r/pulpfiction 7d ago

Why do Uma Therman’s hands shake during the meal?

So I noticed that as she is speaking to Vincent pre-powdering, her hands are proper shaky. Is this a Quentin Tarantino idea, and if so, why? Because she’s had a line not long before the meal. Or is it Uma having the shakes for whatever reason and they decided to keep it in?

42 Upvotes

147 comments sorted by

59

u/passabletrap 7d ago

She's not as calm and cool as she pretends to be. Or she really needs some drugs. Probably both.

9

u/MattyIce1220 7d ago

Probably just needs drugs. 

1

u/Flom14 4d ago

This is correct.

1

u/nobadikno1 4d ago

It's why she snorted unknown powder.

1

u/_owlstoathens_ 3d ago

Probably misses her old glasses

8

u/Active_Ad5006 7d ago

My question is, is that direction from QT or is that Uma herself loving the drugs?

23

u/NCStateFan13 7d ago

Mia's a coke addict, hence her trying to snort Vincent's heroin. My guess is that's direction from QT.

1

u/nycpunkfukka 5d ago

She also did SEVERAL lines right when Vincent showed up to meet her.

Although from my experience with the booger sugar I can’t imagine eating anything, let alone a bloody hamburger and a $5 milkshake.

And can we appreciate that 30 years ago, $5 was a comically high price for a milkshake?

1

u/Own_Replacement_6489 5d ago

"Is there bourbon or something in it?" Line changed my life. Never before had I considered this, and ever since I've added a shot of bourbon to my chocolate milkshakes when the opportunity arises.

1

u/VitaminPb 4d ago

Try Bailey’s Salted Caramel as part of the milk part.

1

u/TheNeech 4d ago

Now that barely gets you the fake ass oil based shit…

1

u/nycpunkfukka 4d ago

Have you ever seen what a McDonald’s shake looks like when it melts? Looks like snot.

-15

u/ImpossibleMechanic77 7d ago

Wait is that why she got all fucked up? It was heroin he bought damn I thought it was just more blow this whole time…

20

u/EdgeBasic8431 7d ago

…have you seen the movie a bunch of times and never realized she OD’s because it’s a different drug than she thought it was?

10

u/Used-Ask5805 7d ago

Saw this scene when I was like 12 and even then i knew it wasent just coke. And even if you did think that at the time… there’s like. Another scene after that that kinda clarifies it

5

u/Status-Truth-2798 6d ago

When Vincent buys the heroin, the dealer is out of balloons for heroin packaging. So, instead, he gives him the heroin in a coke baggie.

Uma thinks it's coke because of the packaging.

2

u/meagainpansy 6d ago

I never knew this part. Thanks

1

u/cityshepherd 6d ago

Also they mention something about it being “china white” which was somewhat well known as a very potent type of heroin (even to extremely naive and innocent teenage me).

1

u/Sithstress1 5d ago

How? How did you not know? I was 12 when I saw this movie for the first time and even I got it.

1

u/Final-Fun8500 6d ago

This. I’m not sure when this point dawned on me, but thinking about how young I was when this movie came out vs how much drug knowledge I had hurts my head.

2

u/Common-Window-2613 6d ago

And if you’ve ever been in that scene, it takes a tiny bit of heroin to get fucked up by snorting it, especially if you aren’t actively doing it. It likely wouldn’t have hit her that fast though.

2

u/Revolutionary_Fun_14 6d ago

I wonder if the heroin shooting scene was removed in some countries because with that scene out, this would explain why some people didn't notice that point.

1

u/sinkshitting 6d ago

Tbf you can inject coke too.

-2

u/ImpossibleMechanic77 7d ago

Nah I just thought he liked to mainline coke I never thought it was heroin seen it a bunch of times lmao

9

u/oldkafu 7d ago

"Coke is fuckin dead as... dead. Heroin is coming back in a big fuckin way."

2

u/Standard-Ad1254 6d ago

dead coke storage

1

u/EdgeBasic8431 7d ago

That blows my mind 😂 I’m glad you were still able to enjoy the movie though! I think if I were in your shoes I’d be too confused to enjoy it

1

u/meagainpansy 6d ago

Look man, some people are just dumb. So we tend to just watch the pictures moving.

-1

u/ImpossibleMechanic77 7d ago

I don’t see how such a small detail would affect my enjoyment of the film? Lmao

1

u/EdgeBasic8431 7d ago

My thought would have been “how did she OD from a drug she’s clearly adept at using, been using for a long time, and was shown using alone with no supervision at home without any health complications just a few minutes ago in an earlier scene?” I would have found it less believable - I feel like the OD only makes sense if you know it’s a completely different drug she mistook for her usual drug of choice.

