to
back up the action.
But the young filmmaker is at his best with actors, and Travolta, Willis,
Thurman, Rhames and,
as Butch's girlfriend, Maria de Medeiros, all give performances that are
among their best. But the
show-stealer is Samuel L. Jackson ("Jurassic Park," "Jungle Fever"), whose
star-making turn as
Jules is a wonderful mix of down-to-earth everyman and self-confident killer.
He shouts scripture to
put his victims off guard and, in the end, considers the pros and cons
of getting out of the business
when an apparent "miracle" occurs in his life. He's hilarious and complex
and the best of many
terrific characterizations.
I'm on record as being less enthusiastic about "Reservoir Dogs" than most
other critics, and
though I enjoyed "Pulp Fiction" much more, it's still far too in-your-face.
However, I'll take
Tarantino over Oliver Stone any day.
