5 Ways Mia Wallace Is Uma Thurman’s Best Tarantino Role (& 5 Why The Bride Is)

Uma Thurman became an overnight star after playing the iconic Mia Wallace in Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction. The duo reteamed almost a decade later for Kill Bill, a two-part martial arts epic that Q.T. had originally pitched to Thurman on the set of their first movie.

In the latter movie, Thurman plays Beatrix “The Bride” Kiddo, an ex-assassin who was left for dead on her wedding day, and seeks revenge against those responsible when she awakens from her coma. Both Mia Wallace and the Bride have since become icons, arguably ranking as the two most beloved characters of Thurman’s career.

10 Mia: She’s A Fresh Take On The Familiar Mob Wife Trope

Pretty much every gangster movie going back to the pre-Code era features a mob wife character. While Goodfellas’ Karen Hill and The Sopranos’ Carmela Soprano stand out as complex, nuanced, three-dimensional roles, most mob wife characters fall into tired clichés.

Just like everything else in Pulp Fiction, Mia Wallace offered a fresh take on a familiar trope from the crime genre. She’s a functioning drug user who flirts with hitmen, steals dance trophies, and once starred in a TV pilot.

9 The Bride: Her Quest For Revenge Is Easy To Root For

Although the Bride is a contract killer who makes her living taking human lives, she’s easy to root for because the enemies she takes on are even worse. Bill and her former colleagues are in the same illicit line of work as the Bride, but they’re also not above turning on their own people.

The opening scene of Kill Bill: Volume 1 sees Bill and the rest of the snake-themed killers massacring everybody the Bride loves — including, it seems, her unborn child — and leaving her for dead. After that, it’s easy to get behind her vengeful quest.

8 Mia: She Has One Of Tarantino’s Most Memorable Character Introductions

The moment a character is introduced to audiences is one of the most important in their arc. If they make a big impression from the offset, then the audience will be instantly interested in what happens to them.

Introducing Mia Wallace to the sounds of “Son of a Preacher Man” ranks alongside Jackie Brown riding a moving walkway like Benjamin Braddock, and the Bear Jew rattling his baseball bat along the wall of a dark tunnel as one of Tarantino’s most memorable character introductions.

7 The Bride: She Has Countless Breathtaking Fight Scenes

Throughout the two volumes of Kill Bill, there are a bunch of breathtaking fight scenes brought to life by Tarantino’s visceral filmmaking and Uma Thurman’s commitment to portraying the Bride’s fury.

Although her stunt double Zoë Bell can be credited with most of the actual on-screen fighting, Thurman nailed the character’s physicality.

6 Mia: She Became A ‘90s Style Icon

Occasionally, a movie character comes along with a dress sense that’s so cool and unique that they inspire a whole new wave of fashion trends, like Annie Hall or Margot Tenenbaum.

Mia Wallace is a prime example of a movie character who became a style icon. Mia’s postmodern look was a huge influence on ‘90s fashion after Pulp Fiction became an indie blockbuster.

5 The Bride: She Wore The Yellow Jumpsuit Even Better Than Bruce Lee

In the climactic set piece of the first part of Kill Bill, the Bride wears the same yellow-and-black jumpsuit worn by Bruce Lee in the martial arts classic Game of Death.

As cool as Lee looked in that jumpsuit, the Bride looked even cooler. This outfit is now even more commonly associated with Kill Bill than Game of Death.

4 Mia: She Has Some Of Tarantino’s Most Poetic Dialogue

Tarantino’s dialogue is one of the most renowned hallmarks of his filmmaking. Mia Wallace has some of the most poetic and thought-provoking dialogue Tarantino has ever written.

From her monologue about “uncomfortable silences” to her complaints about “the usual mindless, boring, getting-to-know-you chit-chat,” Mia has a ton of Tarantino’s best lines.

3 The Bride: A Blood-Soaked Revenge Thriller Becomes A Mother-Daughter Story

Throughout the first part of Kill Bill, it’s a blood-drenched revenge thriller in which the Bride tracks down everybody responsible for the brutal deaths of her unborn child, her fiancé, and all their wedding guests.

However, Volume 1’s cliffhanger ending reveals that the Bride’s daughter is still alive. So, in Volume 2, it becomes more of a mother-daughter story, which adds an emotional layer to the action-packed excitement.

2 Mia: The Adrenaline Needle Scene Is Unforgettable

For the most part, the conflict in Pulp Fiction’s “Vincent Vega and Marsellus Wallace’s Wife” segment seems to revolve around whether or not Vincent and Mia’s flirtations will lead to an affair that could get them both killed. And then Mia mistakes Vincent’s heroin for cocaine, snorts some, and overdoses.

Suddenly, the conflict becomes much more immediate: Vincent needs to save Mia’s life or he’ll be hunted down and killed by Marsellus’ top guys. This leads to the iconic adrenaline needle scene, one of the most suspenseful sequences in Tarantino’s whole filmography.

1 The Bride: Thurman Brought Tangible Emotions To An Action-Packed Genre Story

Tarantino may be a revered filmmaker for the most part, but he’s not without a handful of detractors. Some critics feel that his highly stylized, ultraviolent filmmaking doesn’t leave much room for emotional resonance. This may be true for a couple of Tarantino’s movies, but not Kill Bill.

While Tarantino was busy bringing a frenetic energy to the blood-soaked fight scenes, Uma Thurman committed to bringing tangible emotions to the Bride’s journey in the midst of the action-packed genre spectacle.

About The Author

Ben Sherlock
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Ben Sherlock is a writer, comedian, independent filmmaker, and Burt Reynolds enthusiast. He writes lists for Screen Rant and features and reviews for Game Rant. He’s currently in pre-production on his first feature (and has been for a while, because filmmaking is expensive). You can catch him performing standup at odd pubs around the UK that will give him stage time. Previously, he wrote for Taste of Cinema, Comic Book Resources, and BabbleTop.

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