He’s regarded as one of the best screenwriters out there, and in the opening minutes of Pulp Fiction writer-director Quentin Tarantino immediately catches our attention, and draws us into a weird world of comedy and crime through the two characters: Pumpkin and Honey Bunny.
Of course, Tarantino’s famous for his sharp, quirky dialogue and that certainly contributes to the appeal of any extended conversation in his films. But the actual words spoken is one thing. Besides that, how else does this opening work in immediately establishing what we’re heading in for?
First Four Minutes
The first words we hear begin in the middle of dialogue. ‘Forget it, it’s too risky,’ Pumpkin says. There’s a sense of mystery immediately projected. At this point, assuming we haven’t heard or read anything, we know jack about what the film is about – maybe just that Samuel L. Jackson’s in it. The very first thing we see in the film, a definition of the word ‘pulp fiction’, is vague and lets us know next to nothing. So that makes us curious, then – what is this couple talking about?
There’s the easy dynamic between the characters. This is where Tarantino’s writing comes into play – it is entrancing to watch this loving couple acting so casually and normally with each other even as it is revealed they are talking about violent crime, answering the question silently posed to the audience by ‘Forget it, it’s too risky’ – which in turn sets up the twist that they now want to spontaneously rob the diner.
This brings us to the structure of the entire conversation and how it strings us along from the first moment when the audience is hooked about the kind of conversation they have jumped into, to its inevitable end. It sets up the climax – in essence, these opening four minutes works as a short film unto itself, with its own three-act structure (cold opening, increasing tension as we understand more of what these characters want, and then an explosive payoff).
What Happens Next?
Many people have their own thoughts on the perfect opening, of course – but the first four minutes of Pulp Fiction illustrate perfectly getting the audience’s attention and setting the tone immediately for the rest of the picture – in its mix of witty dialogue, black comedy, and violent crime, and even setting the anachronic structure in how this little scene is then essentially forgotten till the end, leaving us to wonder when we’d come back to it. It’s the best way to start a flick like this, is what it is.
Commando64 is a member of the Screenwriters Network. He is an amateur screenwriter and film addict who wants to visit America someday.