What a Debut

Rating: 10/10 (15 November 2015)

It's very rare that we see a director establish him- or herself as a true talent with their first theatrical release. Not only did Tarantino establish himself as a great storyteller with the release of Reservoir Dogs, he also gave us a glimpse of his distinct artistic voice that we would anticipate in the years to come. He specifically set a trend in the use of dialogue which reminds us of everyday conversations yet is simultaneously layered with subtext and analogies.
The opening sequence establishes Tarantino's master of dialogue perfectly. While the conventional director might open a robbery film with a scene which highlights the plan for the robbery, Tarantino strays away from exposition. Instead, we get a lengthy conversation in which the robbers analyze a song, discuss the ethics of tipping waitresses, and make pop culture references. What does this do? It establishes the characters as human beings and gives them life instead of having the boss merely explain the plot to the robbers, who would substitute for the audience.
This might have to do entirely with the fact that the film had a low budget, but Tarantino essentially uses one location for about two thirds of the film. He is still able to establish an intricate and very tense story revolving around the idea that one of the robbers suspects an undercover cop is amongst them. The set design is simple - an abandoned warehouse - so the visual creativity of the film is mostly in the cinematography, but even with that, the heavy use of the warehouse as a setting makes this come across as more of a play, which it should. The dialogue is the driving force of this film, and while the characters may discuss plot at points (I hate it when movies rely on explanations of the plot through dialogue, a la Inception) it is only done when it is necessary. The rest of the dialogue reveals much more about the characters than visuals could provide in this film, and hey, I'm okay with that.
One problem I have with the film is the fact that while this film revolves around a group of robbers we never learn too much about two of the robbers since they are hardly in the movie. In fact, one of them only has a few lines in the opening conversation scene of the film. The absence of that character would hardly change the meaning of the film at all, which is why I wish we would have gotten to know him a bit more. I understand side characters, but in a film about a group of robbers, the entire group should have a significant part in the film as an ensemble cast.
A great directorial debut for Quentin Tarantino, Reservoir Dogs shines as a surprising hit for a crime film with such a low budget and as a huge influence on the manner of dialogue used in crime films between its release and present day.
4.0/4.0