Who cares what a Big Mac is called in France?
- Carl Lane
- Nov 13, 2017
- 3 min read
Pulp Fiction written by Quentin Tarantino (1994)
A Boxer. A Shaker. A Christian Maker. Tarantino pens the lives of Butch, Vincent, and Jules over two days but don’t be fooled into thinking he made it easy for you. His screenplay ends where it began, but the story doesn’t, the narrative time jumps between different scenes only giving you more information to the whole picture when you need it.
Tarantino is my hero. Plain and simple, his work is faultless to me, when I watch his films and other people criticise aspects of it, I defend the film with everything I have. For example I once heard someone say that The Hateful Eight was too dialogue heavy and nothing happened in it… what followed was a one sided argument where I thought I proved why the film was a masterclass in dialogue, I didn't managed to convince that person, I am pretty sure they weren’t even listening.
Script Review
The script is full of postmodern techniques, whether it is the twisted narrative not following a chronological order, or the pop culture references that made me feel like I lived in the same world as these characters. Tarantino takes scriptwriting to a different level, he makes story before film.
All the characters in this script are perfect, all are reacting to the situation they find themselves in and are not entering scenes with preloaded motives or ideas.
Does Lance want Vincent to bring an OD’d girl to his flat – no, he doesn’t, but the situation and the threat of another character forces him into the scene, does Lance accept this new situation – yes, does he like it – hell no. Tarantino knows these characters well, and Lance fought this situation right to the bitter end despite knowing he had no choice. This is brilliant writing and makes the whole script seamless, situations and scenes play out naturally and allow character growth to happen.
Who cares what a Big Mac is called in Europe? Not me, Vincent and Jules do. That is great writing. Tarantino has put life into these characters, he isn’t writing dialogue for us, he is writing dialogue for them. True dialogue and conversation in the purest form. I have often read that Pulp Fiction is the most quotable movie of all time, and I think that is valid. When I think about the conversations I have with my family, friends, and work colleagues, the way I speak changes and I have words, phrases, and jokes that regularly appear and become like quotes. I don’t believe that Tarantino has forced quotes to come from his script, but because it so conversational, it just happens. I never intend to create a new phrase or joke within my circle of friends, but sometimes it just happens, and it is the most natural process.
In direct juxtaposition to the last script I read (Indiana Jones) this script has minimal descriptions of locations, and it totally works. “A normal Denny’s” opens the whole script, that’s it. No unnecessary filler telling us that the blinds are open allowing a stream of light to enter the diner, no descriptions of the layout of the diner. Tarantino knows that we all know what a diner looks like, this is an intelligent script that has clearly had a lot of editorial work, the screenplay is as lean as it can be before losing key details.
Where the problems lie
It is my belief that cinema audiences have become too passive, we are all too accustomed to being force fed dialogue and being guided through films not once being allowed to create the story ourselves. The words we hear move the story forward but sucks the life out of the characters. Tarantino breaths life back into his characters, and allows the audience to work for their entertainment. Conversation is the key to this films success. Why do we care for Vincent and Jules, why are we engaged in their successes and failures? Because they talk like us. We live in the same world as them.
Verdict
I don’t think I have to explain my decision for the following. This script is perfect. The script suits the film and suits the writer. You couldn’t write a Disney film this way, but a Tarantino film most definitely.
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