Is it too late to write about Pulp Fiction, y'all?

So… summer, movies… The sweaty gloopiness of your typical North Carolina in summertime is easily defeated by a two-hour refrigeration period in the chilly darkness of a movie theater… Especially when it's a gorgeous historic venue like downtown Durham's Carolina Theater. 

Built in 1926, it's been beautifully renovated, but retains the grandeur of … you know… a movie palace from another time! They show current films—leaning more toward foreign and artsy films—but we come for the special stuff... older films, campy films, action films, horror, noir…  My friend Todd is also there sometimes, so that’s a nice bonus… And it’s fun to introduce our budding filmmaker Bill, to learn about the classic genres. Most recently we took in the super-hip, insanely funny, 1994 crime movie Pulp Fiction. 

Is this movie appropriate for a 15-year-old? Probably not. And I do feel guilty about taking mine… on the other hand, amidst all the drug use, violence, and foul language… well, it really is a morality tale, isn’t it? Maybe all this stuff has been said before regarding this crazy masterpiece, but I’m going to give you my thoughts anyway.

If, after all these years, you haven’t seen it, well... I’m actually not able to give you a plot synopsis. Sorry. It boasts a fractured timeline, and I really don’t think I could give it justice. It’s about two well-dressed criminals just doing their day-to-day crime stuff, and also about a boxer who is supposed to take a fall, but doesn’t, and also about the criminals’ boss. And the bosses’ wife. And the boxer’s wife… and a dealer and his wife… And these two other criminals. See? It’s just too complicated! I can’t do it!!

Anyway, throughout the film, the characters are confronted with choices… one man must decide to behave honorably toward his boss’s wife. Another man makes a choice to rescue a man who has been trying to kill him… a choice that works out for him, but, honestly, could have gone either way… I guess it is the nature of morality tales to highlight good and evil, which as humans we must choose between every day–just in smaller, less gory ways.

At the center of the film are two criminals—Jules and Vincent—and their choices. Both have chosen the criminal lifestyle, and carry out their daily duties as a matter of course. But one day something happens—a guy empties a large pistol point blank at them, but misses them entirely. “God came down from heaven, and stopped these ************ bullets,” Jules (Samuel L. Jackson) says. Vincent (John Travolta) considers it a fluke, and goes about his business, but to Jules, it’s a turning point. 

Jules: We should be f***in' dead, my friend! What happened here was a miracle, and I want you to f***ing acknowledge it! 

Vincent Vega: All right, it was a miracle. Can we go now?

Yeah, Vincent doesn’t care… the moment of divine intervention rolls right by him. That night, when he chooses NOT to act inappropriately with the boss’s wife, it is not out of respect for the divine. It is merely self preservation—as we know, from an earlier discussion of a rumor that the boss had thrown a man out of a window for messing with his wife.* 

On the other hand, Jules considers their near miss an act of God—proof that God is paying attention and cares about his choices…? Jules takes it as a sign that he should change his course. Maybe Jules was set up for this… Maybe a guy who likes to quote Ezekiel 25:17** before “popping a cap” in someone’s ass is already thinking about God. Here’s a pretty hefty quote from Jules that explains the whole thing: 

“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 darkness. 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 I am the Lord when I lay my vengeance upon you." 

I been sayin' that sh*t for years. And if you ever heard it, it meant your ass. I never really questioned what it meant. I thought it was just a cold-blooded thing to say to a mother****er before you popped a cap in his ass. But I saw some sh*t this mornin' made me think twice. Now I'm thinkin': it could mean you're the evil man. And I'm the righteous man. And Mr. .45 here, he's the shepherd protecting my righteous ass in the valley of darkness. Or it could be you're the righteous man and I'm the shepherd and it's the world that's evil and selfish. I'd like that. But that sh*t ain't the truth. The truth is you're the weak. And I'm the tyranny of evil men. But I'm tryin, Ringo. I'm tryin' real hard to be the shepherd.”

See, Jules is aware of God, has His word in His head, so … when he experiences what he perceives to be a miracle, he knows exactly where to look… and suddenly the sheer … relevance of God’s words causes him to consider what they mean for HIM personally - where HE fits in God’s design. Until now, he has taken on the role of God as the dispenser of justice, but now, he’s not too sure…

So that later, when a couple of petty thieves try to rob him, he comes out with this: “Normally, both your asses would be dead as f***ing fried chicken, but you happen to pull this sh*t while I'm in a transitional period so I don't wanna kill you, I wanna help you.”

In a morality tale, there is normally a clear demarcation of good and bad—although it’s a little skewed here. Jules and Vincent’s behavior is violent and capricious, and their conversation is vulgar, but they are goofy, and they say hilarious things and they are so handsome in their suits... so we somehow feel sympathy for them. It’s a good reminder that good and evil are not always so easily recognized.

In this story, both men are criminals, but good and evil are defined by the choice each man makes when he confronted with the Divine. And, like in wisdom literature, where the good are rewarded and the bad are punished, each man receives his due. Well, we don’t really know what happened to Jules in the end, but we do get to see Vincent gunned down in spectacular fashion… and Jules isn’t with him.

It all reminds me of the story of two thieves on the crosses beside Jesus:

Now one of the criminals hanging there reviled Jesus, saying, "Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us." The other, however, rebuking him, said in reply, "Have you no fear of God, for you are subject to the same condemnation? And indeed, we have been condemned justly, for the sentence we received corresponds to our crimes, but this man has done nothing criminal." Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." He replied to him, "Amen I say to you today you will be with me in Paradise." (Luke 23:39-43)

I may not be a thief, and I may not have ever shot a guy just for looking at me wrong... but I have done plenty of crappy things... so this is a great message for me. It’s really good to know that, God wants us to be with Him in paradise… and has made a way for us to get there!



