RESERVOIR DOGS
A film review by Michael Har-even
Copyright 1993 Michael Har-even
Even though RESERVOIR DOGS is the first film of director-writer Tarantino, I would like to evaluate his work. The most striking thing in the film is the mixture of events from the present and the past. The pre-crime and crime sequences are not flashbacks, their main purpose is not to explain but rather to increase the dramatic tension. Those events are assembled by the author of this film as another mean of expression. We might even say that this process is super-editing or even super-montage of a whole film.
Another quality of this film is the lack of psychology. All the characters are flat and the only important matter is the action and not the reason. This is one of the reasons why the last scene is already a myth. In fact, we know almost nothing about each character. The only exception is the police agent and I am not sure that it is justified. The difficult violence is mingled with humor. This mixture is not only original but it is also being used to increase the total realistic effect.
Tarantino is an excellent writer and a talented director. The main problem is his inability to control the medium totally. Most of the scenes on the film are theatrical yet the decor is monotone. The lighting could be improved and there is no order (or purposeful disorder) in the cinematography. For example, the dazzling movements of the camera on the dialogue scenes remind an experiment of a cinema student. Naturally, Tarantino has no experience so we have to forgive him.
His next film will be the true test of an artist. If he continues to be obsessed with violence at the expense of form, in the best case he will be just another good American director like Scorsese or Coppola. In the worst case, he will be merely an imitator. By forgetting all his idols and by challenging the limits of cinema, his true self might be exposed. After all, I hope he wants to become more than just a fucking professional!
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