Nostalgic pollution

Rating: 10/10 (25 April 2007)

"Reservoir Dogs" is the baptism by fire for Quentin Tarantino, an obscure actor who is at his first experience as a director. And let's say that, for a first time, Tarantino knows how to draw the attention.
Released about 15 years ago, "Reservoir Dogs" is looked up today as a classic, just like the other subsequent Tarantino movies would be, should I say it.
"Reservoir Dogs" tells the story of a group of gangsters recruited by an eccentric, but serious boss, in order to rob diamonds from a jewelry store. The film shows the before the operation and the after. But not the during. There are indeed some clues which allow to build a script in our mind, but that's precisely what Tarantino wants: that the viewer let his imagination working.
What's more, there is no straight line. The before and the after are alternated in such a random way that it becomes almost impossible to get all the scenes back in the actual order. The only thing we can know for sure is whether we're watching the before or the after. Generally, we can have a certain idea. But it would take several days of viewing and checking the scenes one by one in order to determinate where they go in the story's actual chronology.
This strategy is reminiscent of older movies like "Citizen Kane" where we could see a young Orson Welles, then an old, younger, older We almost get lost.
Anyway, whether it's the before or the after, one thing predominates throughout this movie: the politically incorrect. Some would say that Tarantino's trademark is the extreme and aesthetic violence, while others would say that it's his characters' monologues. But one thing unites each of these elements: they're all politically incorrect. And this is precisely Tarantino's real trademark: the politically incorrect.
Tarantino fills his movie with violence at one point we could believe that he's compressing several war movies at the same time, so they could get the same size as only one. There's as much blood in "Reservoir Dogs" as in a Red Cross collecting center. But Tarantino can't get satisfied by only showing violence. He shows it in several ways.
He can show violence in its most simple expression, like in the pursuits between the police officers and the gangsters or he can elaborate it. The most striking way is by turning on the radio. In this way, we can see the sadistic Mr. Blonde (Michael Madsen) slice the ear of a police officer taken as an hostage while listening (and dancing) "Stuck in the Middle With You" from Stealer's Wheel. For baby-boomers, it's called nostalgic violence. It's horror and happiness. It's been rarely seen before.
Another way, more expected, is black, even philosophical violence. Thus, we can see Mr. Blonde and Mr. Orange (Tim Roth), completely beaten up, who still shoot on each other. Two gushing sponges who battle themselves till it's the end for both of them And the gun zigzag at the end. That's what we call a shooting line.
From a philosophical point of view, we can add the monologues from the different characters as they chat about subjects like the real signification of the song "Like a Virgin" from Madonna (is it about dicks?) and why people should tip when they go to the restaurant.
Each actor has his chance of having his own monologue or a long and endless scene where the importance of knowing his text by heart is primordial. If the actor bluffs, he has to shoot this endless scene all over again. But the director seems to trust his actors totally and he trusts their talents for such scenes.
With its generous violence, its anti-heroes without honor, its numerous blasphemies, its macho and racist dialogs and its countless sexuality references, "Reservoir Dogs" truly is a pollution.
But with its numerous references to old TV series and movies, music from the 70s and popular culture, "Reservoir Dogs" is also nostalgia.
In the end, much like "Pulp Fiction", "Reservoir Dogs" can simply be summarized in two words: nostalgic pollution.