Blind Spot: Pulp Fiction

As I sit here and try to rummage through my mind for words, I come up with none. Not because there's nothing to say, but rather, every word seems to be swirling around that I risk writing an incoherent review about it. Nonetheless, I was very impressed with Pulp Fiction, and how a film like this could still be impressive years after its release. If I didn't know this was released back in 1994, I would have thought that it was released recently. Maybe it's because the writing style of Tarantino could still be applied today, that it still moves with the time. Besides the iconic scenes, it was the script, and the manner the film is presented, that makes it all worth while to see.

The film wasn't presented in chronological order, but with its arrangement, has still managed to piece in key factors for the viewer to understand the flow of scenario. The film, however, can be subdivided into three parts, through the leads of the narration: Vincent Vega, Butch Coolidge, and Jules Winnfield. Vincent and Jules are hit men who work for Marsellus Wallace, and Butch is a boxer who had a fixed deal with the mob boss. There were focal points to each of their stories, with their segments soon overlapping one another. It's as if the timeline is threaded together with the events of the film. 

I'm not really aware to the extent of the film's cult status, but most of the infamous scenes I know, happen during the first parts. I liked the interaction and the chemistry between Vincent and Mia, Marcellus' wife. I like how Mia was written; she was mysterious and nonchalant most of the time, and yet there was this spark in her personality that just draws you in. Maybe it's how she carries herself, that there's no pretense whether she's in her home or in public. Another part of Vincent's story was his work with Jules, which comes to play early in the film. 

The most intense and climactic-packed parts of the film happens in Butch's story, and particularly how his watch would have cost him his life. Bruce Willis has managed to astonish me in his part. He doesn't come off as an arrogant prick, or someone smug, or someone completely bad-ass. This might have been a first that I liked a character of his outside his action-style movies. He was able to display quite a range of emotions that doesn't border overacting. There were some unexpected events that happen during this part, so expect the unpredictable. Still, it ended on a good note. 

My favorite segment, however, was the final parts of the film, where Jules was in the lead. It immediately picks up at the final minutes of the hit Jules and Vincent were currently in (as shown in the start of the film). This segment ties up and largely connects the film, and the plot is triggered when Jules had an epiphany that he should retire from the mob hit business. As Jules and Vincent banter on, an accident happens, furthering the spiral of events and implanting to Jules that maybe it was time for him to leave. I like the partnership between Jules and Vincent, and the last parts of the movie have been the most entertaining. Quentin Tarantino shows up as a panicked friend. The segment largely connects the first minutes of the film to the entirety of it. 

The entire film was written well, and there were really great scenes besides the infamous dance scene. What I like about the dialogue is that it seems to be actual conversations, not just words that give away context to the story. Tarantino managed to interject important information without it being the actual topic. It was also written in a way that everything would just go into place, that it wouldn't be confusing, that there would be sense to every scene, an explanation to parts that seem unexplained. 

Tarantino has been making exceptional movies, and I have yet to watch most of them. I do think this is my favorite and the best, from the ones I've seen. It was an engaging work of his, backed by great writing and acting. It has an interesting story, and the film was played out with great timing. 

Final Word: It was an entertaining film. A lot more people should see this. 

Cast: John Travolta, Uma Thurman, Samuel L. Jackson

Director: Quentin Tarantino

Year: 1994