Reservoir Dogs and Non-Linear Storytelling

Fig 1. Reservoir Dogs (1992) poster

The film at first appears to be framed as a chronicle as we begin in a bar with various
men discussing an upcoming heist and how they will undertake it. A chronicle is a
linear form of storytelling with a straightforward narrative. The film then jumps across
time most likely hours or even days, although most likely the former, after the bank
heist. This film’s use of a more conventional set up of a group of men about to initiate
a bank heist lulls the player into a sense of comfort and certain expectations of what
to come of the film. The use of prolepsis then disorients the audience much like how
the characters after the rather slipshod bank heist and the gang trying to outrun the
authorities and avoid arrest.
Throughout the rest of the film the audience is subjected to a form of zigzagging; they
are sent from one moment in time to another usually between after the heist, which
could constitute as the present, and sometime before it. This also acts as a form of
analepsis as it allows the audience to explore how the characters came to be in their
predicament and their personal lives as well. Analepsis is perhaps more commonly
known as flash backs. The use of zigzagging and analepsis helps strengthen the bond
between the characters within the production and between the audience. The use of
these techniques allows for a more of a contrast between the hectic aftermath of the
heist and the almost calm serenity of the preparations being made. These flashbacks
are also given a title card as if to signify the beginning of a chapter. It is with stylistic
choice that Tarantino treats his films like a book able to flip from chapter to chapter as
if the viewer is flipping using non-linear storytelling. For historical context the only way
one could skip to different scenes in a film would be to get a vhs player.
In conclusion Reservoir Dogs (1992) uses its non-linear story structure and unique
framing to alter the traditional linear nature of a film. Quentin Tarantino treats the story
more of that of a novel where the reader can skip across chapters to a specific point
in the work. The use of zigzagging, analepsis and prolepsis helps establish this sense
of a story book production.

Image Bibliography
Fig 1. Reservoir Dogs (1992) poster [Poster] (1992) At:
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0105236/ Posted on: 23/06/2002 Accessed on:
13/12/2019