Who is the rat in Quentin Tarantino movie ‘Reservoir Dogs’?
Quentin Tarantino’s debut feature, Reservoir Dogs, set the neo-noir genre alight in the early 1990s. The movie, featuring a jewellery heist, a bloody torture scene and a Mexican stand-off to boot, inspired budding filmmakers including Brian Singer, Paul Thomas Anderson and even Christopher Nolan to try their hand at the genre.
But Reservoir Dogs is a crime film with a twist. Somewhat comparably to Danny Boyle’s first feature, Shallow Grave, which followed two years later, the action focuses not on the crime itself but on its disastrous aftermath, during which everything falls apart for its perpetrators.
The crux of the movie is that the crime committed, a diamond heist, goes wrong because one of the groups involved is a rat for the police. As a result, the LAPD kills two of its conspirators off-screen (Mr Brown and later Mr Blue). The rest of the crew descend into mutual suspicion and recriminations.
The obvious suspect for committing treachery initially appears to be loose cannon Mr Blonde, who commits “the most insane fucking thing” Mr White has “ever seen”. After gunning down several civilians during the heist, Mr Blonde brings a police hostage to the group and tortures him, cutting his ear off to the sound of Steelers Wheel’s ‘Stuck in the Middle with You’.
Another potential snitch could be Mr Pink, who sticks out from the rest of the group from the very beginning of the film when he refuses to put in his share of a diner tip. He’s also the character who first suggests the robbery was actually a police set-up, raising our suspicions as an audience. To top it off, he runs away with the loot at the end of the movie, leaving dead and dying co-conspirators in his wake. Actor Steve Buscemi, who plays Mr Pink, likes to think he escaped the police.
That’s not because Mr Pink is an informer, however. He’s just a self-serving opportunist, as his attitude to tipping – and getting help when Mr Orange is in dire need of medical treatment – demonstrate. And Mr Blonde might be off the chain, but he’s vouched for by Joe, the leader of the group, something that Mr White profoundly disagrees with.
So who is the rat?
In fact, the rat is perhaps the one you’d least suspect, the quiet one and the diner and the one who is badly wounded in the heist. It’s Mr Orange.
That Mr Orange, played by Tim Roth, is the culprit is revealed to us once he shoots Mr Blonde and reveals to the tortured policeman being held hostage: “I’m a cop”. The two are alone when this is revealed, creating a sense of anticipation and dramatic irony when the others in the group return.
As the Mexican standoff between Joe and his son, Mr White and Mr Orange, ensues, the fact that we, the audience, are already aware of the truth they’re seeking only adds to the tension. In the film’s final moments, an almost farcical tragedy unfolds, and Mr Orange again reveals, “I’m a cop,” to the dying Mr White.
The rest of the group is either dead or (in Mr Pink’s case) escaped. So only Mr White, who vouched for and saved Mr Orange in the standoff, is fully aware of his treachery.
Never Miss A Take
The Far Out Quentin Tarantino Newsletter
All the latest Quentin Tarantino content from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.