A review of Tarantino’s genre-defining crime mosaic: nonlinear storytelling, pop culture monologues, and the violence of Los Angeles cool.
My reviews are crossposted to my letterboxd. If you are here from letterboxd, and confused about the format of my reviews, I give 2 reviews: a critic review, and a viewer review. The critic review is more analytical, while the viewer review is more personal. Each have a star rating out of 10, a percentage out of 100, and a short quote. For my methodology view the post Toward a Theory of Film Critique.
"The path of the righteous man is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish
and the tyranny of evil men. Blessed is he who, in the name of charity and good will,
shepherds the weak through the valley of the shadow of death, for he is truly his
brother's keeper and the finder of lost children. And I will strike down upon thee
with great vengeance and furious anger those who attempt to poison and destroy
my brothers. And you will know my name is the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon
thee."
— Jules Winnfield, Ezekial 25:17 (Heavily Altered)
Set in the early to mid 1990s in Los Angeles, California. Hitmen Vincent Vega (John Tavolta), and Jules Winnfield (Samuel L. Jackson) work under crime lord Marsellus Wallace (Ving Rhames). Jules and Vincent pursue small time dealers that crossed Marsellus, followed by Vincent taking Marsellus's wife Mia Wallace for a night out, and Marsellus pursues boxer Butch (Bruce Willis) who double crossed him on a fixed boxing match. We witness 3 tightly correlated stories conveying themes of deliverance, divine justice, and the clash between miracle, and luck. While experiencing a amoral, cutthroat, lurid, and nihilistic crime-filled world first hand, Tarantino manages to create emotionally complex, With a [] non-linear timeline that culminates in
Critic Rating: ★★★★★★★★★☆ (92%)
— Kris Yotam
Viewer Rating: ★★★★★★★★★☆ (92%)
— Kris Yotam