Quentin Tarantino's breakout film Reservoir Dogs may be the most creative script he has ever written. Showing the before and after of a pack of anonymous criminals deciding to pull off a heist without ever showing the heist is such an interesting idea. This film has some great performances from the cast involved and despite a few dated references and derogatory terms (which have now become synonymous with the director), Tarantino delivers an engaging, quotable thriller that has truly defined his filmmaking style.
Having watched this film when I was younger, I remember it completely differently. Perhaps it was because of my younger brain not putting the pieces of this story's puzzle together or perhaps it was just me infatuated with the song "Stuck in the Middle With You." Either way, now that I have rewatched this, I'm able to process it in full. The greatest parts about this film are definitely its characters and its script. Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen, Chris Penn, and Steve Buscemi star as the leading pack of criminals pulling off a jewelry heist. All of their performances were incredible as each gave such a distinct and different personality to their character. The best aspect about these characters was that they were all written to be such different people. This multitude of clashing behaviors leads to some of the greatest dialogue, which is what Tarantino has become known for. The amount of memorable banter and verbal assault really creates a rich environment of distrust amongst the lead characters. This is also mostly because of the fact that the entire film is dialogue, as the actual heist or diamonds are never shown. This take on the heist genre is incredibly original and solidifies Tarantino as one of the most clever screenwriters ever.
Tarantino has never been one of my favorite directors; not because of his incessant mistreatment of his actors or the many horrid accusations about him (those surely don't help), but because his style remains constant. Going into one of his films nowadays you almost have to prepare yourself for an almost three-hour-long, nonlinear riff on a certain genre. Reservoir Dogs, as a directorial debut, is an escape from this expectation; not just because of its quick runtime, but because it has more of a focus on the script. The writing in this film is absolutely stellar and distracts from the fact that Tarantino was still finding his footing as a director. None of the cinematography or environments are particularly exciting throughout this film. In fact, it looks like it could have been shot in one day. But there will always be something new and subtly comedic that I will find as I watch this movie which is what is truly the mark of a great filmmaker.
While Tarantino usually has a small role in most of his films, I respect how he did not cast himself as the main character for this debut. His character of Mr. Brown was very minor as he only had one or two lines as he focused more on his directing style. Which was incredible, given that he has launched the nonlinear style into American cinema very fluently. Some small elements of this film that I was not particularly fond of, however, was the reliance on profanity and the handling of one of the minor characters. In today's culture, Tarantino is often criticized by many (myself included) for relying on excessive profanity and using the n-word as a derogatory insult. While this is more fitting in his films such as Jackie Brown or Django Unchained, it still calls to question whether or not he, as a white man, should be morally allowed to write such dialogue. Without getting too far into that debate, I can see how this trend of his began, even in this film and I wish that had not become a trademark of his. I also did not like the handling of Edward Bunker's character Mr. Blue. He did not have any lines whatsoever and was simply written off as being killed at the scene, which makes me wonder as to why Tarantino even wrote him in the first place. In the film's overall context, this character has done quite literally nothing: no dialogue, no memorable actions, nothing. Mr. Blue really came out of the blue and then disappeared without any development.
Reservoir Dogs walked so Pulp Fiction could run and I don't think audiences give enough credit to this film for paving the way for Tarantino's nonlinear style. While this movie does not necessarily have the same lasting effect on pop culture as his second film does, I appreciate and adore what Tarantino has done to flip screenwriting on its head.
My Rating: ★★★½
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