To express my love and adoration for Mia Wallace in Pulp Fiction (1994) is to also articulate my love of the film. It was the first collaboration between Uma Thurman and Quentin Tarantino, and when you look at the richness of Mia’s uniqueness you begin to understand why she is one of the most brilliant female characters in the last 30 years. She is fiercely intelligent, alluring, witty, spontaneous and wild. Her searing observations and banter hold their own amidst what is a formidable male cast surrounding her. There is also this…. sensuality to her. The way she carries herself, her dancing, especially when no-one is watching (“girl… you’ll be a woman, soon…”). Her sultry gazes. All of these aren’t carried out with the intention of seduction, just a natural mischievousness and enigmatic energy that Uma brings to the role. Like she understands the appeal of her quirky femininity but holds back on drawing on it’s full power. Being unconventional in both looks and spirit, these qualities are something I relate to and have always tried to emulate.
In addition to her energy, there is also her timeless style. The iconic hair, the red lips, the white button shirt and cropped flare pants paired with an oversized trench, the all black look infamously gracing the movie poster. In fact, every outfit - from the black suits to the “you look like a couple of dorks” looks, were carefully put together by the keenly skilled eye of Betsy Heimann. It’s in credit to her talent that the sartorial choices both encapsulate a particular time and place specific to the world of Tarantino, yet remain timeless in their style.
I also want to dedicate this post to a friend that means the world to me. He is responsible for this blog, in a way. He is the only person I know that loves Tarantino, music and movies as much as I do (well the only person I know with a Tarantino shrine at home). Upon reconnecting last year, he gently encouraged me to send a selfie, though I thoroughly hated myself until then… and I hadn’t even had a relationship for 4 years. But he saw a beauty in me, and inspired my confidence for the first time since my first serious partner 8 years earlier. We might have been through hell and back in the last 17 years, we might have seen every single part of our weary souls and wild hearts, but now there are no secrets between us. The nature of our friendship... well it could almost be distilled in this scene between Jackie Brown and Max Cherry:
In turn, I helped him remember he was an attractive, charismatic, witty and enigmatic human being. He deserved to feel that, to know that. When someone sees you, and you feel desired, it pushes you to a beautiful place. The photos I sent him became more frequent, as I explored styling again. I began writing, feeling inspired enough to break the 9 year writers block I had suffered, finally writing with enough passion and frequency that I started this website, albeit anonymously. It’s in thanks to him that I was able to find the drive to be the best version of myself, motivated to keep my own fires alive. Ultimately, when he lets me in, I have that positive effect on him too. Most of all, when at our best, we simply have fun.
We would work well together, in a relationship. Our needs and wants perfectly align. But our friendship is just as special… I bring us up, because it’s a connection we wouldn’t of had if we hadn’t had bonded over cinema and music all those years ago. What we love about Tarantino isn’t something that can easily be put into words. For his birthday last year, I tracked down a Tarantino autograph for just over half its usual price, a signed Pulp Fiction poster (with a COA, they are usually upwards of $600). It is one of the more heartfelt gifts I’ve ever given someone, but he deserved it. I wanted to say, without actually saying it, how fucking proud I was of him. He was a good father to a wonderful kid, and had found a way to manage his bipolar. I could still see his best qualities, even if he had forgotten along the way. It seemed the most obvious gift for him in the world, and I know he will cherish it forever. I will forever hope we can watch Pulp Fiction together, in a cinema, on 35mm (it’s my unspoken selfish wish - he repays the awesomeness of QT’s autograph by seeing a QT movie with me. Hopefully one day)
(Plus my blu-rays and key items chilling out in storage, two copies of the Once Upon A Time In Hollywood novelisation, and a few too many tees. A totally healthy fangirl love….
the absolutely, normal amount with which to love something. Uh huh. Yep…
Ah Fuck it - I’m obsessed.).
The thing is, to be a Tarantino fan is to be part of something fucking amazing. This friend of mine, he understands that better than anybody. Every single one of his films is exquisitely written, a culmination of film inspiration from forgotten and obscure works that came before - a tribute to them almost. Every story is wickedly exciting, intense, wild, beautiful, violent, hilarious and a whole universe of its own. Tarantino insists on delivering worlds for his audiences to escape to, and he is generous with that gift. It’s an experience you want to have over and over.
For fun, here are two Mia looks I put together, and one Vincent Vega look from when he takes Mia out for a date at Marcellus’s behest. All items were sourced in a thrift store...
And finally, when he was in turmoil due to the sudden critical illness of his closest family member, I created this silliness to help make him smile. Toto is no John Travolta FYI.
Comments