Pulp Fiction

Directed by : Quentin Tarantino
Starring : John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Uma Thurman, Bruce Willis

To kick off my film review blog, I decided to pick a classic to review. Being an avid Tarantino fan, Pulp Fiction was the natural choice.

This film made me fall in love with films. Period.

Had you thought the rainbow aliases of Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs were colourful characters, they are nothing compared to the crew of characters in Pulp Fiction.

The film begins with Amanda Plummer and Tim Roth, who play characters only known as Honey Bunny and Pumpkin, two robbers, in a diner. They ponder, and a plot forms, as the two pull out guns, and there, Misirlou starts, and the scene stops.

Mid credits, we are introduced to Vincent Vega (Travolta) and Jules Winnefield (Jackson), two men-who-are-far-from-gentle in sharp suits, listening to Jungle Boogie on the car radio. And you have Mr and Mrs Wallace. Gangster Marsellus Wallace (played by Ving Rhames - although I have not been able to take his performance seriously since I Now Pronounce You Chuck And Larry), tough guy gangster leader with a sticky plaster on the back of his neck, and his wife, failed-actress and cocaine addict, although there is nothing tragic about her, Mia (Uma Thurman). We also have the back-stabbing boxer Butch Coolidge (Bruce Willis) and his girlfriend the foreign Fabienne.

The characters are quirky, and the audience loves them for it.

The film is dripping in pop culture, and the film is an obvious homage to every obscure film Tarantino has loved. Every scene highlights Tarantino's enthusiasm for film, and it's contagious, he loves films, and we love his film.

It's been said that the Buddha's enlightenment was just like a clearing of a jungle path, it was there, but just nobody noticed it much. Pulp Fiction is similar. Pulp Fiction introduced the non-linear story line to a whole new audience. It's Tarantino's technique to make us think. And it works. We're wondering "what the bloody hell is going on", and we're hooked. It's not your run-of-the-mill mind numbing film. You have to think about what's happening, and the "huh what the hell is going on" factor keeps you right at the edge of your seat, right where you belong during a film.

My favourite scene? Well, that's Marvin's little surprise, but I won't elaborate on that point, in case someone who hasn't seen Pulp Fiction (go and watch it now) is reading. My second favourite, well, when Vincent Vega probes Mia Wallace, having survived an overdose, "Say something." and she, of course, replied "Something."

In writing, I can't do this film justice. It's impossible. But this film, to use the cheesy simile, is like Marmite, as is Tarantino in general. You either laugh your head off and wet yourself laughing and think it's genius, or you just think it's a load of crap.

OK, so the great violence debate. Pulp Fiction is not THAT violent, really, is it? Compare it to True Romance and Kill Bill 1 and 2, and no, it isn't.

And to think, this script was once sent into turnaround for being "too demented", by now, it's a film classic. A must see for everyone (over 18s though, obviously...). If you want a definition of an "indie cool" film, Pulp Fiction is it.

Pulp Fiction. Possibly, one of the best films ever made.

And I can’t wait for Inglourious Basterds.