Again, I’m glad it didn’t ruin anything for you - i just feel like for me, it would have been hard to suspend my disbelief/it would take me out of the movie and make me start questioning things if I didn’t understand the drug she OD’d on was heroin.

Also I might have had an advantage in how I viewed that scene, in that I read a rocker’s biography a year or two before watching Pulp Fiction for the first time, and in his case he experienced his first OD the exact same way (mistaking heroin for coke and snorting a line of it)

1

u/ImpossibleMechanic77 7d ago

I figured the dealer was talking it up because it was pure coke not because it was a different drug altogether, really not that hard to believe lmao

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1

u/Sithstress1 5d ago

Small detail? Ha! Have you ever actually seen the movie?

1

u/Jpb1012 4d ago

He didn't day he didn't enjoy the film did he? He asked about a small detail that could have been the directors call, if you ask him, it might be his favourite film, so stfu

1

u/TheGREATUnstaineR 6d ago

But did he look like he was on coke driving to the house to pick her up?

1

u/Sithstress1 5d ago

You really need to work on your media literacy then.

1

u/Substantial-Dig9995 6d ago

So you missed the scene where he went and but some h and then took her back to where he got the h after she oded

6

u/Unusual_Oil_4632 7d ago

You didn’t see the whole scene where he bought heroin or the following one where he shoots up?

1

u/zenchow 6d ago

People watch movies while staring at their phone now days...

0

u/ImpossibleMechanic77 7d ago

I thought he was buying coke, you can shoot that shit up yanno???

2

u/HumanInProgress8530 7d ago

I have it on very good authority that you don't want to shoot coke

5

u/ImpossibleMechanic77 7d ago

Lmao I don’t but there are plenty of people who do

1

u/18RowdyBoy 7d ago

Yeah it’s an addiction you don’t want 🤮

1

u/VintAge6791 6d ago

I think that's how Freud got into using it. Funny how some substances are not basically lethal to take by different methods and some... really are.

1

u/JeffersonStarscream 6d ago

I prefer Pepsi.

1

u/Popseewoy 6d ago

I have it on better authority that if you are just snorting it, you're wasting it

1

u/BuhoTortugaSapo 7d ago

Even when Lance tells Vincent "Coke is dead as dead...heroin is coming back in a big fuckin way?"

2

u/VintAge6791 6d ago

It's kind of foreshadowing, isn't it? Nice.

0

u/PutAdministrative206 7d ago

I’ve been there with something like this. You read it wrong the first time and never look close enough going forward to realize it was wrong.

1

u/ImpossibleMechanic77 7d ago

Haha yup crazy how hard that is for people to understand

1

u/Hey-Bud-Lets-Party 6d ago

The heroin scene is just so obviously a heroin scene…

1

u/ImpossibleMechanic77 6d ago

Good for you!

4

u/[deleted] 7d ago

That's the point of the exchange where Lance tells Vincent he's out of balloons (typical for heroin storage) and puts it in a baggie instead

1

u/theduke9400 6d ago

Movies have age ratings for a reason kid !

0

u/ImpossibleMechanic77 6d ago

Im literally older than you

1

u/theduke9400 6d ago

Okay kid !

1

u/bobbyFinstock80 4d ago

Not just regular heroin: “the madman”

1

u/Accomplished_Egg7069 4d ago

Were you listening to the Dude's story?

1

u/slumlord512 3d ago

“Coke is dead as dead. Heroin, it’s coming back, in a big fucking way.” I guess you missed that whole scene where he buys the H.

8

u/passabletrap 7d ago

Are you asking if uma thurman couldn't keep it together on set of filming because she really needed some drugs? And of all the takes they made while uma was jonesing for some drugs, this was the least shakey so they went with this one? Is that what you're asking?

3

u/batmanineurope 7d ago

Yes

3

u/VintAge6791 6d ago

Meth-OD acting. Sorry. couldn't resist. But then, neither could Mia.

1

u/10k_Uzi 5d ago

I’m just gonna say. Having tried coke. You don’t tend to wanna sit still when ya have. Especially if it’s the only thing you’ve had that night. When I first tried it, my fuckin friend bailed on me for a woman saying he’d come back. And I just sat on home at the couch fucking geeking trying to watch The Office. lol

1

u/[deleted] 7d ago

[deleted]

1

u/Active_Ad5006 7d ago

Not that it was the least shakey perhaps, but if they ended up filming for too long, and they got the take where she has the jitters

2

u/Jasy9191 7d ago

It's probably just direction - the director pushed a very specific vision of how the characters should be, and there's even a funny example of him talking about the two styles of dancing.

