Pulp Fiction
Netflix, Mon. 27 October.
What's left to say about Pulp Fiction? I'm sure you've all seen it, and I never had until last week. When you hear enough about something, there's a natural disappointment if it doesn't live up to those (impossible) expectations. But I don't think that's what happened to me. Pulp Fiction is what it is: a very, very, good movie that's one step from being great.
The highest compliment I can pay it is that it is the most carefully produced film I have ever seen. Every detail of every shot, set, action, music cue, etc. etc. has been meticulously planned. The actors are all superb, particularly John Travolta who resuced his career with this movie, only to destroy it again a few years later. The characters are unforgettable. There are scenes that will replay in my head until my memory goes. It's not overlong and is totally, completely, entertaining.
However, I would have given up some of this detail, traded a bad performance and a non-compelling scene if it got me one moment equal to the brilliant raw emotion and honesty of the climax of Reservoir Dogs. Unlike that film, Pulp Fiction seeks to keep the viewer at a distance. You watch the conflicts instead of living them. And without very much of a climax of its own, this separation means that Pulp Fiction, for me at least, is lacking something. Funny, I still can't wait to watch it again sometime.
Grade: A-
What's left to say about Pulp Fiction? I'm sure you've all seen it, and I never had until last week. When you hear enough about something, there's a natural disappointment if it doesn't live up to those (impossible) expectations. But I don't think that's what happened to me. Pulp Fiction is what it is: a very, very, good movie that's one step from being great.
The highest compliment I can pay it is that it is the most carefully produced film I have ever seen. Every detail of every shot, set, action, music cue, etc. etc. has been meticulously planned. The actors are all superb, particularly John Travolta who resuced his career with this movie, only to destroy it again a few years later. The characters are unforgettable. There are scenes that will replay in my head until my memory goes. It's not overlong and is totally, completely, entertaining.
However, I would have given up some of this detail, traded a bad performance and a non-compelling scene if it got me one moment equal to the brilliant raw emotion and honesty of the climax of Reservoir Dogs. Unlike that film, Pulp Fiction seeks to keep the viewer at a distance. You watch the conflicts instead of living them. And without very much of a climax of its own, this separation means that Pulp Fiction, for me at least, is lacking something. Funny, I still can't wait to watch it again sometime.
Grade: A-