Reservoir Dogs is a 1992 heist action thriller directed by then newcomer Quentin Tarantino who also wrote the script. The film stars Harvey Keitel, Michael Madsen, Tim Roth, Quentin Tarantino, Steve Buscemi, Randy Brooks, Chris Penn and Lawrence Tierney.
A diamond heist goes horribly wrong. One of the robbers, Mr. Orange (Tim Roth), lies bleeding to death on the floor in an abandoned warehouse; a robber named Mr. Blonde (Michael Madsen) kidnaps a cop; another robber named Mr. White (Harvey Keitel) is compassionate; a robber named Mr. Pink (Steve Buscemi) doesn't tip but someone in their crew did and also snitched! If you are too close to a liar you won’t see him. The trick is keeping your distance and your heart out of it!
This neo noir thriller was a game-changer. Tarantino didn't invent non-linear storytelling or snappy dialogue but no director before or since has ever used both of these conventions in ways that are as entertaining as what actually happens in the film. Among Reservoir Dog’s themes is sex. The film also uses archetypes to describe the robber’s personalities and the manner in which they interact with each other.
There are no women in this film but there is a masculine/feminine dynamic between Mr. White and Mr. Orange. Mr. White plays the feminine role in their relationship, alternating between being a nurturing mother and a deceived woman in denial. When Mr. Orange is bleeding to death on the warehouse floor notice how Mr. White comforts and cradles him as though he is a child. Also notice the submissive tone of Mr. Orange’s voice in the scene. Also notice the hostility Mr. White directs at Mr. Pink who believes that Mr. Orange could possibly be a snitch?
What I like about Tarantino’s dialogue is how it provides insights on the plot and characters. At the beginning of this film, the robbers are in a diner having a debate about Madonna’s song ‘Like a Virgin.’ Mr. Brown believes that the song is about a promiscuous woman making love with a stud so big that he makes her feel pain as though she’s a virgin. Mr. Brown’s interpretation of the song describes the relationship that develops between Mr. White and Mr. Orange after Mr. Orange is shot in the diamond heist. The virgin in Mr. Brown’s metaphor is actually Mr. White, with white being symbolically associated with virginity. Remember, Mr. White never got caught--or “screwed”--by an undercover cop. Mr. Orange, in Madonna’s song, is the stud--or undercover cop--who fucks Mr. White and makes him feel pain like a virgin. After Mr. Orange gets shot in the belly, Mr. White’s feminine instincts kick in and he loses his ability to see Mr. Orange objectively. The conflict between Mr. Pink and Mr. White is also foreshadowed in the diner scene by Mr. Orange and Mr. White sitting next to each other and Mr. Pink sitting further away indicating that he has a better perspective to see Mr. Orange objectively. Also, in keeping with the feminine metaphors in the film, Mr. Pink’s suspicions of Mr. Orange make sense when you consider that the color pink is associated with femininity of which intuition is attributed to.
Although Tarantino’s 2nd film, Pulp Fiction, won more accolades and earned more at the box office, Reservoir Dogs was Tarantino’s birth-cry. How can a quirky/High School dropout/video store clerk who never ever set foot in any film school produce a film as raw, as intelligent, and as fully realized as Reservoir Dogs without the 2 or 3 warm up films that most great directors needed before their breakout film? On a documentary, he admits to not knowing film jargon at all and using scenes from his favorite films to set up camera shots. For years, I had this film on DVD and thought that the picture looked great and couldn’t get any better; I was wrong. If you’re thinking about upgrading to blu ray, you should. Great picture, cinematography, sound, music, and hard-boiled storytelling. Reservoir Dogs is still, in my opinion, Tarantino’s best film.
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