How the beginning of ‘Reservoir Dogs’ foreshadows the gang’s fate
All it took was a single scene for Quentin Tarantino to make his mark on cinema. The first-time feature director set out his stall as one of the coolest and most composed new kids on the block by the time the introductory sequence in Reservoir Dogs had even drawn to a close.
It contains many of the traits that would eventually become known as the filmmaker’s signatures. The rapid-fire and endlessly quotable dialogue peppered with pop culture references, deep cut needle-drops enhancing the imagery through music, and further evidence that acting was never going to be the strongest tool in his arsenal.
Tarantino has also become synonymous with implanting hidden subtleties and complexities into even the most innocuous scenes, which are either paid off later on in the story or illustrative of what’s to come. Knowing how meticulous the writer/director is when putting together his screenplays, it’s not a coincidence that Reservoir Dogs foreshadows the fate of the key players in a heist that doesn’t even unfold on screen.
On the surface, it’s nothing more than a collection of virtual strangers shooting the shit before they embark on a potentially lucrative job. However, dig a little deeper, and it offers insights into not only the disparate personalities in play that become increasingly pronounced as the narrative progresses but also how their allegiances and fates are ultimately revealed.
Steve Buscemi’s Mr. Pink and Harvey Keitel’s Mr. White are constantly at odds over the former’s reluctance to tip the waitress, but it’s completely indicative of where they end up. Mr. Pink is self-serving and only concerned with protecting his own interests, which manifests in the final scene when he emerges unscathed from the climactic Mexican standoff and makes off with the loot.
On the other side of the coin, Mr. White displays kind-heartedness and compassion for those trying to do their jobs, which ends up getting him killed when he defends Tim Roth’s Mr. Orange – unwisely, as it turns out – from accusations that he’s been the traitor hiding in their midst all along.
Speaking of Mr. Orange, when Lawrence Tierney’s Joe Cabot asks which crew member didn’t tip, he wastes no time fingering Mr. Pink as the culprit. Being so quick to turn on his fellow criminals is indicative of where his loyalty truly lies, something that comes to the fore when his identity as an undercover cop is finally exposed.
Michael Madsen’s Mr. Blonde nods towards his sociopathic tendencies by cracking wise that all he really wants to do is shoot someone, and he ends up deriving great pleasure from cutting some shapes when torturing a police officer. The fact Eddie Bunker’s Mr. Blue barely says a word signals that he’s not going to become a major figure in Reservoir Dogs, which is proven true when he doesn’t even make it to the warehouse.
Exposition is a favoured crutch among filmmakers for explaining who people are and why they’re doing the things that they do, but Tarantino has never been one to play by the rules. Instead, he uses the opening scene of Reservoir Dogs as a way to not only fill in the gaps in the audience’s understanding of the characters, but make several subtle nods in the direction of where they’re going to end up.
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