MovieChat Forums > Pulp Fiction (1994) Discussion > Purpose of the Esmeralda Villalobos Char...

Purpose of the Esmeralda Villalobos Character?

posted 5 years ago by cyberbob (3488)
11 replies | jump to latest

Pulp Fiction, or "Pulp Fic" as I like to call it, is one of my fave movies. It has it all. Humor, violence, dancing, washed-up actors rising up like phoenixes

But one scene that I have always found peculiar is the scene between Bruce Willis's Butch and the taxi driver Esmeralda Villalobos. I find it odd because Butch goes from one scene with a thick-accented beautiful woman to another scene with another thick-accented beautiful woman. One with Esmeralda and the other with his French girlfriend

I always felt like Esmeralda Villalobos's character felt a bit out of place. I suppose that with an artist like Tarantino it is kind of a pointless question to ask why a certain character appears, since he seems to include some characters simply for their own quirkiness

Is Esmeralda merely in the film as eye candy for foot fetishists? Or does she low-key help to advance the plot and or characters in some way?

[–] FilmBuff (7354) 5 years ago

The film is a series of vignettes that tie together into one overarching narrative, and I've always viewed the Butch/Esmerelda interaction as one small vignette amidst longer set pieces. We get a deeper insight into Butch's character, and we get to meet an interesting denizen of Tarantino's universe. It also serves to set up our understanding of who Butch is, so when he comes back to save Marcellus it isn't completely out of left field.

[–] MovieChatUser497 (18943) 5 years ago

Just to flesh out Butch's character a little better.

[–] bobbydallas (8620) 5 years ago

meh story goes: QT saw the short "Curdled" and was so taken by the character of Gabriela (Angela Jones) that he decided to include her in Pulp Fiction, but as a cabdriver with the name Esmeralda Villalobos ..

the cab driver is so fastinated by murder and blood because that's what the Gabriela character was

[–] Yabeina (188) 4 years ago

Yup, and it made no fucking sense. No female cabdriver would dress or act like that. If she gets off on the idea of murder, she wouldn't be expressing that to a customer. It was just over the top ridiculous.

I've finally watched this movie in 2021 and, no surprise, I hate it.

[–] [deleted] 5 years ago

The Esmeralda scenes provide some insight into Butch's character. "We're Americans, our names don't mean shit", etc. It's also one of the more memorable parts of the film regardless of how much it doesn't evolve the plot. It's also necessary to show how he got out of dodge.

The only thing I've always found weird about it is the way the scene sets up, it's like she's waiting for him, then she doesn't know who he is. At first it seems like she's there ready for him.

[–] ozz969 (379) 5 years ago

I liked that line, and the scene as well.

I don't think she was waiting specifically for him, but waiting outside the arena for people to give a ride to after the fight was over, but it's been a while.

[–] [deleted] 5 years ago

Yup, I think you're right. But when you watch it again notice how she's looking in her rear view, etc. It's like she's waiting for him, at least to me, but maybe it's just meant to suggest he caught her eye when jumping down from the fire escape into the alley.

[–] Philhelm (512) 4 years ago

I never gave it much thought, but I've always assumed that she was waiting for him considering she was parked in an alley. Perhaps he gave the instruction to wait without having met her beforehand. If so, it shows premeditation to not throw the fight.

[–] Heisenberg (6730) 5 years ago

Her purpose is easy to grasp:
1-She has bare feet, so that's a great reason according to Tarantino to write a character in a movie (I can feel the stench take over me every time that's on screen...bleagh)
2-You meant, thick woman with a beautiful accent to another thick woman with a beautiful accent. Gotcha.
3-Her character is not a bit out of place, she fits perfectly in a movie where every character is unnecessarily overwritten. You can read all about it here:
https://moviechat.org/tt0110912/Pulp-Fiction/5ccbe03faf77c514b5f84825/Every-single-character-is-SUCH-A-CHARACTER

[–] [deleted] 5 years ago

To bore you to death with a character that tries to sound deep yet puts you to sleep (Esmeralda).

[–] Ace_Spade (9601) 4 years ago

Noir films - pulp stuff - is filled with little side characters like that. Think about the librarian in The Big Sleep. Sultry dames show up, do some memorable character stuff, and they're gone. It's almost a genre staple.

Personally, the scene's great - I love it - and it adds to the strange charms of Pulp Fiction.