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Quentin Tarantino made his auspicious writing/directing debut with this claustrophobic drama about a group of armed robbers who rendezvous in an abandoned warehouse after their heist is botched, resulting in deaths and injuries. Harvey Keitel plays ‘Mr. White,’ who’s busy trying to keep ‘Mr. Orange’ (Tim Roth) from bleeding out by the time ‘Mr. Pink’ (Steve Buscemi) arrives and declares one in their midst must be a police informant. They’re soon joined by the sadistic ‘Mr. Blonde’ (Michael Madsen), who unloads a hostage policeman that he proceeds to torture for information. Tarantino deepens the characters and their relationships by integrating selected flashback scenes, building to the moment when their boss (Lawrence Tierney) and his son (Chris Penn) are supposed to arrive with further instructions. But can these desperate men survive the intervening chaos and confusion?
‘Tough guy’ and gangster movies are rarely my thing, but Tarantino brings all these men to such vivid life, that they transcend stereotype. The film is confined mostly to just one location and unfolds like a stage play, but what Tarantino is able to pull off in terms of suspense and character drama is remarkable. The relationship between Keitel’s and Roth’s characters is touching, and Madsen is a scene stealer as the truly wicked one of the bunch. Lawrence Tierney is indelible, too, effortlessly putting the rest of the ensemble in their place when needed. He’s like twenty classic gangster movies blended together and poured into human form. The film also benefits from Sally Menke’s tight editing and cinematic use of classic songs like “Stuck in the Middle with You”, which plays over the film’s most controversial and talked-about ‘ear slicing’ scene.
With Kirk Baltz, Eddie Bunker, and Quentin Tarantino as ‘Mr. Brown’.