18) “There’s a passage I got memorized.” – Pulp Fiction (1994)
In a darkly comic crime film crammed with Tarantino’s signature frenetic dialogue, the director takes the audience on a wild ride through three primary storylines across seven episodic sequences, with a raft of unique and fascinating characters – all of which is framed within a day experienced by mob hitmen Vincent Vega (John Travolta) and Jules Winfield (Samuel L Jackson). Taking a non-linear approach, Tarantino opens the film in a diner with Pumpkin (Tim Roth) and Honey Bunny (Amanda Plummer). They converse, then suddenly move to rob the place.
As the film cuts away, what follows is a trip through inter-related stories, and we see that Vega and Winfield are having a very bad day at the office. It’s violent, gritty, and a little disturbing, but we ultimately find ourselves back in the diner, where Vincent and Jules cross paths with Pumpkin and Honey Bunny. Jules is in reflective mood, and has informed his partner of his plan to retire. Vincent takes a bathroom break, just as Pumpkin and Honey Bunny mount the tables and declare a robbery. When he returns, Vincent finds that the two robbers have taken Jules’ briefcase – which represents his last job for the mob – Jules has a gun on Pumpkin, Honey Bunny has a gun on Jules, and Vincent pulls his gun on Honey Bunny. It’s a heightened, chaotic scene, and Tarantino immediately slows it right down and pulls in on Samuel L. Jackson, as he delivers one of the most iconic monologues of all time:
“There’s a passage I got memorized. Ezekiel 25:17. “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.” Now… I been sayin’ that shit for years. And if you ever heard it, that meant your ass. You’d be dead right now. I never gave much thought to what it meant. I just thought it was a cold-blooded thing to say to a motherfucker before I popped a cap in his ass. But I saw some shit this mornin’ made me think twice. See, now I’m thinking: maybe it means you’re the evil man. And I’m the righteous man. And Mr. 9mm here… he’s the shepherd protecting my righteous ass in the valley of darkness. Or it could mean you’re the righteous man and I’m the shepherd and it’s the world that’s evil and selfish. And I’d like that. But that shit 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.”
It’s already perfect as a part of a screenplay that won an Oscar for Tarantino and Avary, but it is made more so by a performance that brought Samuel L. Jackson an Academy Award nomination of his own. This character is a dangerous and intimidating man, and his decision to seek redemption does not make him any less so. Though, in his reasoning, he first asks if the passage means that Pumpkin is an evil man, Jules stops short of then referring to himself as an evil man – preferring to characterize himself as a tool of other evil individuals. It is, at once, an abdication of responsibility, and an act of deeper intimidation – for even though Jules is trying to be the shepherd, it would not be a huge leap for him to once again become the tyranny of evil men. In other words, ‘I’m letting you go – be grateful, be humble, be good.’