Film Opening: Pulp Fiction

Pulp Fiction begins with a couple talking at a restaurant over coffee.  It becomes evident quite early on that the couple are  involved in robberies on a regular basis.  While the woman torments the man, telling him that he is mostly talk, comparing him with a duck, the man slowly convinces her that they should rob the restaurant they are in at that very second.  The conversation with the woman finally agreeing to get up and rob the restaurant, and they change personas very quickly from being an in love couple, to being hostile criminals as the woman screams "Any of you fucking pricks move and I'm gonna execute every last one of ya!".

The characters in this scene actually then are not seen again until the climax of the movie, where it is discovered that Jules and Vincent are actually in the same restaurant that they intend to 'hold up'.  By doing this, and making you wait the entire length of the film before you discover what happens to these characters, it keeps you hooked from the very start of this gripping film.

The two characters are never actually given names, they simply refer to each other as 'Honey Bunny' and 'Pumpkin'. This are pet names due to their relationship rather than being code words.  I believe that not giving these characters names accentuates the fact that they are not major roles in the movie however by making them the opening scene of the film it shows that they are of importance.

This scene is mostly dialogue before the action starts which is good because it allows tension to develop whilst giving the viewer an insight into their lives and emotions.