The Tarantino Pentathlon Part 2 - His debut: Reservoir Dogs

Rating: 8/10 (8 January 2004)

This film draws ones attention

Reservoir Dogs is astonishing in so many ways, it is hard to find a beginning, which in this case are the actors. Every film, no matter how good the story, the directing or the effects rises and falls with the quality of actors and the degree to which they are believable. In this film, it is apparent, that all of the actors deliver great performances. There is really nothing else to be said about the acting, for one cannot go and analyze character depth in this film, for the characters as they are presented, are quite shallow. There is some information on some of the characters, but their characteristics as I might describe them here, would have to be based mostly on their actions and doing that would really screw up your viewing experience.

Another really great thing about this film, is it's story, which really is not that special at all when you look at it in retrospective. The story, is basically the typical robbery gone bad, but in this case, the way in which it is told (with a lot flashbacks) increases the excitement and produces not only great tension within the characters, but also within the viewer. Apart from that, the flashbacks also enable Tarantino to give this very thrilling film a lighter and funnier touch. So the flashbacks are really multidimensional here. They increase the tension, they relieve the tension and they provide the film with a lighter touch.

All of the aspects above are brilliantly captured by Tarantino's ingenious though simple usage of the camera. In keeping the movements limited and rather simple, he manages to keep the viewer close to the story and the events. By doing that, he succeeds in producing maximum thrill with a minimum of effects.

Considering the relatively low budget, the rather simple story and the minimum of effects, I think Reservoir Dogs is a really amazing product and I am not the only one. A lot of people seemed (and still seem) to agree with me on that one. Not only did Tarantino receive a lot of hail for this work, but he also managed to get many more of his idea's realized on film. The climax of Tarantino's career (which is not over yet, mind you) would come in 1994 with Pulp Fiction, which he co-wrote, directed and starred in. After that Tarantino's work (as far as writing and directing is concerned) became of less quality. First he would make a segment for the film Four Rooms and after that he would star in and partially write the still good genre classic From Dusk till Dawn. Following those films, he made Curdled (writing only) and later Jackie Brown, which was his last directorial offering. That film became something of a disappointment, for it did not have the typical Tarantino style and I ask all of you: How could it have if Tarantino had neither written the original story nor starred in it?' One can conclude that, although on average Tarantino's work is of good quality, his films following Pulp Fiction have been of lesser quality than his work before that very same film and one can only hope, Tarantino will manage to shine again with his next project, called Kill Bill. I, for one, am very excited about that film, because the title is catchy, the actors have potential and it is written and directed by the master himself: Quentin Tarantino. I must add though, that I am excited DESPITE. I am excited about Kill Bill despite the fact that Quentin does not have an acting part the film and I am excited despite the fact that I thought the trailer did not look very promising.

8 out of 10