*There is a point in the film, where, after Vincent does something particularly careless and vile, he says: "Jules, did you ever hear the philosophy that once a man admits that he's wrong that he is immediately forgiven for all wrongdoings? Have you ever heard that?" So, he can't acknowledge God... but wants to be forgiven? I guess that's normal... we want grace, but we don't want God to be in our business too much...

**The verse he quotes isn't actually Ezekiel 25:17... it's more of a mishmash of a couple of verses in the Bible... just FYI...

Yeh, I Was Feeling God's Pleasure

The Carolina Theatre
in downtown Durham...

If you know me, or read this blog very often, you probably think that my husband and I (and sometimes our kid) are constantly going to shows and concerts… and you wouldn’t be wrong. I’m thinking about that Toyota commercial where the guy has bought too much car and has to give up his concert tickets and other luxuries. Well, you can bet that wouldn’t happen to us… because to my husband, live music is one of the necessities – like food, shelter and love. So… either we wouldn’t buy too much car, or we’d cut some other thing... like… well, I don’t know. Just not concerts. At any given time, we have around five envelopes on our fridge, each holding tix to a show of some sort.

Anyway, the other night we took in a little show by Brad Mehldau and Chris Thile at The Carolina Theatre in downtown Durham. Now, first off, The Carolina Theatre is a great venue – a lovely old Beaux Arts style building that has been beautifully restored. It makes you feel grand just to be there. Okay, so I did used to make their ads, so I’m a little biased. But it IS cool.

...a great place for a show!

Secondly, they set up folding chairs in front of the regular blue velvet theatre seats and call it “the pit,” and let me tell you, from that front row, it’s pretty hard to dodge the sweat droplets from the performers. Speaking as someone who remembers seeing R.E.M. so close up I could have touched Peter Buck’s boot, this is PERFECT.

Anyway, if you don’t know who Chris Thile is, his Wikipedia page gives a pretty good rundown, although you will want to take into consideration that it IS Wikipedia, and so, questionably accurate. You could also click on some of the links in the next paragraph to learn more.

Tom and I have seen him with his childhood/teenage band Nickel Creek, Punch Brothers, solo, with Michael Daves, and last night’s show with Brad Mehdlau, a jazz pianist who, like Thile, likes to play a buttload of notes.

Brad Mehdlau and Chris Thile –
the show in question

Thile is a charismatic personality who never fails to entertain and impress with his virtuosity. His skill with the mandolin is unsurpassed. I’ve written a whole post about my awe at his prowess. You can read it here. This is not about that, and it’s not really a review – I just wanted to give you a few thoughts I had that night.

Okay, so it's creepy 
for me to say so, but 
Chris Thile is hot!

The two musicians took their positions on stage, and I’m not going to lie to you – when I saw the long, lean, handsome Thile, I completely lusted in my heart. Of course, it’s slightly creepy, since he’s nearly 20 years younger than me… and because I’ve been seeing him perform since he was not even legal, but no one can control those things, can they? I’ve always had a thing for musicians. Everyone knows that. I can’t say it bothers me much, though. It just means I’m alive, right? I remember when I was in the throes of anorexia and about as lusty as a pinecone. Believe me, this is preferable.

And lust like that, after all, is just surface. It’s a fantasy. A guy like that… might be an a-hole, am I right? Chock full of talent and charisma… women probably throw themselves at him. Lusting after the guy is just part of enjoying the performance. (That’s what I like to tell myself, anyway.) It’s not like pledging your life and living through the good, the bad and the mundane with someone. That’s why, at this point, I just snuggled up to my husband, the only male body I have rightful access to… and he’s a tall, joyful hunk of man who more than suffices.

My next observation… I am so not a jazz fan. Noodles? My favorite food! Noodling? No thanks. That said, this show was a nice blend of note-y noodling and actual songs. Thile has a pleasant, expressive voice, but you don’t really need to even listen to the words. I mean, he pretty much uses his voice as third instrument, bending and shaping the sounds to match his musical aims. Not that the words were bad or inconsequential, I just got the feeling they were very much not the point. Even on the crowd-pleasing Dylan song, Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right.

Actor Ian Charleson as  Eric Liddell  in 
Chariots of Fire, feeling God's pleasure

On the first Punch Brothers record, Thile worked through the pain of his dissolving marriage, but in this side project, I find his activities to be more about musicianship than self-expression. He’s a virtuoso pushing the limits of his technique, trying something new. Of course, I can’t read his mind, so it’s quite possible that he’s playing out his devils in this too… but not in any obvious way.

Speaking of the devil… While Thile and Mehdlau played they employed maximum facial expressionage. In fact, Thile kind of plays with his whole body… Think about the faces jazz musicians make when laying down funky riffs, multiply it by about ten, then you’ll know what I’m talking about. It made me think of that line in Chariots of Fire where Eric Liddell says, “When I run I feel His pleasure,” to express the joy in the Lord that running gave Him. The movie would show him running down the beach or in a race in those loose white running clothes and at a certain point he’d throw his head back and you’d know that He was feeling God’s pleasure. This clip says it all.

Chris Thile, feeling God's pleasure?

And that’s what I sensed those guys doing… feeling God’s pleasure. So if you’re not airing your devils in your music, maybe just grooving on the fact that there is music and you can play it is the opposite…! I laughed out loud at the show thinking, “Sometimes I feel God’s pleasure when I write.” It’d be funny if I were sitting here at my Macbook pounding this out and making grimmacy "into it" faces?!

Anyway, I don’t know if this was exactly what was happening to Chris Thile, but when I know that when he plays that mandolin – no matter the style… I am most certainly feeling God’s pleasure!