Pulp Fiction Review
by Ram Samudrala (ram AT mbisgi DOT umd DOT edu)November 2nd, 1994
PULP FICTION
[Spoilers]
A film review by Ram Samudrala
Copyright 1994 Ram Samudrala
"A day in the life of gangsters" is how my co-viewer described PULP FICTION, and aptly so. With a cast consisting of people like John Travolta and Bruce Willis, and directed by Quentin Tarantino (who also did RESERVOIR DOGS, I believe), this movie has its high spots, but it could've been shortened by an hour, sparing the viewer a lot of pain.
In a push-pop scenario, the movie lived up to its name, just like a Jackie Collins or Sidney Sheldon novel. Starting off with two coffee-shop robbers, it moves on to Vincent and Jules, two gun-toting serfs in the pay of big boss Marsellus, and finally to Butch the boxer who was supposed to take a dive but didn't. A la Collins, the three subplots are intricately woven together and end up back in the coffee-shop, where Jules and Vincent are relaxing after a busy morning's killing.
Unlike its violent counterpart NATURAL BORN KILLERS, this is (too much of) a slow moving movie. But it definitely has more humour in it and the various subplots to the subplots are actually done quite well. It is not senseless blood and gore (in fact, there's very little actually depicted), which is what NATURAL BORN KILLERS is all about. The subsubplots are quite interesting: one of them involving the drug overdose of Marsellus' wife Mia culminating with a rather violent adrenaline shot (needle through breastplate), another involving a male homosexual rape this one ending when Butch finally decides on a longsword (after contemplating a hammer, chainsaw, etc.) as his weapon of choice to attack the rapists, and yet another involving Vincent accidentally blowing the head off of a stooge.
In the end, Jules, who survives a freak accident convinced that it is an act of god, decides to retire, thus living. Vincent does not and is shot as he comes out of the toilet. This is the first time I saw a male homosexual rape depicted on screen. I guess the next step is to show a female one; I have heard of such things happening for a while now. The existential messages this movie carried were far more provocative than the ones in NATURAL BORN KILLERS, which was virtually lacking any sort of a theme. However, I would suggest renting it out so you can do other things during the slow scenes.
Ram Samudrala
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