Analyzing Reservoir Dogs

Directed and Written by Quentin Tarantino...

Many look at this man's array of films as the bad boy flicks, the cool-cat, jive-turkey, post old-school gangster films before the time where the genre became too hyped up. The kind of films Tarantino made back then in the late 80s and early 90s where ahead of their time in story and dialog, not so much visual effects and action but it defiantly gave gangster films more heart. He plays with suspense in this flick, I call it a flick because the film could be set on a theatrical stage and be done in less than an hour an a half. Now this doesn't necessarily mean that it's boring, its exactly the opposite. 

Its interesting and refreshing to watch someone direct a script with one grand scene not changing the pure nature of a master shot with no cuts. The camera is almost the seventh dog in the operation watching and following the characters when something important had to of been said. Now I could go over  Tarantino's technical aspect in his films which even stumps some of the best directors today, this indie filmmaker really changed things for the cheap productions with more of an organic feel to the story and characters. 

I looked over the script and the acting really keeps in touch with the lines written but what really caught me was the placement of the writing, it was in complete pace of the movie's scenes. Now I don't know if Quentin's classic stories, filled with out of order scenes, is how he writes or if he writes the whole thing then spaces it out later but I must note that it is effective. It makes us think of the characters and what their motivations are and how they may change from place to place but it makes us think, what have they gone through in the past scenes, what do they know? 

It really lets us dive deep into his characters and with a solid cast and many dialogged scenes its only natural for us to like every character no matter how nuts they are, and the characters are key for the audience to connect with the central style, feeling and theme. 

Now Tarantino can't help but be as bad-ass as his balls lets him but he doesn't cut it away too quickly, he builds and grabs us with the suspense. Direction is key but when you write the story you really have a vision that is ten times more effective than any big shot with money and an unlimited budget. Every time I get to witness this flick that made the man I always get caught up, the story grabs me and the themes don't present themselves right away but they let you think, just like most of his movies. 

I found the theme of brother-hood, it really presented itself along with Harvey Keitel's character “Mr. White” and Tom Roth's character “Mr. Orange.” They were stricken against any personal connection but they went farther, it humanized them and let them be the survivors in the end because of that bond. That unknowing force that saved each other but in turn changed to a chilling demise. That brotherhood may of shown itself with them all hanging out but it died in a way, when in a group most guys change they know how to tell ways in different ways, the balls were defiantly present. I guess its notable why some of the characters died early, they were boring, they didn't like the crowds, and didn't add much to the conversations. Michael Madsen's character “Mr. Blond” really showed a disconnection from the group, his character was more about jokes and getting work done his way with no teamwork, which is why I think he turned to a psychotic path in the film. 

I think that the name of the film was kinda random but, like most of his films, Tarantino wants you to think, I feel that all the characters were like Dogs stuck in a Reservoir. All they wanted was a piece of the bone but they barked and bitted to much making their meals blood-filled. All in all it's my favorite movie by him and he's doing well with the fame that it gave him, I just hope he holds close to the indie feel that this film was derived off of and will forever be his baby, that shed light on his visions.

"You gunna bark all day little doggie? 

Or are you gunna bite?"

-Mr. Blonde (Reservoir Dogs)