[Music] Happy November! Today we hit number 16 on the WGA's list of the 101 greatest screenplays. This script is a true masterclass in screenwriting. Here are two brilliant screenwriting secrets in Pulp Fiction. [Music] In screenwriting, setups provide a crucial action or piece of information that will be revealed as such later in the story in what is then known as a payoff. Good screenwriters will cleverly hide these setups so they're not blatantly obvious. And since Quentin Tarantino is a great screenwriter, he cleverly hides a lot of his setups with comedy. In fact, one way he uses them is to set up a joke that's paid off later. Here's an example: Vincent tells Jules about his time in Europe. Vincent: You know what they call a Quarter Pounder with Cheese? Jules: They don't call it a Quarter Pounder with Cheese? Vincent: No, man. They got the metric system. They wouldn't know what the f**k a Quarter Pounder is. They call it "Royale with Cheese". Now this scene is hilarious in itself, but Quentin Tarantino takes it even further to set up a joke in a later scene. Jules: Royale with Cheese. You know why they call it that? Brett: Because of the metric system? Jules: Check out the big brain on Brett! Here's another example. The setup: A woman talks about the numerous piercings she has all over her body. Vincent listens in. And the comedic payoff: Lance: What do you think about Trudy? Vincent: Which one's Trudy? The one with all the sh** in her face? Lance: No. That's Jodi. That's my wife. Finally, another brilliant setup for a joke: Jules: G**damn, Jimmy. This is some serious gourmet sh**. And here's the payoff: Winston: Do me a favor, will you? Thought I smelled some coffee back there. Would you make me a cup? Setups are more commonly and quite importantly used for plot. When Mia Wallace overdoses after her date with Vincent -- Vincent: It's not a date. This extreme situation has been set up in several instances: Mia snorts a line of cocaine at home when Vincent arrives. Mia snorts another line of coke in the bathroom and this time it appears to have been a stronger dose. Another crucial set up: Vincent buys the heroin. And it's not just any heroin. Lance: This one is a little more expensive. But when you shoot it, you will know where that extra money went. This one is a fu**ing madman. Now, because it's been properly set up, when Mia finds the baggie of heroin in Vincent's coat pocket, we can accept the chain of events that occurs in the payoff. Here's another example of using a plot setup: Major Koons visits a young Butch Coolidge to tell him about the legacy of his father's watch. Again, Quentin Tarantino cleverly hides it with comedy. Major Koons: So he hid it in one place he knew he could hide something: his ass. Then, in the payoff, when Butch goes back to his apartment for the watch, we believe why he would risk his life for it. And again, there's a comedic payoff here, too: Butch: You have any idea what he had to go through to get me that watch? I don't have time to go into it but he went through a lot. And finally, here's one of the biggest setups that occur in the movie, brilliantly bookended in the opening and closing scenes. Pumpkin and Honey Bunny discuss robbing banks and liquor stores. Then we have this seemingly insignificant scene, again masked by some humor: Pumpkin: Garçon! Coffee! Server: "Garçon" means "boy". We don't see Pumpkin and Honey Bunny ever again until the final scene of the movie. And the payoff: Pumpkin: Garçon! Coffee! We realize that Jules and Vincent have come to the same diner. We'll talk more about this important plot point again in just a bit. And finally, Quentin Tarantino sets up stakes for certain characters in unexpected ways. Jules tells Vincent about how Marsellus Wallace threw Antwan Rockamora off a balcony for giving his wife Mia a foot massage. Again, we gobble up this information because it's funny. But then Vincent reveals that Marcellus asked him to take Mia out while he's away on business. So now we understand what the stakes are for Vincent. Paul: So I hear you're taking Mia out tomorrow? Vincent: Look, I'm not a fu**ing idiot, alright? It's Big Man's wife. Here's another brilliant way in which they set up the stakes for Butch. Butch flees the boxing match after disobeying Marsellus's orders to take a fall in the fifth round. We then have a touching, intimate moment with him and Fabienne in their safe, little haven of a motel room. And hidden in this intimacy are the stakes: Fabienne: We're in a lot of danger, aren't we? If they find us, they'll kill us, won't they? Which were further reinforced by this: Marsellus: I'm prepared to scour the Earth for that motherf*****. These setups then allow the audience to believe that an assassin would be waiting for Butch at his apartment. Setups allow the audience to become active participants in the story and creates a satisfying movie watching experience. [Music] Quentin Tarantino is a master at infusing suspense into the story in various ways. The first is through delayed gratification. We all know one of the highlights of Pulp Fiction is the dialogue. There are