26

Who were Brett and his crew in Pulp Fiction?

What did they have to do with Marcellus Wallace and his case? enter image description here

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    And all this time, I thought his name was Brad... – KSmarts May 8 '15 at 20:09
27

Just like the briefcase, the purpose of Brett and the other guys isn't really intended to be known.

The trope that this matter represents is a Noodle Incident, which is when something from the past is referred to but never explicitly talked about, but we may still see the outcome of that something from the past.

We don't really need to know who Brett is or what he and the other guys were doing with the briefcase, how they got it, whether they were supposed to have it at some point, or what they planned to do with it. The backstory of Brett and his guys, along with the briefcase, are nothing more than MacGuffins, or plots/items that exist for the sole purpose of giving the story a reason to exist.

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5

Like MattD said, Brett and his friends are only there as a plot device. They apparently double-crossed Marcellus in some way, but their purpose for being in the film is to show how brutally and remorselessly Jules and Vincent execute some dumb college-age kids who were in way over their heads. It's essentially a character moment for Jules and Vincent.

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2

He and his crew stole from Marcelus. Whether it was from holding out on paying him as part of a deal or if Brett directly ripped him off is unknown.

Say what again. I double dare you.

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    He and his crew stole from Marcelus - Can you cite proof to this in the movie? – RandomWebGuy May 8 '15 at 19:36
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    I'm sorry. What? – Hannover Fist May 8 '15 at 20:03
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    *shoots @HannoverFist* – KSmarts May 8 '15 at 21:35
  • @RandomWebGuy At the end of the movie, Jules tells Ringo that the briefcase belongs to his boss (clearly referring to Marcellus). Brett also tells Jules back at the beginning precisely how sorry he was for the state of relations between him and Mr. Wallace. They're asked where it's hidden, Vincent retrieves it. I'm sure other, weirder, explanations can be woven to come up with what that dialogue was actually insinuating, but it seems quite clear the briefcase belonged to Marcellus and instead Brett had it [for some unknown reason]. – Jesse C. Slicer Oct 18 '19 at 18:39

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