I am about to make a statement that I would likely not have made
in 1994, when you could not swing a dead cat without hearing someone
rave about the brilliance of Quentin Tarantino.
Here it goes.
"Pulp Fiction" is underrated.
That's right. You heard me. By now, every film geek has moved on to
their new god of cinema. Be it the Wachowski Brothers or Paul Thomas
Anderson or M. Night Shalayman.
And, granted, each of those people is very talented. But let's not
forget Quentin. By the time that "Jackie Brown" was released,
only his third effort behind the camera, the country had overdosed
on Tarantino and his film was released to general indifference. Even
though that movie was a great film, and it had the same mastery of
dialogue and skill of editing and plot structure as "Pulp",
no one seemed to care. The public had gotten their fill of Mr. T,
and I believe that is due, in no short part, to his imitators.
Tarantino started a revolution, and that revolution made us sick of
him, even though it really wasn't his fault. He couldn't help it that
he had made a masterpiece about criminals that, in turn, got every
turd involving criminal behavior to be greenlighted by eager producers
wishing to share some of Quentin's glory. He couldn't help it that
movies like "Truth or Consequences: New Mexico" sucked.
Or "Things to do in Denver When You're Dead". Or any number
of shitty movies that tried to make their auteurs the next Tarantino.
But the reason that none of those imitations worked was simple. None
of them possessed the assured craft that Quentin had. None of them
had such heart and passion to back them up.
None of them captured the indelible humanity of their characters the
way that Quentin so effortlessly could.
It isn't just his ear for dialogue, although that is a big component.
The "Royale With Cheese" scene or the part in the Jackrabbit
Slims restraunt just sound like the way that real people talk. No,
there is more to it than that. It is the way he directs his actors
to a level of excellence that few others have. Samuel L. Jackson believes
in his character and in the choices of his character. That is why
he works in the role, and inhabits it as if he were born to play it
(which he was, if you ask me). Travolta understands that his character
is trying so hard to be cool that he fails to understand the basics
of human behavior, or the basics of any sort of logic, actually. This
role made him a star for reasons that are all too apparent. Bruce
Willis seems to know that his character is really not a lot more than
just a charming sociopath.
The movie has its own reality. It's own logic. It establishes its
own rules and never breaks them. It grounds itself in its own, remarkable
reality and that makes us believe it also.
And Tarantino also throws in little touches that make the characters
all the more human. They are not just pawns of the plot, as they are
in any of the movies by Tarantino's pale imitators.
When Bruce Willis returns to his apartment and risks being caught
by the gangsters he is attempting to elude, it is not for a stash
of money or drugs. It is for a precious family heirloom that his girlfriend
has forgotten. When Travolta freaks out after the overdose of his
boss's girlfriend and takes her to the house of his drug dealer, they
have a great debate over who will inject her with adrenaline that
ranks with the best routines of Abbot and Costello or the Marx Brothers.
When Jules experiences a miracle and wants to abandon his life of
crime, we have come to know him so well that we accept his decision.
We buy it. In a lesser movie, I doubt that we would have.
There are also all the little debatable touches. What's in the briefcase?
Are all the clocks in the movie really stopped at 4:20? Does the band-aid
on the back of Marsellus's neck really mean anything? The world may
never know. And who wants to? Knowing would spoil the fun, and the
debate. There are the plot twists that come out of left field, yet
make sense. In reality, after all, anything can happen. There is the
use of background music in lieu of a score.
All these things make "Pulp Fiction" a more interesting
motion picture than most of
Tarantino's peers could ever fashion.
And, above all, it is also one of the greatest rides in the history
of motion pictures. So sit back, grab a quarter pounder with cheese,
and enjoy the fun.
