|
Alphabetic Index
|
Ratings Index
|
Web Resources
|
Alphabetic Index
|
Ratings Index
|
Web Resources
Suddenly, it's the back of a car and Mr. Orange (Tim Roth) is covered in blood and screaming in agony. In the front seat, Mr. White is trying to get them away from their disastrous heist as rapidly as possible while reassuring him that getting shot in the gut isn't too bad. It seems that their jewellery store hold-up collapsed into a massacre, with Mr. Blonde (Michael Madsen) psychotically rubbing out bystanders while the cops lay in wait outside. All the duo can do now is make their way to the agreed meeting place, an empty warehouse, and wait to see who, if anyone, turns up. There's no way that Mr. Orange can be taken to hospital, so it's up to Joe to help them now. Fortunately at least Mr. Pink shows up pretty quickly, certain that they were set up by someone on the inside (how else could the police have shown up in record time). The big question is who?
Stuck going round in circles, hardly certain whether they can even trust each other, Mr. Pink and Mr. White end up in a potentially deadly stalemate. With the level of fear, tension and uncertainty running at an all-time high, the unseen arrival of laconic Mr. Blonde at least gives them someone else to blame. He seems fairly unfazed by their rage though, pointing out that Nice Guy Eddie (Christopher Penn) is on the way over to straighten out the situation. However, while he's behaving normally now, who knows what could set him on another murderous spree? Mr. Pink and Mr. White might be pissed, but they sure don't want to antagonise Mr. Blonde without good reason. Their attention is soon drawn away from the petty squabble though, to the rather attractive "package" that Mr. Blonde has in his car - a hostage cop. Perhaps the officer, Marvin Nash (Kirk Baltz), can put a name to the spy in their midst?
At first glance, the most impressive aspect of Reservoir Dogs is the outstanding cast gathered together by Tarantino (himself excluded). For a first time director, the presence of these names certainly appears to herald the arrival of a new talent. Beyond this promising start, the cast give uniformly excellent performances (far better than you might expect). Madsen is chilling as the unpredictable and sadistic Mr. Blonde, a centrepiece role he makes his own, while Keitel and Buscemi are great as experienced crooks undermined by gnawing fear and uncertainty. In addition to this trio, Tierney is extremely convincing as the criminal mastermind behind the robbery while Roth does as well as anyone could when they spend most of the movie lying in a pool of their own blood! All in all, the dynamics of the gang come across authentically.
Since the majority of Reservoir Dogs is spent analysing what went wrong, picking at the past scabs, the characters spend much of their time talking (or shouting). Hence the strong script is vital, which is exactly what Tarantino provides. Mixing scenes of humour, introspection, abuse, anger and confession, the dialogue is as brutal and blunt as the crooks themselves, showing them to be an experienced but fragile and temporary ensemble. With isolated moments of graphic violence slung into the mix, the result is both electrifying and knowingly stylish. However, the obvious links to other Tarantino movies (True Romance, Pulp Fiction and Natural Born Killers) either add to, or detract from, the film, depending on whether you fancy the idea of an alternative universe where all of Tarantino's characters exist together.
A very noticeable aspect of Reservoir Dogs is how Tarantino makes use of all the cinematic techniques he dreamt about while working in a video store. Everything from hand-held camera-work and extreme tight-shots, to panning away with the suggestion that even the camera can't bear to watch what's happening makes an appearance. Fortunately he doesn't go over-the-top, but instead masterfully integrates the flash-backs into the action and builds the story's complexity by starting with a single character (Roth) then expanding outwards through the gang in single person steps. Thus, Keitel makes a duo, Buscemi a trio, and so on. It's true that events get a bit stagy (the limited locations are a result of the budget) but that barely detracts from the whole. Anyway, with such an unusual but appropriate soundtrack of 70s hits, who's complaining?
|
Alphabetic Index
|
Ratings Index
|
Web Resources