Movie Review by Bill Rendall

Pulp Fiction

Occasionally a movie comes along that takes everyone by surprise. Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction is such a movie. Mixing up time is the most obvious technique Tarantino uses to disorient the viewer.

The movie consists of interwoven stories which are presented out of linear sequence. This enables Tarantino to spring a surprise by killing off one of the main characters in the middle of the movie.

Tarantino demonstrates the importance of music in setting a timeframe. The movie soundtrack features tunes from another time. In particular it introduces the surf guitar music of Dick Dale to a new generation.

Two of the characters wear gangster outfits from an earlier time, which maybe only existed in the world of movies. One of the stories focuses on changing them into casual contemporary clothes. Another story features a retro bar paying homage to famous people from the fifties. Pulp Fiction features seventies technology such as a record turntable and an open reel tape player.

To emphasis how important a part time plays in the movie there is a scene in which a simple timepiece is elevated to the status of a sacred object. This timepiece is of such value to one of the main characters that he is prepared to risk his life to retrieve it.

The thing I like most about Pulp Fiction is the dialog. The movie includes a lot of casual conversation that does not serve to advance the plot. Examples that spring to mind are conversations about the price of milkshakes and what the French call their burgers. Even though the topics seem mundane the conversation is still strangely fascinating.

I would have preferred a linear presentation of the stories in Pulp Fiction. I found it irritating having to wait nearly two hours to find out the relevance of the opening scene. The disjointed sequence of the stories makes it essential to watch the movie a second time to fully appreciate it. I found the content of Pulp Fiction so interesting that I would have watched it more than once anyway.

Before Pulp Fiction Tarantino already had a reputation for glamourising violence with his scripts for Natural Born Killers and True Romance, and his directorial debut Reservoir Dogs. That reputation was reinforced by Pulp Fiction. I find it disturbing that violence is presented as being hip or cool. Despite this I recommend Pulp Fiction as a must-see movie because it shook up the formulaic rut that the movie industry had fallen into.

The script for Pulp Fiction was optioned by TriStar but was later put into turnaround because of the violence and drug use. It was picked up by Miramax. Previously Miramax had made their reputation by acquiring and distributing completed movies that were not considered commercial enough for distribution by the major studios. Pulp Fiction was financed and produced by Miramax and established the studio as a leading production company for independent movies.

Pulp Fiction is a hugely influential movie which has spawned far too many inferior imitations. See the original and the best and forget the rest.

Director: Quentin Tarantino

Screenplay: Quentin Tarantino, Roger Avary 

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