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Reservoir Dogs (1992)
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Movie Review by Jarrod
May 22nd, 2008
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'Reservoir Dogs' was Quentin Tarantino's first film, but not his best one, that honor would undoubtedly go to Pulp Fiction; this movie set him up for future greatness, showcased his extraordinary talent, helped him to become a major force in the world of independent cinema. This is a stylish and distinctively modern crime movie, wholly different from the crime movies of Scorsese and Coppolla; those are perhaps more accurately called mob dramas, because they focus on the mob, the traditional Italian systems of organized crime, brought over from the old country by waves of poor, opportunistic immigrants. Tarantino has a flair for dialogue, and that may well be the greatest strength of 'Reservoir Dogs', his characters get a chance to spew profanity every few minutes, but every conversation they have is interesting, and often very funny. The opening shot shows them sitting at a table in a diner, having breakfast; the camera circles around them as they talk about mundane topics, analyzing the lyrics of Like a Virgin for instance, before one of them argues why he is opposed to leaving a tip for the waitress. These men are criminals, professional criminals, and they have been recruited by a tough old gangster named Joe Cabot (Lawrence Tierney) to carry out a diamond heist. Joe and his son Eddie (Chris Penn) have given each of the crooks a code name; they are Mr. White (Harvey Keitel), Mr. Blonde (Michael Madsen), Mr. Orange (Tim Roth), Mr. Pink (Steve Buscemi), Mr. Brown (Tarantino), and Mr. Blue (Eddie Bunker). They are not supposed to reveal their real names, or divulge any personal information about themselves, in case they are captured. The heist is well-planned, but it goes disastrously wrong.
There is a bloody shoot-out with the cops, and the survivors gather at an abandoned warehouse. Mr. Orange is mortally wounded; Mr. White feels guilty and promises to look after him. Mr. Pink believes there is a rat, and that rat turns out to be Mr. Orange, as we learn through flashbacks. Mr. White has known Joe for years; Mr. Blonde is fresh out of prison, looking to get back into the business. Mr. Blonde, or Vic Vega, is a sadistic psychopath; he murdered most of the civilians during the heist, and seeks to amuse himself by torturing the cop he has abducted. Orange, or Freddie, lies dying on the floor nearby; White is willing to protect him with his life. The fast-talking and paranoid Pink just wants to take the diamonds and get the hell out of dodge, but this is not want Joe and Eddie advise. The original sense of camaraderie is shattered, bonds of loyalty are broken, no one knows what is going on, who is still alive, what they plan to do next; it is utter chaos. One of the problems with the movie is that Mr. White and Mr. Orange get the most attention; we know their names, and a bit of their background. The same is true of Mr. Blonde, as well, but Pink, Blue, and Brown are just filler, though Pink (as played by Buscemi) is one of the highlights. It is easy to forget about Blue, who is only in one or two brief scenes and Brown in only a couple more than that. Keitel and Roth are the main stars, and both are terrific; the presence of Keitel in any crime movie is a plus, and boosts its quality almost by default.
Tarantino assembled a spectacular cast, it is fitting he was able to get the legendary Tierney, whose onscreen and off-screen personas have not been so terribly different (like Tony Sirico from the Sopranos). Tierney is fearsome and intimidating. Michael Madsen is brilliantly menacing, speaking softly and maintaining a calm demeanor, a nice contrast to Pink, who is constantly on edge and worried about the police. The action scenes crackle with kinetic energy, and I like the use of flashbacks to tell the story, even though it would have been better to see at least some of the heist, and not just hear about its most important details secondhand. Not that the film needs more violence. This was a remarkable and impressive debut.
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