Reservoir Dogs

Reservoir Dogs is a film that takes a satiric look at itself, at the genre of the caper film and the dynamics of betrayal and the criminal code seen in such films. The film is extremely violent, which for many viewers may mask the satiric thrust of the story and the way the interplay of characters involves a twisted sense of morality, the so-called "honor among thieves" that here is a palpable presence holding together a group of professional criminals who have nothing else to believe in except that they will be able to rely on each other. As the film unfolds, though, they can rely on nothing in a universe of random events over which they have no control.

The story is simple enough: A group of small-time criminals band together under the leadership of a man who has decided how a robbery is to be staged. The robbery itself is never seen in the film or even described clearly. The criminals hold up the bank, but one of their number is actually an undercover policeman who sees to it that the police are waiting. The robbery goes completely wrong, but the "arrest" also goes wrong and the undercover cop is shot. His criminal partner takes him back to the hideout where they are all supposed to return and wait for the boss to bring the money, or in this case some assistance and a doctor. They wait until he finally does show up, and he is convinced that they have been betrayed and that the man who is an undercover cop is the one who betrayed them. The undercover cop's crimina

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the false names, the meeting place, the gathering at the beginning, the black bags for carrying money, the getaway car. These all indicate criminal activity through symbols evoking the image we have of the criminal. The men all dress alike in the same dark suits, their "uniform" and a sign that they are in a joint enterprise. Symbolic signifiers include the dark glasses which are reminiscent of masks, the dark clothes which indicates a darkness of purpose, the short hair on Mr. White indicating a recent prison term, and so on. A number of scenes in the film refer back to the many other times the same scene has been used in earlier crime films--the meeting when Mr. White gets out of prison and is promised a job, the rehearsal meeting when everyone is told what they are to do in the robbery, the escape from the failed robbery, the tensions among conspirators after the crime. Tarantino fuses form and content in a way that makes subtle references to other films in the same genre as a way of leading the viewer apparently in one direction only to toss in a twist and force the viewer to turn the other way. This is an exciting technique that infuses new life into what could be old situations. Even the violence is undercut by th

Category: Film - R