Chen, Ferguson: A Detailed Review of Pulp Fiction Film

This report is a film review of Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction, examining the movie's unique narrative structure, characters, and themes. The review explores the interconnected storylines of hitmen, drug dealers, and other criminals in Los Angeles, highlighting the film's blend of crime, pop culture, violence, and humor. It analyzes the nonlinear chronology, cinematography, and dialogue, as well as the film's exploration of ethics, chance, and violence. The review also discusses critical reception and the film's lasting impact on cinema. The review references key scenes, character interactions, and philosophical underpinnings, offering a comprehensive analysis of Pulp Fiction's artistic merit and cultural significance. The analysis touches upon themes of ethics, chance, and violence, and how these elements contribute to the film's overall impact and appeal, including references to external sources to support the arguments made.

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Jessica Chen
Margaret Ferguson
WR-12-42
April 15, 2020
Review of Pulp Fiction
Pulp Fiction is a film that portrays American Crime and is written by Quentin Tarantino,
who connects the storylines of the hitmen, kickboxing fighters, underground drug dealers, and all
the notorious individuals residing in Los Angeles in an intersecting manner. Released in the year
1994, this movie still remains one of the most renowned movies of all time (Poulanki, 2014).
Tarantino gives it a unique title which refers to pulp magazines that were popular during the
1950s mostly known for containing lurid subject matter. The movie features a mix of crime, pop
culture, love, violence, and humor, along with remarkable dialogues, extensive violence, with
amazing cinematography and non- linear chronology which have helped the film win many
awards.
Pulp Fiction, as defined at the beginning of the movie is “a soft, moist, shapeless mass of
matter”, which alludes that the movie is going to be chaotic and formless in its structure. The
movie starts by introducing Jules and Vincent (played by Samuel Jackson and John Travolta)
who are given the task of retrieving the suitcase of their employer that was stolen. Their boss,
Wallace is seen to pay Butch (played by Bruce Willis) to lose in a fight deliberately in a deal and
this leads to a series of bizarre and unexpected incidents. Pumpkin and Bunny are thieves who
decide randomly to rob a coffee shop hence adding to the unpredicted relationships among
unrelated people. It is the odd arrangement of the movie that made it in a puzzle and this puzzle
was distinguished from diverse narratives. For instance, being a gangster movie, one cannot find

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any involvement of police in the plot, instead, there are weird characters like men in black suits
with their secret protocols, sexual perverts and more. More importantly, the movie’s irresistible
beauty comes from its nonlinear manner of construction. This design gives it the ability to hold
the attention of the viewers so that they can watch it several times without remembering what
comes next. The variety of interlocking mini-stories and diverse characters in a world of crime
brings feelings from desperation to relief captured by a perfectly satirical title.
The masterpiece of Quentin Tarantino was due to its cinematography yet his
cinematography was given an unattractive name by himself. Till 1994, the name of the movie
presumed nothing that would indicate any intriguing factor or disturbing elements, despite such a
presumption, the movie was disturbing as well as intriguing. Such a quality of the theme was
attained due to its prevailing theme; the forbidden secret life of the American criminals was
intriguing to the audience and hence the movie engages the audience right from its very
beginning. The atmosphere of the movie is its very own that successfully engages the audience at
once. That kind of an effect is attained with the help of marvelous camera angles, marvelous
lighting and of course the acting of the characters. For instance, a scene where Samuel Jackson is
starring his victim whilst drinking sprite- the technical point of view of the shot reveals that the
light reflecting from Jules eyes from the wrapping gives Samuel a kind of inverted pupil that
makes him look less like a normal human and hence further raises the tension of the moment.
Such is the cinematography of the movie, which has been attained without any special effects.
Part of the surprise theme in the movie is the spiritual possibility amidst consequences
and choices. Tarantino creates characters that are relatable and contribute to the central theme of
the story: the way chance is given the potentiality to govern the whole plot and how it
contributes to the creation of ethical views (Barrowman, 2019). The views of ethics that