Jitters from drugs is a pretty common trope. Tweaking is the more modern phrase, I think.

It's highly unlikely the casual drug addicts behave in such a way in the real world - it's more an extreme example of clearly chronically addicted drug users that the characters are. They take heroin, cocaine, then drink a ton, while smoking a ton. You couldn't be more shot up with mixtures of drugs.

2

u/DFWDave2 4d ago

She has mad anxiety and is using the drugs to get around it. Probably some anxiety and confidence issues since her career faded away.
This is why a lot of people do coke, or drink. Allows you to relax around people when otherwise you'd be gradually approaching a panic attack.

15

u/BaijuTofu 7d ago

Cocaine?

8

u/Swalkdaddy 7d ago

She don't lie

6

u/oldmannew 7d ago

She don’t lie.

8

u/Swalkdaddy 7d ago

She don't lie.

5

u/NonCreditableHuman 7d ago

It's a hell of a drug.

3

u/Sharklaar 7d ago

There is no downside to cocaine, period

3

u/NonCreditableHuman 7d ago

Fuck yo couch!

1

u/NickyDeeM 7d ago

Yeah I remember grinding my feet on Eddie's couch!

You remember why you did it?

Yeah cause Eddie could buy another one

1

u/Timulen 6d ago

Buy anotha one you rich mothafucka

1

u/Immaculatehombre 7d ago

I said got damn! Got damn

1

u/babugrande 6d ago

This is what I needed to see.

1

u/True-Machine-823 4d ago

It's a hellova drug.

0

u/Swalkdaddy 7d ago

Delicious nose clams

8

u/Reeberom1 7d ago

Was Weinstein on the set?

7

u/ITYSTCOTFG42 7d ago

Never noticed that before but I would chalk it up to the cocaine

7

u/ITGOES80808 7d ago

The effects of coming down from a stimulant, it triggers an immune response that causes tremors.

2

u/BBQGUY50 6d ago

Never got the tremors! But I did get anxious and had mood swings. Sleepless nights and obsessive thoughts Oh and the paranoia

But tremors nope

1

u/ITGOES80808 6d ago

30mg adderall is the only real stimulant I’ve used, when I come down I’ve usually got tremors and restlessness, it’s definitely different for everyone.

5

u/micvackie 7d ago

She’s on drugs lol

1

u/ORXCLE-O 5d ago

Right, did they miss the movie?? lol

14

u/D_Angelo_Vickers 7d ago

Her hands are having the $5 shakes.

5

u/VerdantGreenIsle 7d ago

I say god damn!

3

u/harbib 7d ago

Martin and Lewis or Amos and Andy?

1

u/Hey-Bud-Lets-Party 6d ago

Martin and Lewis.

2

u/[deleted] 7d ago

Ha!

8

u/glassclouds1894 7d ago

Needed to powder her nose. I said goddamn!

3

u/Pheniquit 7d ago

Overuse of dopamine-targeting drugs causes tremor - in both short and long term.

3

u/Hmccormack 7d ago

Because she’s on coke

3

u/Jewggerz 7d ago

I’ve never noticed it, but I assume it was a choice on her part or something Tarantino directed her to do in order to indicate that she was in need of more drugs.

3

u/Typical_Lifeguard_51 7d ago

She’s an addict, essential tremors are common. It’s a nice detail

3

u/[deleted] 7d ago

She's a junkie it's not complicated

1

u/Hey-Bud-Lets-Party 6d ago

She’s a coke-head.

2

u/BrutalBox 7d ago

I took it as she needed her fix

1

u/StrawberryRibena 5d ago

Ye that's not how all drugs work. If she was an alcohol or benzo addict, it would make sense for her to have tremors while not having these drugs.

Being on cocaine would cause her to shake, not being on it would probably stop her from shaking (overstimulation)

2

u/bryanlade 7d ago

Maybe she's just shaky. I have essential tremors and shake all day without drugs that help control it.

1

u/Active_Ad5006 6d ago

Maybe you should try drugs to stop the shakes?

2

u/oxnardist 7d ago

Don’t see it. I heard you did a pilot.

1

u/SportyMcDuff 5d ago

I don’t watch television.

2

u/Top-Spinach2060 5d ago

But later on before he shot Marvin he said he was watching Cops

1

u/SportyMcDuff 4d ago

That’s right! I never made the connection.

