Review of Reservoir Dogs (1992) by Brett C — 14 Jan 2014

Reservoir Dogs is the debut film from Quentin Tarantino and I can definitely say that he is definitely a dime a dozen. Tarantino was bold with making his debut film so unique from the it's competitors at the time.

Reservoir Dogs is written by Tarantino and Roger Avary contributing some dialogue for the film. What Tarantino has written is a twist of a staple story in the crime genre, where the events of the actual robbery is not seen but rather shine a light the events after the robbery. Tarantino could have kept it with that road but instead the film flips back and forth between origin/specific robbery stories and the post-robbery events. The film is driven by dialogue, which is now considered a principle in his films, and the dialogue is definitely different from crime films that preceded this film. Instead of physical actions and deep insight of the character's emotional core, characters are instead shaped by Tarantino's dialogue with characters speaking about themselves or others which in turn shapes our perception of these characters, which I think is important in order to view the plot objectively and not gain a deep attachment to these characters. The issues I had with his script is the underwhelming origin stories that doesn't really show off the wildness and absurdity that is found with many of his future films. The screenplay also felt a little held back on pushing the boundaries of the dialogue when compared to his succeeding films. The dialogue also from time to time jump from being a natural and organic conversation, regardless if they are in a crisis situation, to basic plot driving dialogue.

Quentin Tarantino is an amazing director and even though all of his films are not always in excellent condition, though his worst are miles better than most films it competes with, he still brings a sense of style that defines the film and it's fresh unique take allows us to be curious on what could come on the next scene. Reservoir Dogs is his first film which is the main reason why this film felt a bit rushed or amateurish, not in a bad way but rather in an inexperienced way. The film definitely is limited by a budget and that in a way restricted Tarantino, as he seems to show more crazy and fun sequences when he has the budget for it. The film for the most part keeps me interested with it's great pace and it's characters play with his dialogue, though Mr Orange's backstory did feel tiresome and did feel like walking through a mountain after the swift two thirds of the film. The film's non-linear approach does kind of play off the style that Kubrick applied for The Killing.

Andrzej Sekula is the cinematographer for this film and he returns again in Tarantino's sophomore film. Sekula and Tarantino felt like they were held back in this film due to the budget therefore the film felt like it has this rushed hand held style that a lot of the moments of the film contains but this film does show hints of the photography style that Tarantino employs in his future films, with crooked angles, long takes and long shots of dialogue-full moments allowing the film to feel like a play, which is obvious in this film due to it's budget and boxed story.

This film doesn't include a score and this does in a way allow the film to suffer with moments that felt overstretched and needed that cinematic flair. Pulp Fiction also has these features but it makes up for it by having a sufficient amount of musical nuggets throughout the film that keep it from being stale. Though the musical moments that do cameo in this film are top notch with moments that actually feel more gruesome and horrific than what it already is.

Reservoir Dogs' cast is confined to 10 people and they are given the majority of the screen time, and it most cases it is shared. The actors do play off well with each other and along with the strong dialogue it makes the film entertaining. The standout actors in this film is Harvey Keitel, Steve Buscemi, and Michael Madsen, when they are bantering they all just bring the intensity that the scene required and are able to stay strong and fresh in long takes that includes monologues and subtle physical acting. Tim Roth was a bit of a distraction though, his American accent and the slight over the top acting did have me cringing.

Tarantino's debut does bring something unique and fresh to the crime genre but with an underwhelming screenplay and the inexperience and budget constriction does bring the film down.