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Tarantino shows in the movie can be highly related to those of a French philosopher named
Emmanuel Levinas; Levinas also describes how ethics can only be formed through the help of
chance and accident. For instance, in the scene where an unknown gunman misfires
unbelievingly at Jules and Vincent, causing Jules to reassess his life and thus form some new
ethics. As a consequence of this kind of an odd chance, Jules is seen to give up his old job of
being a hitman and Vincent, on the other hand, does not gives up his job. This choice of Vincent
leads ultimately to his death, whereas, the life of Jules is spared. There are numerous such
examples of influential accidents and chances throughout the whole plot of the movie. For
example, Butch miraculously escapes death after crushing a motorcycle cannot be explained in
any other way outside of divine intervention. As a matter of fact, the story is narrated through
misadventures and accidents. The various parts of the film that are eventually brought together
emphasize the importance of such unexpected events and also the interruptions in the film.
The director utilizes excessive violence and emphasizes those bloodsheds in the story in
order to reflect the underlying themes of desire and ethics (Ruiz & Pardo, 2014). The extreme
violence in the movie forms an integral part of the plot and contributes to its aesthetic.
Apparently, Tarantino intended for the audience to laugh at these violent scenes; he intended the
audience to see how ridiculously the scene has been carried out and also the reactions of the
characters. The use of such random and unnecessary violence mixed with real-life dialogues
form gloomy scenes that tend to appear comically (Allan, 2015). This is the reason Tarantino
deliberately violates the traditions of action films which contributed to the appeal for the movie.
Instead, he recreates the scenes of violence which are hyperbolic, surreal and most often comical.
In most cases, directors would cut away from the violence, but Tarantino stays with his idea of
hyperbolic violence and often shows the characters in the aftermath of such violence.

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The fantastic dialogue and the development of character help the audience to connect
with the “immoral characters” in the movie. Just like repetition is one of the fundamental
elements to pulp fiction, the director decides to repeat significant dialogues and the anecdotal
scenes in the film to signify their association with the central theme of ethics and desire
(Klamann, 2014). The dialogue’s nature in the movie is, in fact, observed to focus on a particular
linguistic model where all the references to the dialogues are shocking, repulsive, obscene, yet
uncomfortably amusing.
At the time of release, critics pointed out the unconventional unique narrative structure
was seen as disconnected from reality. However, the unpredictability and complex mix of the
stories outshined the rare approach to the themes within the movie. According to Janet Maslin
(New York Times), watching Pulp Fiction is like going down a rabbit hole. The story is that of a
crime full of suspense that is catalyzed by black comedy and involves improbable coincidences,
uncertain satire, and coincidences. It is, therefore, unpredictable while offensive to some
conservative audiences. The elements of surprise, mystery, and shock in the film have been
creatively utilized to entertain the audiences who seek thrillers with a balanced seriousness. The
film remains a unique production through glorified crime, immorality, and underworld settings
that are highlighted with little or no official law enforcement. The excellent cinematography
without even the help of any kind of special effects is another contributing factor to the success
of the movie. Peters Travers (Rolling Stones) reinforces that the movie is full of fun and little
caution or consideration of political correctness. The utilization of random and unnecessary
violence mixed with the real life-like dialogues, the acting of the characters, and the way the
villainous characters are turned into likable characters for the audience to connect with, all of

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these factors have made the film appealing and helped the director to establish his own radical
views.

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References:
Maslin, J. (1994, September 23). Quentin Tarantino's Wild Ride On Life's Dangerous Road.
Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/1994/09/23/movies/film-festival-review-pulp-
fiction-quentin-tarantino-s-wild-ride-life-s-dangerous.html
Allan, K. (2015). When is a slur not a slur? The use of nigger in ‘Pulp Fiction’. Language
Sciences, 52, 187-199.
Barrowman, K. (2019). 'English, motherfucker, do you speak it?': Pulp Fiction and the future
of film-philosophy. JOMEC Journal, (13), 11-29.
Travers, P. (2018, June 25). Pulp Fiction. Retrieved from
https://www.rollingstone.com/movies/movie-reviews/pulp-fiction-95345/
Klamann, S. (2014). Putting the pulp in pulp fiction.
Poulaki, M. (2014). Puzzled Hollywood and the return of complex films. Hollywood puzzle
films, 35-54.
Ruiz, J. S., & Pardo, B. S. (2014). Translating film titles: Quentin Tarantino, on difference
and globalisation. Babel, 60(2), 193-215.