"Now listen up... There's two ways we can do this job. My way or the highway!"

Rating: 8/10 (30 December 2015)

Knowing now that Quentin Tarantino can make movies, it's amazing how well crafted his film debut was.
I give credit where credit is: right from the start, not only was Tarantino a great director, he was also a great screenwriter. In all of his films, he would set up his characters in any scene (from a diner, to an empty warehouse), and then put them through a stick-up that goes disastrously wrong. What would follow afterwards is a bloody aftermath.
This movie has one of the best casts you could imagine, led by the legendary Lawrence Tierney, who plays Joe Cabot, an experienced criminal who has assembled a team of crooks for a big diamond heist. The key to his plan is that his associates don't know one another, and therefore can't squeal if they're caught. He names them off a color chart: Mr. White, Mr. Orange, Mr. Blonde, Mr. Pink, and so on. Mr. Pink doesn't like his name. "You're lucky you ain't Mr. Yellow," Tierney rasps (which is one of my favorite scenes in the movie).
I feel this is where Tarantino is at his strongest: right from the opening scenes, everyone can tell they are in for a ride; these characters play off of each other so well. They can discuss anything from Madonna's "Like a Virgin" to the difference from a black woman to a white woman, and it would not feel uncomfortable. We as an audience can relate to them and feel like we're in the conversation with them. So much so that we want to butt in and contribute.
We see the bungled crime in flashbacks. Tarantino has a confident, kinetic way of shooting action: guys running down the street, gun battles, blood and screams. But the real drama is finding out who's the snitch in the operation. It's a good way for dramatic effect because we as audience don't know who the snitch is even more than the characters do.
Tarantino's stamp is all over this film, and it's amazing that this was his film debut. Great writing, great characters, and a great set-up lead up to a film I can watch over and over again and see the details that I have missed.