various examples of delayed gratification in the dialogue to perpetuate suspense. When Vincent tells Jules about the differences he saw in Europe, notice how it doesn't just go right into it: Vincent: You know what the funniest thing about Europe is? Jules: What? Vincent: It's the little differences. They got the same sh** over there that they got here, but it's just there, it's a little different. When Esmarelda the taxi driver asks Butch what it's like to kill a man, notice how long it takes for him to actually answer the question. Esmarelda: What does it feel like? Butch: What does what feel like? Esmarelda: Killing a man. Butch: I don't feel the least bit bad about it. This keeps the audience in a state of waiting, anxious to find out the answer. There are also various examples of delayed gratification in the action as well. When Jules and Vincent go to Brett's apartment to kill him, they don't just charge in. We get this: Vincent: 7:22 in the a.m. Jules: Ain't quite time yet. Come on, let's hang back. When Butch catches Vincent in his apartment with his pants down, he doesn't kill him as soon as he comes out the bathroom. Tarantino milks the scene. In the famous adrenaline shot scene, Vincent doesn't just administer the injection. He tells Lance to count to three. We then get close-ups of: Mia's comatose face, the syringe, Vincent sweating, and the red dot. And, just like Jodi, we all want to know what's going to happen. In the ultimate example of delayed gratification, Vincent and Mia go out on their date. Vincent: It's not a date. In a delicious game of "will they, won't they" Mia and Vincent flirt with each other. Mia: Roll me one of those, cowboy? Vincent: You can have this one, cowgirl. Mia: Thanks. You can use my straw. I don't have cooties. Vincent: Yeah but maybe I do. Mia: Cooties I can handle. And besides, isn't it more exciting when you don't have permission? [Music] The only thing Antwan ever touched of mine was my hand when he shook it... at my wedding. Another masterful way that Tarantino creates suspense is through time pressure. He creates moments of urgency by having time constraints in a given scene. For example: while Mia is dying, Vincent desperately needs Lance's medical help. But what happens? Lance takes forever to answer the phone. He also doesn't know what he's doing and needs to look for a manual. Jody: What're you looking for? Lance: A little black medical book. It's like a textbook they give to nurses. Jody: Listen. While you're looking for it, that girl's gonna die on our carpet. Another example: Butch and Fabienne need to catch their train, but he decides to go get his watch, getting tied up in the process. Butch: Baby, please, we gotta -- Honey, we gotta hit the fu**ing road! Get on! And the last example: the Bonnie situation. Once at Jimmie's house, Jules and Vincent only have a short time to clean up and get out of there before Bonnie gets home. Jimmie: Well, then do it! And then get the fu** out of my house before she gets here. Winston: That gives us... 40 minutes to get the fu** out of Dodge. And I need you guys to act fast if you want to get out of this. And finally, another brilliant method in which Tarantino creates suspense is through what Alfred Hitchcock referred to as the bomb under the table. Here are some examples of Quentin Tarantino setting up a figurative bomb under the table: After Jules and Vincent hilariously talk about the differences in Europe, we get this scene: Vincent: How many up there? Jules: 3 or 4. Vincent: That's counting our guy? So now the audience knows they're actually going to be involved in a violent altercation soon. This creates suspense during the entire subsequent conversation in the hallway. Before Vincent goes on his date with Mia -- Vincent: It's definitely not a date. -- he gets high on his recently purchased heroin. Knowing that Marsellus Wallace reacts violently to inappropriate behavior involving his wife, we see this is not a good idea. Another bomb under the table: when Butch decides to go back for his watch, Fabienne says: Fabienne: Won't the gangsters be looking for you there? So we feel suspense during this whole approach towards the apartment. And finally, the granddaddy of under-the-table bombs in this story. Remember when we talked about this scene in Setups? This request for coffee is a brilliant bomb under the table because it's the exact moment when Pumpkin suggests to rob the restaurant. Honey Bunny: What then? Pumpkin: Garçon, coffee! This place. Honey Bunny: I'm ready. Let's do it. Right now, right here. It becomes a bomb under the table because now we know Jules and Vincent are in the same diner and something bad will surely happen. The setup in the very first scene is paid off in the very last scene, only to further set up a bomb under the table and create suspense. This is absolutely brilliant screenwriting. So what are your thoughts? Anything you'd like to add? Join the conversation by leaving a comment below. If you like Script Sleuth and the work we're doing, please consider supporting us on Patreon. 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