Reservoir Dogs

Director: Quentin Tarantino

Cast: Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Steve Buscemi, Michael Madsen, Chris Penn, Quentin Tarantino

Genre: Thriller

Year: 1992

The debut of Tarantino's extremely prosperous career, 'Reservoir Dogs' establishes his unique style of filmmaking and writing, with little hesitation or fear to depict violent scenes and intense sequences throughout the film.



'Reservoir Dogs' depicts the aftermath of a failed heist by a group of men who disperse after they are ambushed by police. After an initial scene at the beginning of the film which shows the 8 men at a diner (which also manages to establish some of their individual personalities), the film accelerates into a future scene and instantly sets the tone and pace of the film. We see Tim Roth's character, Mr Orange, painfully squirming in the back seat of a car, drenched in his own blood, while the somewhat panicked Mr White (Harvey Keitel) tries to comfort him, as well as get him back to the 'rendezvous' location where they can attend to his wounds.
This immediate introduction to the plot is shocking and invigorates the rest of the movie with this sense of urgency and panic, yet under Tarantino's command, it never swerves out of his control. When Mr Pink (Steve Buscemi) finally arrives at the scene, he theorises that there was almost certainly a 'rat' within their group who sold them out to the cops, setting in motion the main conflict of the film - who is the 'rat'? This question looms over the entire plot and manipulates everybody's actions, because everyone is subconsciously aware that nobody is who they truly say they are (accentuated by the notion that they all go by their own individually assigned pseudonyms).

The majority of the plot which is set in the present time occurs within an abandoned warehouse, the rendezvous, which applies a sense of isolation and danger to the scenes, because nobody knows where they are and essentially nobody could save them if something goes wrong. Other than this warehouse, Tarantino utilises his soon iconic film technique of non-linear storytelling, which cuts between the present and the past, recounting the character's individual lives before the heist and briefly afterwards, presenting their backstory to the audience. While this doesn't feel as smoothly accomplished as it does in 'Pulp Fiction', it does work very well and is a good way of developing characters, without too much exposition. However, upon saying this, the heist itself is never actually shown within the film; it is just described by the men during their conversations, and this might be some of the best exposition ever written. It does not feel dull, repetitive or pointless - the dialogue flows so beautifully and naturally that the film feels effortlessly tangible and realistic. There is a scene dedicated to Mr White and Mr Pink where they discuss the dilemma they are in, and go over in their mind what they remember happened. In this scene, it unravels what happened in the failed heist, as well as creating pre-conceptions about different characters, simply through the character's discussion. For example, the audience, without even properly meeting him, don't trust Mr Blonde, due to his reckless behaviour within the heist. The words compensate for the lack of footage of the heist, and they function in such a way that any visual portrayal of the robbery would feel pointless and repetitive. Tarantino's talent in writing is firmly established here and it shows why he is one of the most influential and skilled auteurs of modern cinema.

Another iconic element of Tarantino's work is his use of songs to accompany his work. In 'Reservoir Dogs', this doesn't feel quite perfected yet, (although 'Pulp Fiction' certainly shows how he has mastered this technique) with some songs not fully fitting the tone of the scene or feeling added in spontaneously in order to create a soundtrack. The major exception to this however is the brutal torture scene, in which 'Stuck in the Middle with You' infamously plays simultaneously. This scene is pure Tarantino, tension built up and broken at a bloody, violent climax that leaves the audience completely flabbergasted and awe-stricken by this horrible sight. Ironically, Tarantino opts to not even show the actual attack, having the camera pan upwards and away, leaving it all up to inference, alongside the blood-curdling screams of the victim. This scene has, rightly so, become iconic and feels like the pivotal point of the film. It portrays Mr Blonde as the sadistic man he is, confirming it for the audience.

All the performances within 'Reservoir Dogs' are exceptional. Each character feels defined and individual, even if there is a slight issue with development of them, especially Mr Brown and Mr Blue, the latter of which feels essentially non-existent within the film, and acts only as an additional person to occasionally reference. Otherwise, Keitel is fantastic as Mr White, who is fervently trying to take control over the situation, Buscemi is brilliant as the irritated Mr Pink, angry how nobody else is being 'professional', Madsen, as said, is great as the sadistic and cunning Mr Blonde, and finally Roth is excellent in his role as Mr Orange.

Ultimately, this is an excellent thriller, fueled by intense action and snappy dialogue, courtesy of Tarantino's skilled writing and direction. 'Reservoir Dogs' still stands up today, and surpasses most of Tarantino's most recent films, with its unique plot, excellent acting and all round being a brilliant film. The film isn't without flaws, but the majority of these can be easily overlooked by how the rest of the film feels. It is a tremendous achievement for his debut film and definitely pinpoints Tarantino as one of the best directors of the present day.

Verdict: 9/10