Pulp Fiction

The iconic image of John Travolta and Samuel L. Jackson
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The random number generator gave me the number 4 for this movie, and that corresponds to Pulp Fiction on IMDB's top 250. I've been told many, many times to watch this movie, but could never truly get up the motivation to make it happen. It didn't really excite me from its premise, a crime film basically just following the actions of John Travolta and Samuel L. Jackson's characters. I didn't really hold John Travolta in the highest regard for acting before I saw his performance in Pulp Fiction but I was sure swayed by what I saw. And as a whole, I completely underestimated what Pulp Fiction really was as a movie.

Pulp Fiction follows the classic Tarantino formula: lots of dialogue to develop the characters and a nonlinear plot line. I love nonlinear plots because I don't think the human mind is meant to simply think in terms of A-B-C. Sometimes it comes out B-C-A, or whatever other formula there may be. And the idea of knowing the ending of the overall story, but continuing on with the plot of the movie is so innovative and risky. There has to be enough in the story to entice the audience to keep watching the film if they know what's going to happen to the protagonists.

What, among many other elements, I feel made Pulp Fiction special was how easy it was to watch. I've said this before to describe other movies, but Pulp Fiction runs around two and a half hours and it felt so much shorter. When it was over, I was shocked at how much time had passed. I can't tell how exactly filmmakers are able to achieve this, but it seems to be present in almost every great movie. I think part of it is creating a story or narrative rather than only a movie. Also, the character development has to be fantastic. The audience has to be completely interested and almost desperate to see what happens next to the characters. Pulp Fiction does this so well its almost unfair. Whether it's the pretty crazy story of Butch trying to escape the far-reaching grasp of a powerful gangster, the hilarious banter between Vincent and Jules, or Mia's trials with drugs, every character is easy to relate to and adds complex elements to the plot.

This not only is worth your time, but should demand it. If you haven't watched Pulp Fiction, I suggest seeing it as soon as you are able to. You won't regret it.