Vince and Mia
When it comes to Quentin Tarantino’s films it’s easy to see why he has remained a popular director and writer in film history. His stories craftily combine his humorous dialogue and his ability to shock us with violence. And nothing is more exemplifying of this then the chapter in Pulp Fiction title “Vince and Mia.”
The story of Mr. Vincent Vega and Mrs. Mia Wallace begins when Vince comes to Mia’s house to take her out to eat. As Vince explains in an earlier scene “It ain’t a date. It’s like when you and your buddy’s wife go to a movie or somethin’. It’s just… you know… good company. It’s not a date.” Vince knows that this is his boss’ wife and his boss is a man who would probably kill him if anything went down. The scene already has weight on it before it even begins. Two characters that cannot have any feelings for each other are about to go out to eat and share Tarantino conversation? This should get interesting.
Jack Rabbit Silm’s
The choice of the restaurant where they eat is very characteristic of Tarantino; a 50’s based dinner where the booths are old cars, the waiters are dressed as Buddy Holly and Marilyn Monroe, and the menu is sure to provide very American foods. Vince describes the restaurant as being “a wax museum with a pulse,” which is essentially what Tarantino’s movies are.
The two characters sit across from one another in the booth and begin the famous Tarantino dialogue, discussing pop culture and other unimportant things. Tarantino shows his ability to make his audience fascinated by meaningless conversations. But because the characters talking are original and the dialogue doesn’t cease to entertain, people will sit and happily watch the two characters discuss a $5 shake. They also talk about Mia’s pilot that she played in called Fox Force Five, old corny jokes, and the waiter’s characters around them. Things begin to change when Mia mentions uncomfortable silences and how she knows she’s met someone special when she can share a comfortable silence with them. Vince brushes it off, but there is now a feeling of intimacy around the table. They continue their conversation, talking back and forth, flirting, and getting more comfortable around each other.
The dinner ends when they dance together on stage for a dance contest the restaurant has. The scene was beautifully shot, showing in motion the way they had been with each other the entire night: dancing around each other, flirting back and forth through their conversations. It also completes the level of comfort they have with each other because in the next scene, when Vince takes her home, they are very intimate with one another, laughing and goofily dancing with each other.
“I’m out of balloons. Is a baggy okay?”
The scene up to this point had remained very comical and leaning towards more of a romantic comedy feel. Mia dances around the living room while Vince is in the bathroom deciding whether or not he will try anything with Mia tonight. It’s not until Mia finds Vince’s stash of heroin in his jacket that things return to the normal, bloody Tarantino the audience knows and loves.
In the scene before Vince and Mia go out to dinner Vince goes to his drug dealer and buys some heroin. His dealer is out of balloons, which is what heroin is usually out in, and puts it in a baggy, making it look sort of like cocaine. This at first seems like an unimportant scene, but Tarantino throws in his twist by making this fact the catalyst for the craziness that was about to ensue on Vince and Mia.
Mia thinks that Vince’s stash is cocaine because of the baggy and tries to snort some. She begins overdosing and Vince has to take her
to his dealer so he can save her life. What’s interesting is that during this scene Vince hardly refers to her as Mia, but calls her “Marcellus Wallace’s wife.” She is no longer a woman of sexual interest to him at this point, but is simply his boss’ wife and if she dies, he dies.
The scene continues with emotional panic and chaos as Vince wrecks his car into Lance’s house, brings Mia inside, and has to stab her in the heart with an adrenaline needle. Lance rips Mia’s shirt off and they have to draw a red dot on her breast to show where the needle needs to be stabbed. The scene focuses on this spot on Mia breast for a few hanging seconds just before Vince stabs her with the needle. The beauty of the scene is that had the story continued sans heroin overdose, Vince may well have ended up on top of Mia with her shirt off. However Tarantino shows us that his movies will never turn out as expected and that his characters are really at the mercy of his plot, his plot does not rely on his characters.
Tarantino’s recipe for the perfect movie scene is complete when Mia is saved and tells Vince the corny joke that she didn’t want to tell him in the restaurant. “Papa tomato, mama tomato, and a baby tomato are walking down the street. The baby tomato starts lagging behind and the pap tomato gets really angry with him. He goes back and squishes him and says ‘ketchup’.”
This scene, particularly the dancing scene, has become an iconic part of film history. Many posters and t-shirts feature the image of Mia and Vince dancing. Why is this chapter of the movie so loved by people? Because it is the Tarantino scene recipe: you take witty dialogue and blend it with shocking violence. Sprinkle on some drugs, pop culture references, and great music and you have the epitome of Tarantino style.
Most of the scene at Jack Rabbit Slim’s can be viewed here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8X2SM0ioJ4
The dance scene can be viewed here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLZl6R7JGCc&feature=related
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