One of my favorite movies of all time is Reservoir Dogs. In a nutshell, a diamond heist gone wrong brings out the best of each character. Without ever showing scenes any of the actual heist and primarily taking place in a warehouse, the movie tells a captivating story revolving around the group of men who find each other stuck between a rock and a hard place. Using the power of compelling storytelling, Quentin Tarantino utilizes dialogue to drive this plot forward.

Quentin Tarantino, known for the violent nature of his films, doesn’t seem to bring that out in Reservoir Dogs. Instead, you get engaging dialogue, which becomes yet another attribute for Tarantino. You can hear the emotion in Mr. Orange’s voice when he agonizes for help as he is about to bleed to death, or the clear frustration in Mr. Pink because he knows the gang has been infiltrated. What is used in virtually every film nowadays became a power tool for Tarantino. The opening scene of the movie features the men eating breakfast and discussing music. What is seemingly incredibly simple, the conversation sucks in the audience and entangles watchers in the jokes and innocence. But why is dialogue such an important part in a robbery film that doesn’t even show the robbery? It is the bread and butter to not only this film but to every other Tarantino film he has wrote and directed. Forget the actual story for about a second and you will fall in love with the flow of literally any form of words in the movie.

It’s truly hard to imagine this film without the music. Although it is a small role, the song choice completes the feeling behind the overall mood of the movie. You got to love how Tarantino uses the fictional radio show “K-Billy’s Super Sounds of the Seventies” throughout the show to provoke nostalgia to an older audience and provide well-known songs. It is evident that Tarantino’s taste of music can be appreciated by anyone. The funky mix between the thrill of the film and the catchy tunes do mix together well. The byproduct is a special breed that can only be recreated by Tarantino himself.

Today, Reservoir Dogs still holds up well. Although this was his first try at independent filmmaking, everything about the film fits together like a puzzle. The way the story is told deviates from the usual linear, one-dimensional storyline other filmmakers create. Tarantino writes in a free style, going forward in the plot, while bouncing back to show the audience a more meaningful story in character development or background.

<Nathan Pak Aliso Niguel High School senior>