Summary:
A diamond heist in LA goes horribly wrong.
Remember to always tip your waitress!
It's a rare case that a director is able to have a perfect filmography, even the most prolific directors have had a misstep somewhere in the line of their career, Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, to name a couple, mainly in their early years. But Quentin Tarantino, even from the beginning when, as a spry ambitious 30 year old in Hollywood he created nothing but Cinema magic with his first film. Reservoir Dogs sets the bar high for a debut movie, turning the gangster genre on it's head and already an early showcase for the director's fantastic dialogue and characters.
Compared to later Tarantino works Reservoir Dogs is narratively simple, all the characters for the most part are in the same location together, with the exception of character flashbacks. It's about five gangsters, all under aliases using the color spectrum as to not reveal their actual names. The only real names are of the Boss, Joe (Lawrence Tierney, “Born to Kill (1947)”) and the bosses son, Nice Guy Eddie (Chris Penn, “Short Cuts”). Then there's Mr. Blonde (Michael Madsen, “Kill Bill Vol 1”), the manic psychopath who also happens that be very well respected by the two gang leaders. Mr. Pink (Steve Buscemi, “Living in Oblivion”) who is the only one who acts like a professional throughout the film. Mr. White (Harvey Keitel, “Two Evil Eyes”), level headed but not afraid to get mean. Mr. Orange (Tim Roth, “The Hateful Eight”) who is shot immediately and lays in a pool of his own blood for the whole runtime. And Mr. Brown and Mr. Blue who only appear briefly in the brilliant opening scene, but are then killed off screen. These characters don't know one another are assigned to a heist mission that goes horribly wrong, hence why Mr. Orange is in a pool of his own blood, and forces the gangsters to retreat to their warehouse hideout where they all try to figure out who set them up, and who among them is a rat.
Tarantino is obviously one for flare and it's clear to see those early ambitions in this debut, from the opening scene, delicately introducing our characters, letting the audience know who they will be spending the next hour and forty minutes with, some are funny, some are rude, and some are just their to get the job done, and if there's anything to grasp from the opening scene, it's to remember to always tip your waiter. While the story isn't terribly complex, it works for Tarantino's benefit, he doesn't bite off more than he can chew and opts for a character based gangster film. One with spurts of what will become classic Tarantino violence and action, but really it's a character study into the minds of these criminals. It's something that has been done countless times now, but Reservoir Dogs, I believe really started the trend of stories following the bad guys, rather than a police procedural in which they are hunting the criminals, we see what the criminals are going through in their time of crisis, it's refreshing, funny, and violent. Reservoir is the perfect place to start if one hasn't seen a Tarantino film, it's his most lean and accessible film he's made, and still remains as one of his finest.
It's great being a die-hard Tarantino fan and revisiting his early works, and with such a prolific writer/director it's hard to wrap one's head around his earlier works because they're still just as good as when they came out. Reservoir doesn't entirely feel like a directors debut film, but one that an already established director has crafted. From the complex technical shots in the warehouse, for example the scene when Mr. White and Mr. Pink are deciding what to do with Mr. Orange in a bathroom away from the dying gangster, it's one static shot from beyond the bathroom door, where the viewer is only able to see Mr. Pink and hear Mr. White, it goes for about five minutes, and it's a wide shot, as if the viewer is listening in on some secret that Mr. Orange isn't suppose to hear. Tarantino is always one for cool camera shots, and this film was only the beginning of his showcase of skills. The scene where Mr. Blonde tortures a cop just for fun, while gruesome and disturbing, is also very technically well done, especially timed with the classic 70s soundtrack. Tarantino made his mark here, with his very first feature, telling Hollywood that a new elite was ready to rise the ranks.
Quentin Tarantino is master at writing different, compelling and relatable characters, it's one of the reason why people love his movies, each one organic and new from the last, and their actions come forward in their dialogue, another Tarantino staple, he loves to hear his characters talk, to listen to the words he's wrote coming from his generally perfect cast on each film. It's a bit narcissistic, sure but when the dialogue flows and naturally and quippy as his does, it's tough not to be proud. The violence is secondary to the characters, and each violent outburst is complemented by first a series of well placed words, slowly rising to chaos. And while for the most part the performances are very good, there tends to be a bit too much over acting from Tim Roth and towards the end Harvey Keitel, especially in the last scene. It's clear Tarantino was confident in his writing abilities, but there's a couple hiccups from the directing chair in this film, mainly from an actor standpoint, which he easily remedied after this. The over acting isn't horribly distracting, but it's definitely noticeable, just a touch of over confidence, not enough to spoil the whole effect of the film though.
Overall Reservoir is a fine, nay, excellent piece of film for any cinephile and casual movie watcher alike. It's a different take on the gangster genre, one that shows the human behaviors of the criminals rather than following the cops. It's filled with humor, drama and great deal of blood, showcasing the early stages of a this masterful writer/director. It's hard to believe this is a debut film, from the expertly crafted dialogue, to the fairly minimal storytelling, one that comes forward in the character revelations, which are abundant. With only a few missteps, mainly some overacting this is a truly great gangster film and one that started the impressive career of Quentin Tarantino.
I give Reservoir Dogs 4.5 star out of 5.
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