Reservoir Dogs Essay Research Paper

Reservoir Dogs Essay, Research Paper

“Reservoir Dogs,” the exhilarating debut film of 29-year old writer/director Quentin Tarantino, is a ballet of macho posturing, gun-pointing, and the creative uses of every four-letter word imaginable. Its testosterone level is off every chart, and it happily wallows in its own juvenile love of criminals, violence, and vulgarity.

Taking a note from Sam Peckinpah, Tarantino populated his film with morally ambiguous outlaws. Yes, these are criminals and killers, but damn, if they aren’t charming and charismatic. Any chance we have of disliking these people is squashed in the film’s opening sequence, which shows them in a small diner, sipping coffee after breakfast, and talking about the true meaning of Madonna’s “Like a Virgin” and the ethics of tipping. They’re tough, but they’re also people with ideas, convictions, and humor.

Of course, the conversation is crude and juvenile, but it’s also hilarious in it’s intensely written David Mamet-style prose. These guys talk with gusto and a kind of rhythm that borders on being poetic. During the conversation, the camera stays low, endlessly circling the table, not afraid to fill half the screen with the blurred back of someone’s head. It creates a sense of awe about these gangsters, which is solidified in the opening credits sequence that took more than a little inspiration from Peckinpah’s “The Wild Bunch.”

As they exit the restaurant and walk menacingly toward the camera, we are introduced to each of the characters: Mr. White (Harvey Keitel), Mr. Blond (Michael Madsen), Mr. Pink (Steve Buscemi), Mr. Orange (Tim Roth), Mr. Brown (Quentin Tarantino), Mr. Blue (Eddie Bunker), the crime boss, Joe Cabot (Lawrence Tierney) and his son, Nice Guy Eddie (Chris Penn). Decked out in matching black suits and thin black ties, they are a group of strangers assembled by Joe and Eddie, all given aliases so no one can rat on any one else if he’s caught. They’re on their way to commit a perfectly planned diamond heist, but sixty years of film noir have taught us there is no such thing.

Just when you start getting comfortable, “Reservoir Dogs” pulls a coup by skipping right over the robbery itself. Instead, it cuts straight to the aftermath, where we find Mr. White and Mr. Orange escaping the scene together. Obviously, everything has gone wrong because the group has been split up, everyone is in a panic, and Mr. Orange has been shot in the belly. They go back to a deserted warehouse, which serves as the rendezvous, and it is here that most of the action takes place.

Later Mr. Pink arrives, blathering about they were set up. “There’s a rat in the house,” he proclaims, and all eyes start turning on each other. Nobody really knows anybody else, so therefore, nobody trusts anyone, and no one is willing to back down. At this point, it seems like the thrust of the film will be trying to figure out who the rat is, but Tarantino confounds us again by disclosing his identity before the film is halfway over.