6. Jules Winnfield- Pulp Fiction
From one brilliant performance from Mr. Jackson, to arguably the greatest and most iconic of his entire career, Pulp Fictions religious, big mouthed hit-man, Jules Winnfield. Winnfield is without doubt a cold blooded killer; this can be seen in the scene with the now legendary Ezekiel 25:17 speech. Before Winnfield even gets started on his speech he bluntly kills Flock of Seagulls guy just to enforce to everyone else he is the dominant force in the room, and basically, dont fuck with me. The speech itself progresses with Winnfield becoming more and more of a daunting figure, and climaxes with Winnfields voice loud and booming and abruptly ends with gun shots and people dead. Mix in Jules stealing a bite of burger as well as flipping tables and shouting things like, Does he look like a bitch!, and Say what again!, all help make this a very memorable and entertaining scene. The fact that Jules knows a very religious speech such as Ezekiel 25:17, and admits he knew this speech as he thought it was something cold and disturbing to say to someone before he killed them, shows that he isnt your average hit-man, and instead takes his job incredibly seriously. However, this theme of religion going from something that Jules just says to sound scary, to actually having an intense and lasting effect on him, so much so that he decides to give up the soiled life of being a hit-man, and wants a more profound, meaningful and spiritual life, makes Jules the Tarantino character that has by far the most drastic yet believable development of a character in any of his films, and the end scene of the film, which takes place in the diner, is no longer a quirky story about criminals, drug overdoses and anal raping, but rather it is an honest look at a man who though a criminal and murderer, is a man who wishes to become honest and good in a world of selfishness, tyranny and evil. Another interesting thought that has appeared on the internet is that the piano player that Samuel L. Jackson briefly plays in Kill Bill Vol. 2, is actually a much older and well-travelled Jules Winnfield. I like this idea, as not only does it connect the Tarantino universe, though it would need some explanation as Pulp Fiction takes place in reality, while Kill Bill apparently takes place in Tarantinos fictionalised world, but it would also show that Jules actually did manage to escape his downbeat life and lived a more fulfilling one.