PULP FICTION

PULP FICTION, the eagerly awaited winner of the 1994 Cannes Film Festival’s Palme D’Or, weaves the stories of two hit men and a second-rate boxer into a hard-driving, violent film that jumps back and forth between being electric and on edge, to wordy and discursive. Director Quentin Tarantino “stays with his characters,” looping from end, to middle, to beginning, and back again, to deliver what is basically a day-in-the-life story. Of course, when this is a day in the life of two hit men, the work-a-day problems include executing three double-crossers, accidentally blowing off a friend’s head and saving the boss’ wife from a drug overdose. However, “staying with his characters” also means the viewer gets the chatter, the discussions, the inanities that go on when the characters are not blowing someone to pieces.

When all is said and done and the plot and violence are set aside, PULP FICTION is really about the ordinary within the extraordinary. When Vincent and Jules are on their way to a hit, they could just as well be going to a party, the office or a drive in the country. They talk about McDonald’s and co-workers. An odd mixture, the movie falls short of what it might have been. There is some fine cinematography, a good score and some good dialogue. However, the film contains enough extreme violence and foul language to push the boundaries of its R-rating to NC-17.