Film Club - Reservoir Dogs: A Retrospective

 Four Perfect Killers. One Perfect Crime. 

Over 29 years since the films first screening at Sundance festival, nobody could’ve predicted the rise of one of the most influential directors of the last 30 years, and all the drama and controversy which has shaped Quentin Tarantino’s career, both within his films and out of them. Within this, I want to explore both the positives and the criticisms of the cult classic ‘Reservoir Dogs’, and how this set up the illustrious yet controversial career of Quentin Tarantino.  

‘Reservoir Dogs’ follows a group of diamond thieves and portrays the events of before and after a planned heist that goes sideways. Throw in the fact that there’s a ‘rat’ among them and there’s the outline for a good movie. However, it was not the premise that drew the praise from critics and casual movie-goers alike, as plots such as that can be fairly common. It’s the execution and the innovative and never before seen style that Tarantino brought along with it.

  

It starred an established actor in Harvey Keitel, along with less recognisable (at the time) actors such as Steve Buscemi and Michael Madsen. It had a budget of around $1.2million and grossed only $2.8million in North America. However, despite not originally selling well, it was highly regarded in the world of cinema, bringing in praise and plaudits from a variety of independent film festivals; with Empire magazine naming it ‘Greatest Independent Film of all Time’.  

Now, it's so hard to look back on Tarantino’s films without taking a deep look into the man behind the camera and his influences. An absolute movie fanatic, steeped in almost every genre that exists within the world of cinema. From your classic thrillers and westerns – to lesser watched Hong Kong action films and many more, it’s safe to say he’s almost psychopathic with how he sees films, and he’s proud to show that and wears his influences with pride. Well versed and hardcore movie lovers, like Tarantino, should be able to identify the many homages he pays in this film: from the thieves turning on each other (The Witness, 1956), to the colour-coded criminals (Mr Pink, White etc.), paying homage to the original 1973 film ‘The Taking of Pelham 123’.

 

The film gives us our first ever look at the now well-known dialogue style of Quentin Tarantino. The dialogue: fast paced and laced with pop culture references and crass subject manner, was something hitherto unseen in films at the time, with many people shocked at how the certain aspects of the dialogue seemed so similar to that of a conversation you may have with a group of friends at a bar.  Not many other scenes accentuate this than the opening scene of the film, with all characters at the round table, listening to Mr Brown discuss his theory on what Madonna’s ‘Like a Virgin’ is really about. Firstly, this can be seen as such a bold move by Tarantino, to open up his directorial debut by his character discussing his indelicate theory, placing himself front and centre, purposefully showing to us as the audience that this is HIS film and HIS style.  

While Reservoir Dogs contains plenty of on-screen violence and conflict; such as Mr Blonde torturing the cop (a scene which divided opinion at the time) and the Mexican stand-off ending, it is certainly not a film without levity. The discussion over the assignment of the colours particularly showcases this humour, with Steve Buscemi’s character attempting to not be Mr Pink, along with the aforementioned first scene. This humour is a welcome feature as it helps break up the tension of the overarching plot and feels natural and genuinely funny, rather than just a cheap gag thrown in as an afterthought.  

Along with his dialogue style, Tarantino also brought in another storytelling technique, and that is the way in which he uses out of order sequencing as a way to tell his stories. Upon my first viewing of Reservoir Dogs, seeing this method of storytelling was slightly disorienting. However, upon the short realisation that we had gone back in time, I was instantly more engaged, and was a true precursor in how he would use this technique in his other films (most notably, and to a greater extent: Pulp Fiction & Kill Bill), pushing this idea of ‘answers first, questions later’ format as a way for audiences to take in the information he presents and successfully show structure out of perceived chaos.  

Now, while there are a plethora of things that are so full of praise and deserve so much recognition. Tarantino and his directorial debut are not without their criticisms. The most notable criticism being the use of the N-Word by the characters; all of whom are white. While yes, this film was made almost 30 years ago and times were ‘different’, this was still extremely shocking at the time of the film's release; and was not the only time Tarantino has come under criticism for the use of this language in films; particularly concerning his 1997 film ‘Jackie Brown’

However, I don’t believe that his inclusion of this language is just a simple throwaway as it may first appear. I believe that Tarantino could've used this language to showcase a strong sense of irony. Firstly, one thing we need to keep in mind with these characters is that they are not good men. They are thieves, killers, and show a true disdain for authority (Mr Pink: ‘You kill anybody?... No real people?’ Mr White: ‘Just cops’). So, its straight away evident that they aren't just the average saint; if they’re prepared to kill cops how much of a stretch truly is it that these people would use offensive language as a throwaway comment? 

Furthermore, throughout the dialogue in the film a distinction is made, specifically through the nature of how this these white criminals view black people. As the way the characters in Reservoir Dogs appear to ‘look down’ upon black people, shown during the first argument between Mr Blonde & White, where Mr Pink intervenes by comparing them by using the N-Word. Yet they occasionally attempt to verbally imitate how they believe black people to talk, along with the characters attraction and admiration for black women, such as Pam Grier. By having these starkly contrast each other, it creates this strong sense of irony as, while they appear to think they’re ‘better’, they are consistently striving to be more like them.

  

Personally, I don’t believe the use of such language is needed or wanted, nor do I believe it adds anything extra to the film, that would be missed if the use of it was cut out or changed. However, I thought it important to mention that I believe that there may have been plenty of thought put into the purpose of adding that into the script by Tarantino.  

One of the last things I wish to touch on is the soundtrack; one of the best, and perfectly executed parts of the film. Tarantino has said in the past that he feels the music in his films must be used to be a counterpoint to the violence and action taking place on-screen.  And there is no better example of this than in his directorial debut, with the torture scene with the cop and Mr Blonde being set to ‘Stuck in the middle with You’ by Stealers Wheel, an extremely upbeat and catchy song. 

Also, the way in which he introduces it through the radio, and having Mr Blonde dance and sing along with it during the scene is executed perfectly; both creating this slight sense of levity and then clearly conveying to us as the audience that the character is utterly evil, as he is clearly relishing in what he’s about to do (Mr Blonde: ‘It's amusing, to me, to torture a cop.’)

Overall, while so many directorial debuts can end up being heavily criticised and received lukewarmly, with them coming into their own later on in their career (take David Fincher’s Alien 3 for example, before catapulting himself with Se7en), Tarantino delivered a highly entertaining, innovative and capturing film with Reservoir Dogs. Bringing a style of film which many other directors have taken influence from, especially through the 90s and catapulting himself in the film industry; before taking over the mainstream world of films with his masterpiece Pulp Fiction. 

If there is anybody who is a fan of Tarantino’s work or crime films full of entertaining, funny dialogue placed with purpose; then I fully recommend you see this film if you have not already. It’s got that cool indie feel with its low budget and it is so interesting to see so many young actors, in the infancy of their career, deliver incredible and gripping performances; such as Steve Buscemi, Michael Madsen and Tim Roth.