8. Pulp Fiction

With Tarantino films, I always watch expecting it to be the most amazing film I have ever seen because of the reputation Tarantino has garnered as a director, writer and producer. Unfortunately, this is not the case with Pulp Fiction, which is loved by some and hated by others.

Pulp Fiction (1994), starring John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson and Uma Thurman, delves into the life of criminals in Los Angeles: two diner bandits, a gangster and his wife, a boxer and a pair mob contract killers.

Pulp Fiction was shot on a modest budget of $8.5m and was a box office hit making $213.9m, as stated by Box Office Mojo. The film competed with The Shawshank redemption at the box office, because they had both been released the same day. This contributed to the Shawshank Redemption being a box office blunder. However, in later years Shawshank redemption clawed back its reputation and became one of the best movies of all time and ranked 1st in the IMDb list (see my first blog post).

Personally, I found Pulp Fiction an average watch. Probably because I was not a member of the target audience, those who enjoy the elements of violence and silly comedy within the film. The stories of the main protagonists did not connect with me. I found the language rather obscene, the 431 swear words (Indiewire, 2019) distracted from the narrative. Copious amounts of drugs are used, and this is enough to turn a stomach. Ironically, I feel the film’s the excessive drug use does not glorify drugs. Violence, however, is definitely glorified. Some might argue these scenes are part of the story and adds to the realism and intensity of the film viewing experience. My perspective is that it is quite terrifying and unnecessary – not for the faint hearted.

Pulp Fiction’s merits owe itself to one scene, performed fantastically by Samuel L. Jackson. Instead of sitting through the 2h 58m film, simply YouTube ‘Pulp Fiction Ezekiel 25:17’ and you will be satisfied. However, you may be lulled into the false sense that all Tarantino films are as great as this scene.

I awarded Pulp Fiction 48, mainly because it was quite an outrageous viewing experience. There are some parts of the film which are mediocre and are possible to sit through, but in my opinion, it was too long to be a watchable film.

Even though I did not enjoy this film, it has resonated with many, winning an Academy Award for writing and the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival – the festival’s most distinguished prize. If you are not shy when it comes to dark comedy, violence and intertwined storylines Pulp Fiction is for you.

Judging Criteria

SCRIPTURAL INTEGRATION - 20 points: 12

STORY/SCREENPLAY - 10 points: 4

DIRECTOR - 10 points:5

CINEMATOGRAPHY - 10 points:5

EDITOR - 10 points:3

PRODUCTION DESIGN - 10 points:4

ORIGINAL MUSIC SCORE or SCORE EFFECTIVENESS (if not original) - 10 points: 4

SOUND DESIGN - 10 points:4

ACTING - 10 points: 7

TOTAL SCORE 100 POINTS. : 48