Mr.Blonde – Reservoir Dogs
The first we see of Mr. Blonde is when he walks into the warehouse where Mr Pink and Mr. White are hiding, after a diamond heist has gone awry due to one of the team being a police informant. We know nothing about Blonde, but gradually his back-story is built up. Much of what we learn is told by flashbacks, but in some scenes the way Blonde moves speaks volumes about his character and what he wants to do in a situation. He lives in the moment, caring only for his own interests and pouring layers of scorn on what he sees as weak empathetic tendencies of other characters with whom he interacts. This isn’t how anybody should act at all. In fact, it’s the exact opposite of how you or I, or any well adjusted person would act in the real world. But that’s what sets Blonde apart. The other characters in Reservoir Dogs are perfectly human people, with doubts and worries. Blonde has an air of inhumanity, a complete lack of awareness or vulnerability-but not so much that it’s too far-fetched to be realistic.
You may ask, why do you love this character so much? He’s evil, psychotic, a sadist! He’s the villain of the piece! That’s precisely why I love him. Madsen’s performance is excellent and conveys Blonde exactly the way he should be interpreted: calm, cool and collected until problems or frustrations crop up, at which point he becomes extremely dangerous. He doesn’t deny being psychopathic or bloodthirsty, he seems to revel in it, living in the role his colleagues set him to the point where he is ready to immolate a hostage because the hostage isn’t doing as he wants. The scenes where it’s only Blonde and a cop in the room are electric to watch, because you never know Blonde’s next move.
Words by Gabriel Rutherford