The film revolves around the aftermath of a failed robbery

Rating: 8/10 (16 June 2011)

The film revolves around a group of individuals who get together for a robbery. The gang comprises of Michael Madsen as Mr. Blonde, Eddie Bunker as Mr. Blue, Quentin Tarantino as Mr. Brown, Tim Roth as Mr. Orange, Steve Buscemi as Mr. Pink and Harvey Keitel as Mr. White. Lawrence Tierney plays the role of Joe Cabot who is the master mind planner behind the robbery. Joe Cabot gives false names to the gang members to conceal their private identities. We see them all in the beginning of the film having breakfast together and later get introduced to each one in detail. The confusion starts when the police arrive at the robbery location as soon as the alarm is tripped and now the question arises of which one of them is the undercover police officer. Mr. Brown gets killed in the encounter whereas Mr. Orange gets seriously hurt. We see Mr. Orange as bleeding profusely and Mr. White driving him to the warehouse. Mr. Pink arrives at the warehouse after a while and he argues with Mr. White about the fact that they were set up. The theme of the film was one of violence and action. There is also racial discrimination. We see the gang members speaking ill of the black and also telling each other that they were talking like the black. They definitely think they are better than the black but the irony is that they talk in the same way as any gangsters would and commit illegal acts such as the robbery of the jewelry store. In the film we see how Mr. Orange worked his way in the gang by telling them various stories. One of them being that he could get illegal actions done under the scrutiny of police. Mr. Blonde makes an appearance at the ware house. He captures a police officer, Marvin Nash and we see him play the radio, dance to the music and torture the police officer in the most grotesque manner. He takes a razor and slashes the cop's ear. Mr. Blonde next gets some gasoline and is about to burn Marvin Nash when Mr. Orange mustering a little courage shoots Mr. Blonde. Mr. Orange informs the captive police that he is an undercover police officer. We see the remaining gang arrive at the ware house to find Mr. Blonde dead. Joe Cabot accuses Mr. Orange of being the one informing the police. In the later scene we see some gun shots which leaves Mr. White and Mr. Orange wounded and Joe and Eddie dead. Mr. Pink takes the diamonds and runs away. Mr. Orange tells Mr. White that he is an undercover police officer and in his anger Mr. White shoots Mr. Orange dead. The scene where Mr. Blonde gets to slash the cop's ear is the height of violence in the form of extreme torture. We see him as a psychopath who dances to the song, "Stuck in the Middle with you" and seems to be getting pleasure out of torturing other people. His acting was commendable since his dialogs and actions portrayed the psycho character that he was playing. While answering Mr. White we hear him saying "Are you going to bark like a dog or will you bite". Another film that shares a similar theme would be "Pulp Fiction" which is also directed by Quentin Tarantino. The film's theme revolves around violence just like the film "Reservoir Dogs". Both the films have racial discrimination and include illegal actions like robbery and killing. Lighting and angle have been effectively used to introduce the characters in the film and enhance the theme of violence in the film. The opening scene where we see the individuals gathered for breakfast has been shot utilizing the appropriate angles to emphasize each character separately. Most of the lighting in the film utilizes high key lighting including the scenes inside the warehouse. There were instances of low key lighting such as in scenes where Joe Cabot was shown in his office with Mr. Blonde. Both lighting and angle was used to portray the characters of the gang that were involved in violence. In conclusion, "Reservoir Dogs" was a film that revealed violence but the film did an incredible task in revealing the picture of reality. It is a film of all times and shall be enjoyed by many people in the future.