Pulp Fiction
Overview
Pulp Fiction is a 1994 neo-noir black comedy crime film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. The film is known for its nonlinear narrative, witty dialogue, eclectic soundtrack, and extreme violence. The story is told out of chronological order, weaving together several interconnected plotlines involving two hitmen, a boxer, a gangster's wife, and two small-time criminals. The film opens with a couple, Pumpkin (Tim Roth) and Honey Bunny (Amanda Plummer), having breakfast in a diner and deciding to rob it. The story then jumps to the hitmen Vincent Vega (John Travolta) and Jules Winnfield (Samuel L. Jackson), who are sent by their boss Marsellus Wallace (Ving Rhames) to retrieve a mysterious briefcase. The briefcase, which glows with an orange light, is never explained, adding to the film's mythic quality. They kill several young men, and Jules delivers a biblical passage — Ezekiel 25:17 — before each execution. The film then jumps to Vincent taking Marsellus's wife Mia (Uma Thurman) out to dinner. They dance the twist at Jack Rabbit Slim's, a 1950s-themed restaurant. Mia overdoses on heroin that she mistakes for cocaine, and Vincent must rush her to his drug dealer's house and stab her in the heart with an adrenaline needle. The film then jumps to a boxer, Butch Coolidge (Bruce Willis), who is paid by Marsellus to throw a fight but instead wins, killing his opponent. Butch escapes with his girlfriend Fabienne (Maria de Medeiros), but she has forgotten his precious gold watch, which belonged to his father, who died in a POW camp. Butch returns to his apartment, kills Vincent (who was waiting for him), and then encounters Marsellus. They chase each other into a pawn shop, where they are captured by two sadistic rednecks who rape Marsellus. Butch escapes but then chooses to save Marsellus, using a katana to kill the rednecks. Marsellus, in gratitude, lets Butch leave town. The film ends back at the diner with Pumpkin and Honey Bunny, who attempt to rob it while Jules and Vincent are eating breakfast. Jules, who has been contemplating quitting his life of crime after witnessing a "miracle," quotes his biblical passage and lets the robbers leave. Pulp Fiction revitalized John Travolta's career, made Samuel L. Jackson a star, and won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival. It was nominated for seven Academy Awards and won Best Original Screenplay. The film is a landmark of independent cinema and one of the most influential films of the 1990s.
