Written by Emily Clarkson Reservoir Dogs (1992) (Fig1) Reservoir Dogs, is a crime‐drama, thriller film directed by Quentin Tarantino and released in 1992. The story revolves round a gang of criminals and the aftermath of a diamond heist that went wrong. Those that have made it to the rendezvouz smell a rat. Each man, with a colour‐coded pseudonym to prevent incrimination, now believes one of them snitched and is with the cops. Ignorant of each other’s pasts and other lives, ‘They are thus forced to make judgments based on recent observation and conduct.’ (French, 1993) So the audience follows their sniffing around, trying to work out the answer to the very same puzzle. Beginning with a slightly bamboozling scene of inane and macho conversation about music and the etiquette of tipping, the audience strain to understand the babble between the men in a diner. Having established that they all swear like troopers and one miserable sod, Mr. Pink, doesn’t tip waitresses; the credits roll, introducing the stars in a slow motion walk to the cars. Enter the ‘Reservoir Dogs’. (Fig2)
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WrittenbyEmilyClarkson
ReservoirDogs(1992)
(Fig1)ReservoirDogs,isacrime‐drama,thrillerfilmdirectedbyQuentin
Tarantinoandreleasedin1992.Thestoryrevolvesroundagangofcriminalsandtheaftermathofadiamondheistthatwentwrong.Thosethathavemadeittotherendezvouzsmellarat.Eachman,withacolour‐codedpseudonymtopreventincrimination,nowbelievesoneofthemsnitchedandiswiththecops.Ignorantofeachother’spastsandotherlives,‘Theyarethusforcedtomakejudgmentsbasedonrecentobservationandconduct.’(French,1993)Sotheaudiencefollowstheirsniffingaround,tryingtoworkouttheanswertotheverysamepuzzle. Beginningwithaslightlybamboozlingsceneofinaneandmachoconversationaboutmusicandtheetiquetteoftipping,theaudiencestraintounderstandthebabblebetweenthemeninadiner.Havingestablishedthattheyallswearliketroopersandonemiserablesod,Mr.Pink,doesn’ttipwaitresses;thecreditsroll,introducingthestarsinaslowmotionwalktothecars.Enterthe‘ReservoirDogs’.(Fig2)
WrittenbyEmilyClarkson
(Fig2) Assoonasthetitleshaverolled,theaudienceislaunchedheadfirstintobloodandthescreamingagonyofMr.OrangeinthebackofMr.White’sgetawaycar.Thisthemeofdisplayingtheaftermathfirstandexplanationslateristhekeyfeatureofthisfilm.‘Abandoning,theconventionalformatofnaturalchronologicalstorytelling,Tarantinocreatesatapestryofflashbacksthatcleverlybuildtoaconclusion.Thisallowsseparatescenestobeshowcasedasindividualvignettesthatthecastexploittothefull.’(Haflidason,2000)Thecleverseriesofflashbacksfromgang‐membertogang‐memberandbacktothepresentprovidesTarantinowiththeultimatecinematiccontrol.Thetimelinejumpsaroundbutnotinawaythatisconfusing,justenoughtopiqueinterestingofthecurrentsituationbeforecuttingawaytoanothermemberssituationorpreviousevents.Witheach‘vignette’,entitledinasimilarfashiontoStanelyKubrick’sdaysoftheweekin‘theShining’,theaudiencebankstheinformationthattheygatherabouteachcharacter.Theytrytoworkoutwhathappened,themotivationsofeachmanandwhichoneistherat.
(Fig3) Theperformanceofeachactorisabsolutelystellar.TimRothplayingthecompletelyauthentic,badlywoundedMr.OrangeandMr.White,asplayedbyHarveyKeitel,makesforaninterestingcharacterwithhissuddenalmost
WrittenbyEmilyClarkson
paternalnature.(Fig3)Theaforementionedmiserablesod,Mr.Pink,playedbySteveBuscemiisinstantlydislikableandcompletelyeffectiveasanantagonisticcharacter.Tarantinohimselfmakesacameoappearanceastheshort‐livedMr.Brown.Theworstofthebunch,Mr.Blonde,playedbyMichaelMadsenisthemostsadisticcharacter,providingthemosthorrificsceneofthefilm.
Hiskeysceneinvolvesacopthathehastakenprisonertotherendezvous,clearlyanglingforviolencebeforehewheedlesinformationfromhim.‘…Proceedingsareunderscoredmagnificentlybyagoldenoldieradiostationpumpingoutaseriesofbubblegumhitsfromthe70s.’(Dawson,N/A)WithMr.Blondeturningontheradio,wavingacut‐throatrazoraround,theentiretheatregripstheirseatswaitingforthebloodyhorrortobegin.Thebubblytrackontheradioprovidesasickironytothesituationandthepsychopathdancinghiswaytowardsthevictimonlymakesviewerssquirmfurther.However,here,Tarantinotakesanotherturnawayfromtheconventionaldepictionofviolence.’…[It’s]horriblyeffectiveandlingersfarlongerthantheusualpointblankbloodshedthatseemscompulsoryinothermovies.’(Haflidason,2000)Turningtheacameraawayandleavingthevolumeonfull,bothrelievesandtorturestheaudienceasimaginationsarelefttorunwildastowhatBlondeisdoingtotheimprisonedcop.
Theeventualrevealingof‘therat’ofthegangandthesubsequentdelvingintohispastleadinguptohispredicamentaddsawholenewandfantasticdimensiontothestory.Thefilmclimaxeswithallgunsblazingandtherealizationthataudience’sallegianceswithcharactershavechangedcontinuouslysothatbytheendtheyarerootingforthepeopletheyleastexpected.‘ReservoirDogs’isafantasticallyputtogetherfilm,despiteitsviolenceandbadlanguage.Itisafilmthatleavesaudiencesreeling‐inthebestway.
BibliographyHaflidason,Almar(2000)ReservoirDogs(1992)http://www.bbc.co.uk/films/2000/11/21/reservoir_dogs_1992_review.shtmlDawson,Jeff(N/A)ReservoirDogshttp://www.empireonline.com/reviews/reviewcomplete.asp?DVDID=6455French,Philip(1993)ReservoirDogshttp://www.guardian.co.uk/film/1993/jan/10/features.quentintarantinoPicturesFig1:IMDb(2013)ReservoirDogshttp://www.imdb.com/media/rm3874855168/tt0105236Fig2‐3:Bfi(2012)ReservoirDogshttp://explore.bfi.org.uk/4ce2b7ae5cbf0
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