Mini Review #103: Pulp Fiction (1994) (Patreon)

I have never really gotten into Quentin Tarantino. Not because I dislike his movies, but just because for some. reason, I haven't watched them. Pulp Fiction was one of those films that I have always wanted to watch but just never gotten around to it. It is a movie ingrained in pop-culture and references of it can be seen across the internet. Because of this, I obviously new some things about it going into the film. I knew about the epic Uma Thurman/John Travolta dance sequence as an example. But I was not prepared for the fun and twisted ride that awaited me in this movie! First, I didn't know this movie was a comedy! I found myself laughing and smiling at so many moments. Sometimes, it was because of how uncomfortably weird this movie gets, and other times it was because of an insane line delivery, but either way, it felt a lot less serious than I thought it would be. Speaking of twists, if you haven't seen this movie yet I won't spoil anything but there are some moments in this film that no-one in their right mind would ever guess. Like my brain had to take 5 minutes to reboot after one moment specifically involving a store because I could not believe where the story went.

The directing is also incredible and you can really tell that Tarantino has mastered how to frame characters. I loved the really slow long takes that can be seen everywhere in the film. It gave us so much time with the characters in the moment and grounded them to a reality. The dialogue as well is something that Tarantino is famous for and he did not disappoint here. Somehow he manages to make dialogue feel so natural and real that at times, I forgot that these were actors. I'm not saying that every line in the movie is accurate to real life and of course some of the things said are nuts to butts insane as you would expect from Tarantino. But the way that all these lines from different characters jumble together and overlap each other speaks to a realness in speech that is investing and exciting to listen to. Overall, I was really impressed by this movie and I can see why it is so highly regarded. While I do think it is not for everyone (I know my mum would hate this), if you like fast paced dialogue, insane acting, John Travolta dancing, and amazing camera work.. this is the movie for you!