Explaining the plot of Pulp Fiction is quite a difficult thing to do, primarily because the movie is constructed in a very unique way.  It plays out in the form of not one, but three overlapping stories that take place at different times, and somehow manage to perfectly come together as a logical whole at the end!  Writer-director Quentin Tarantino's first film Reservoir Dogs was going to be a tough act to follow, but this second film of his is a masterpiece.

Vincent Vega and Jules Winnfield (John Travolta and Samuel L. Jackson) are hitmen working for a mean L.A. gangster, Marsellus Wallace (Ving Rhames).  The movie opens with two lovers, Pumpkin and Honey Bunny (Tim Roth and Amanda Plummer) who decide to rob a coffee shop.  Then Travolta's and Jackson's characters are introduced, after which the first story, Vincent Vega and Marsellus Wallace's Wife begins.  Here, Vincent takes Mia Wallace (Uma Thurman) out on a date that takes a shocking twist.  This is followed by The Gold Watch, which tells the story of a boxer, Butch Coolidge (Bruce Willis), his attempt to double-cross Marsellus, and the consequences.  The final segment is The Bonnie Situation, where Jules and Vincent find themselves in a (literally) sticky situation - they must dispose of a blood-soaked car, and Winston Wolf (Harvey Keitel), the man who fixes things, helps out.  Tarantino himself appears in this segment as Jimmie of Toluca Lake.

If you think what I've described above is unusual, it's just scratching the surface.  Pulp Fiction is one amazing, very different kind of movie - it's a movie that I'm proud I watched, and it's one of my all-time favourite films.  I love the movie for many reasons - the unique way it's told, the fast and witty dialogue (there are so many quotable lines), the terrific acting (such a great cast, and everyone's uniformly excellent, even the actors playing smaller roles), the unforgettable characters, the soundtrack, and most of all it's simply fun.  I could go on and on about the things that I like about this movie (I even know several of the dialogues - most notably, Jules's "Ezekiel 25:17" one - by heart), but then this is something that has to be experienced.

When I tried to fill in the "genre" entry for this review, it was tough to decide what type of movie this is.  It's got gangsters, drug use, double crosses, but it's not exactly a crime movie.  It has serious scenes and it has funny sequences, there's even a subtle romance angle to it.  There's some strong violence but the scenes they appear in almost seem to be parodies.  There's a dance sequence.  There's some philosophical discussion ("divine intervention") and themes of loyalty/redemption.  I guess the title of the movie itself describes it best - this is a fine piece of Pulp Fiction (that's the genre I will put it in), a work of art from one of my favourite writer-directors!  Of course, not everyone will share my opinion about this movie, and some might even say it's got too much of profanity (250+ occurrences of the word "f*ck" and derivatives) and violence - but then it wouldn't be Pulp Fiction without them.

The movie was nominated for several Academy Awards in writing (it won the Oscar for Best Screenplay), directing and acting categories, and it also won the Palme D'Or at Cannes.  I am a huge fan of this movie and of Tarantino films in general, so basically it's a movie that I would recommend to anyone!

The Special Edition (Director's Cut) version runs 168 minutes.

Running Time: 154 minutes | Country: US | Genre: Pulp Fiction