Reservoir Dogs: Tarantino's First

Reservoir Dogs, like most Tarantino films, is loaded with fictional and dramatic elements that set it far apart from other films in truly unique ways. In this film, among other elements, Tarantino makes use of dramatic nonlinear structure, conflict, allegory, and irony. Reservoir Dogs was Tarantino’s first feature film, and, according to Tarantino, his version of Stanley Kubrick's The Killing. Some critics note that several aspects of this film appear to have been “borrowed” from previous films. Tarantino has denied that he plagiarized with Reservoir Dogs instead claiming that he does homages. Regardless, Reservoir Dogs set the precedent for all other Tarantino films and exemplifies the use of dramatic elements.

The dramatic nonlinear structure of the film is the most easily identifiable visual element. Additionally, the course textbook refers to a story beginning in medias ves, or “in the middle”. In the case of this film, the actual heist is never shown. Tarantino has said that the reason for not showing the heist was initially budgetary but that he always liked the idea of not showing it and stuck with that idea. A prime example of the film’s nonlinear structure is in one scene the men are sitting in a restaurant before the botched heist, then suddenly the scene changes to after the heist where one man is violently driving a car while another bleeds in the back seat. Other notable examples of nonlinear structure involve flashbacks of Mr. Orange, an undercover cop, working his way into the criminal organization. This application of nonlinear structure “injects” the viewer into the middle of a conflict and creates questions in the viewer’s mind that quickly draw the viewer into the story.

Conflict may be the base for all stories, but few films use conflict in the same unique way that Reservoir Dogs does. The most easily identifiable conflict in this film is the external conflict that exists between the criminals and the police as a result of the heist. Additionally, there is some external conflict between the various men of the criminal organization that only intensifies throughout the film as the involvement of an undercover cop in their organization seems more and more likely. However, the most interesting conflict, in my opinion, is the internal moral conflict that arises as Mr. Orange, the undercover cop, develops a friendship with Mr. White. This internal conflict that emerges at the climactic-conclusion of the film is the most dramatic and impactful on the viewer.