ESSIE SPEAKS OF HER FAVORITE FILM EVER : "PULP FICTION"

I have made a momentous discovery. I have discovered my favourite film. As someone so engaged in films of all kinds, I am hard pressed to pick one. It will always be a close contest. I will always rattle off a couple in close succession, as opposed to one single one. But if you press me for a single one, I am now sure this is IT. Now, you guys know I don’t really write that much about the big classics. I like talking about the “hot” stuff out there along with the ones you may have missed along the way. But come on. This is my favourite film. I have a sneaking feeling it always has been. I want to gush about it for a second. And who knows, maybe I can somehow convince you Tarantino-haters out there (and I really don’t know what to do with you guys but anyhow) to give this a spin. I have a feeling you guys have the impression that all Tarantino films are just jumped-up slasher flicks, you know, with the emphasis on the blood as opposed to any actual content. You are SO WRONG. Ok, let’s get right to it.

There is no one single story here. Actually, there are three. Two of these stories revolve around the gang boss Marsellus Wallace (Ving Rhames). See, Mr Wallace likes his sports. He likes to watch, for example, a good boxing match. He is also a betting man – and like the rest of us, he likes to win his bets. But he has an advantage over the rest of us in that field. See if, for example, he feels unsure how things will go, he can take precautions. Like taking Butch (Bruce Willis), a good pro boxer who is a tad bit past his prime for example, and explain to him if he should win or lose and at which round. Butch gets paid handsomely for his trouble, and Mr Wallace is happy. If Butch does not comply however, Mr Wallace is not amused. And I think we all know by now that an unamused gang boss is never a good thing. Then there are his two right hand men – Vincent Vega (John Travolta) and Jules Winnfield ( Samuel L. Jackson). They do things gang bosses do not condescend to tire themselves with. You know, extortion, debt collecting, murder and the like. But Vincent  especially is a little nervous of late  - he has an extra job you see. He has to take Mr Wallace’s dashing young wife (Uma Thurman) out to dinner while Mr Wallace is not in town. He must show her a good time, not offend her in any way, yet not cross any boundaries. I.e., he is on VERY thin ice indeed until the dinner date is up. And then there are two small time robbers. Pumpkin and Honey Bunny. They are planning their last couple of hits before they retire to some exotic location together. And they hit on an idea – why not rob a restaurant? And how do all these people come together you say? You will have to watch the film and see. But trust me when I say, regardless of what you’re thinking the answer is… You’re probably wrong…

Now, take these three stories. Cut them all into a few large chunks and jumble them up. And tell them in completely non-linear order with seemingly no rhyme or reason. Welcome to Pulp Fiction. As you can well imagine, in the wrong hands the formula is an unqualified disaster. But these, you see, are not the wrong hands. The puzzle is constructed in such a way that, although between Mr Tarantino’s penchant for surprises and the way the story is told you have no way of knowing what “comes next” until the last minute, it is, at the same time, clearly done so that you don’t actually have to research the film online later to clearly understand what is going on . On a side note, some people see this “incomprehensible” quality as a major asset – I don’t get it quite honestly. A film is something you should be able to understand as you watch it. Or a bit later, when you think about it. It shouldn’t take research. But at the same time, especially if you watch a lot of films, you want to be surprised. You want to not be able to tell what is coming next. I can categorically promise you that in this film, be it in terms of plot twists or actual pieces of the plot, you will rarely know what is coming next. This is one of the things I truly love about this film. 

The other thing I like about the film – and all of Tarantino’s films as it happens – is his own particularly dark brand of humour. This is what puts a twist on this little number too. Because, by Tarantino’s own admission, the three basic plot lines that are interwoven are as old as the hills. That is precisely the point. You take a classic and you put your own twist on it. How far you can twist it largely depends on your personal talent. I think you see where I’m going with this…

I mean yes, there is blood – people die. But newsflash – it’s a gangster flick.  If nobody died and there was no blood, you’d complain about it being unrealistic. This is something for you cats who want something both truly entertaining and truly original as entertainment.          Just take the plunge man. There is a reason every single person on the planet calls this film a classic. Time you found out why.