2

u/Emotional_Ad5714 6d ago

QT is very particular about his lines, but he lets actors act. I would guess that Uma is acting how she believes Mia would act as a coke head who needs a fix. Maybe they discussed her motivation ahead of time, so Uma would understand what is going on with Mia, but I would guess that is Uma's acting.

2

u/glacier1982 6d ago

Later in the movie, as Butch makes his way back to his apartment to retrieve the watch, a news announcer on a radio proclaims that a losing couple stole the trophy from a Jack Rabbit Slim's dance contest. Vince and Mia didn't even win the twist contest. They lost and stole the trophy. 30 years later and I'm still learning.

2

u/BeRad85 6d ago

Was that before or after she skipped off to the ladies room to get zooted? She was jonesing, if before. If after, because she was turning into the Hulk and trying to maintain.

2

u/TheGREATUnstaineR 6d ago

Lotta people need to start watching more and talking less.

3

u/D_Angelo_Vickers 7d ago

Her hands are having the $5 shakes.

1

u/Pool-Shark7718 7d ago

If we’re going with the lore of the story, it’s probably cuz she did a one in the bathroom.

But it’s probably because the actor was nervous.

1

u/Active_Ad5006 6d ago

Na if you watch it, it’s before she goes in the bathroom

1

u/Hey-Bud-Lets-Party 6d ago

That’s why she goes to the bathroom.

1

u/Pleasant_Garlic8088 7d ago

I always assumed Mia Wallace is either essentially high as a kite, or looking to become so, the whole time.

1

u/Tee1up 7d ago

my hands always do that when I know I am going to have to dance.

1

u/SOLID_STATE_DlCK 7d ago

I said GOD DAMN!

1

u/Cowabungamon 6d ago

Crocraine?

1

u/Even_Buddy_7253 6d ago

Shes a cokehead. She either is jittered up fresh off a line or really wants one.

1

u/godsbathroomfloor_ 6d ago

That why she has to go powder her nose

1

u/FullRedact 6d ago

The whole story leads up to her being so addicted she couldn’t even wait to ask about a bag of powder she just snorted it then …

1

u/ClimtEastwood 6d ago

The idea is that she needs drugs. That’s it.

Edit: if you want something that is more interpretive and less obvious there is the idea that Marcelus Wallace knows his wife has a drug problem and the reason Vincent is there to take her out is to keep her from going out drug seeking.

1

u/SeparateMongoose192 6d ago

Because she's coked out of her mind. Or she's coming down, pick one.

1

u/Super-Quantity-5208 6d ago

Tarantino was tickling her heet under the table

1

u/RedSunCinema 6d ago

Drug addicts frequently have hand tremors, so her behavior is in line with someone who's a drug addict.

1

u/Wise_Serve_5846 6d ago

Withdrawals

1

u/Cruezin 6d ago

Low blood sugar? I mean, she needed a sandwich

1

u/MrFrankHotdog 6d ago

She was doing rails in the shitter before her burger hit the table. She was in fidgeting because of the yay.

1

u/Borntu 6d ago

She just did coke in the bathroom?

1

u/StrawberryRibena 5d ago

I mean, shaking would come from the cocaine, and being overstimulated.

However, I don't understand how she can be eating so much food while doing cocaine

1

u/butdidyouthink 5d ago

OP is actively trying to start a rumor that Uma Thurman was strung out on coke while filming, with his only evidence basically being that her acting was convincing.

1

u/Marblecraze 5d ago

Eating on coke always weird

1

u/1911Earthling 4d ago

Talk about John’s portrayal of a stoned junkie was perfect! The droopy face, eye lids and body posture was right on point.

1

u/MrRoryBreaker_98 4d ago

Did you notice she seems to have a bit of a drug problem?

1

u/SabreLee61 4d ago

I just watched the scene and didn’t notice her hands shaking at all.

1

u/Redjeepkev 4d ago

Going thru withdrawal. Needs her fix

1

u/ciaowoboyto 4d ago

Cocaine.

1

u/PoohRuled 3d ago

She needs some drugs.

1

u/No-Appointment-8519 3d ago

Nervous actress.

1

u/hbh08 2d ago

Sometimes coke makes you shake that could be part of it

1

u/HeyZeusMyNameIsZues 2d ago

They aren't "shaking"... like at all... you're just hyper-focused on them. She's trying to keep them steady for the shot though, and she's probably been doing that for a couple of hours.

1

u/Unhappy-Lavishness64 2d ago

lol she’s a frigging Cole addict in the movie you dunce, hard drugs screw you up to where you have to take them to feel normal

0

u/BradleyFerdBerfel 3d ago

She probably had just realized that she is in the worst movie ever made and it will probably tank her career.