The only ‘Pulp Fiction’ actor who really knows what is inside the briefcase
When John Travolta’s Vincent Vega opened Marsellus Wallace’s briefcase in Pulp Fiction and was bathed in an eerie gold glow, it made audiences everywhere lean forward expectantly. The contents of this mysterious case were the main MacGuffin of Quentin Tarantino’s classic crime movie, you see, and viewers fully expected the filmmaker to reveal exactly what all the fuss was about. Instead, he generated 30 years of rampant speculation and wild theories by choosing not to show the audience what the briefcase contained. This isn’t to say he didn’t know, though – and one of his actors later revealed he also knew exactly what was inside.
Over the years, fans have thrown out several theories about what was in Wallace’s hallowed briefcase. The contents glow and seem to mesmerise Vincent, and at another point, a character describes what’s in the case as “beautiful.” This led high-minded observers to theorise that the briefcase houses Wallace’s soul. In this scenario, he sold it to the Devil years ago but now wants it back, so he dispatched Vega and Jules Winfield to retrieve it. Backing up this outlandish theory is the fact that Wallace has a bandage on the back of his neck throughout the film, and in the Bible, a passage reveals that the Devil removes people’s souls through the back of their necks.
A more prosaic theory is that briefcase simply contains drugs – but Tarantino has always maintained that there is no correct answer when it comes to the audience. In 2009, he told Charlie Rose, “I like the idea that you open up the briefcase in Pulp Fiction, and I don’t tell you what’s in there, but it’s up to you to figure out what’s in there, and now that’s your movie.” It’s how Tarantino allows his audiences to actively involve themselves in the movie, which means there’s no right or wrong answer from their perspective.
However, Tarantino’s perspective is very different. He knows exactly what is in the briefcase – and he wants his actors to know as well because it informs their performances. Tim Roth, who played Pumpkin in the movie, once told Variety, “We tend to know only as much as [our character] would know, but one thing that I do know because my character would know, which is what’s in the suitcase. But Quentin asked me not to mention it.”
Interestingly, Roth also revealed that Tarantino gave him instructions on what to say the briefcase contained if he was ever asked. In this situation, he was to reply, “A battery and a lamp.” While this may sound like an anticlimax to some fans – it’s certainly a lot less interesting than a human soul – it’s possible Tarantino was just having some fun with Roth.
After all, in Bad Motherfucker: The Life and Movies of Samuel L Jackson, author Gareth Edwards revealed Jackson told him that when he looked in the briefcase on-set, he “saw two lights and some batteries.” That was simply what Tarantino put in the case as they shot the film – not what the case actually contains in the context of the film’s story.
Ultimately, Tarantino created a question that couldn’t be answered with 100% certainty, and he loved the idea of audiences pondering the mysteries of the briefcase for themselves. Unfortunately, he has claimed that less than five fans have actually approached him in person with their theories.
In 2019, he lamented to Radio 1’s Ali Plumb, “They just want to know what I think, and I don’t give a damn what I think.”
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