Jackie Brown

Coming as it did after critical darlings "Reservoir Dogs" and "Pulp Fiction", it's perhaps not surprising that Quentin Tarantino's next film failed to - at the time - scale those giddy heights. Yet on reflection these days, when viewing Tarantino's career over twenty years later, it's one of his tightest works.

Working from master pulper Elmore Leonard's novel "Rum Punch", Tarantino had a concrete base from which to build on, which he does with aplomb. Cleaving close to the spirit of Leonard, "Jackie Brown" is rich with glorious chatter, each conversation either pings with a biting hard ass edge, or alternatively deconstructing the vagaries of the human condition.

Oh for sure this is a talky pic, but nothing is ever twee or pointless, for it's a film that pays rich rewards to those prepared to fully grasp the characters on show, to be aware that all is building towards the final third. It's then here where the story brings about its stings, with a complex operation cloaked in double crosses and evasive captures, of violence and more...

There's a wonderful portion of the story that sees Tarantino play the same sequence out from different character perspectives, but this is not self indulgency. Tarantino reins himself in, not letting stylisations detract from the characters we are so heavily involved with. His other triumph is bringing Pam Grier and Robert Forster to the fore, who both deliver terrific performances. It's through these pair, with their deft characterisations, where Jackie Brown is most poignant and purposeful.

Is it a case of "Jackie Brown" being undervalued in Tarantino's armoury? Perhaps it is? For it's ageless, holding up as a piece of intelligent work of note, and well worth revisiting by anyone who hasn't seen it since it was first released. 9/10

Where does a director go after making two colossal worldwide hits?

"Reservoir Dogs" (1992) and "Pulp Fiction" (1994) were two of the greatest movies ever made, and they launched director Quentin Tarantino into the realm of Mainstream Hollywood Director. Most of the time, a director faced with this reality will sink into a slew of really bad movies, but so far Tarantino has been either extremely lucky or extremely talented - his third feature film, although lacking in the brutality of its predecessors, contains just as much wit. Based upon the Elmore Leonard novel "Rum Punch," it's packed with the clever dialogue that Leonard is known for in his writing. It's also got a good amount of style, too. It's not a typical Tarantino movie, but is that necessarily a bad thing? In this particular instance, no.

Jackie Brown (Pam Grier) is a flight stewardess forced into running jobs for Ordell (Samuel L. Jackson), a ruthless criminal who has no respect for life - or death, for that matter. However, during one of her smuggling efforts, a couple of FBI Agents (including Michael Keaton) nab her and offer her a deal: If she helps them get Ordell, she will be let free from custody. The Feds do not know who Ordell is, but they know he exists, and that is where Jackie comes in. She reluctantly agrees to participate in their sting operation, but all is not what it seems. And when $500,000 dollars disappears from his retirement fund, Ordell stops, thinks, and arrives upon the conclusion that we all anticipate with glee: Jackie Brown did it.

His partner in crime, Louis (the wonderful Robert De Niro), also decides to double-cross Ordell, with the help of a sexy blonde ditz named Melanie (Bridget Fonda), The movie's twisting plot line and intersecting story lines is very reminiscent of "Pulp Fiction," and De Niro's underrated performance is a real stand-out. The movie's quite well made and enjoyable.

Don't misinterpret what I'm saying. This is no "Reservoir Dogs," nor does it want to be. It's not in the same vein as Tarantino's other movies, at least not at a superficial level. However, it is extremely entertaining, helped along by a great cast and a terrific script. The only difference here is that Tarantino did not come up with everything by himself. He adapted the screenplay from another source, something he usually doesn't do. But there's also a little-known fact that Roger Avary co-wrote some of "Dogs" and "Fiction" with Tarantino, as well as sparked the idea for some of his films. Here, Quentin adapts Leonard's novel and does justice. People who say it isn't as good as his other movies because it's recycled obviously don't know what they're talking about.

Tarantino started out as a video store clerk, and is the movie buff's filmmaker. Not only does Tarantino share a deep passion for films, but he also knows what most of the real movie enthusiasts want. He has yet to disappoint me with any of his directorial efforts. His own life story would make an interesting movie, and indeed it did with "True Romance," partially based on Tarantino's own self-image of himself. (A geek working at a comic book store falls in love and goes off of an adventure into a new realm -- in Tarantino's own case, it was film-making. For Clarence, from "True Romance," it was drugs and murder.)

Tarantino has a flair for raw energy in all of his films, and "Jackie Brown" is no exception. The movie is bursting at its edges, packed with wild antics and the occasional fierce brutality. The movie was criticized by Tarantino's die-hard fans for being too different from his other films. However, the mistake of many directors is to repeat the same formulas over and over again. One must at least give Tarantino credit for trying new things in each of his films. If anything, the only thing that Tarantino likes to insert into all his films is a large source of energy. And is that a bad thing?

4.5/5 stars.

Quentin Tarantino takes on Elmore Leonard? At first look not such a good idea but coming to "Jackie Brown" several years after its more or less lukewarm initial reception (released after so-called masterpiece "Reservoir Dogs" and the inventive and infectious "Pulp Fiction", "Jackie Brown" was seen as something of a disappointment) and being able to assess it without putting in context of Tarantino's filmography, "Jackie Brown" is surprising.

It is, without question, Tarantino's most mature and complete work to date as a director. Mature in the sense that Tarantino here is not preoccupied with 'homages', references, style (not too much, at least), or indulging himself in his fantasies. Tarantino, for once, is primarily a storyteller, and the approach works stunningly well. "Jackie Brown" is a fantastically entertaining crime thriller that not only does justice to Leonard's source material, but in some senses improves on it (admittedly, the novel this is based on is hardly his best work). The cast is a dream for this sort of movie, and contains what is as of 2008 Robert De Niro's last truly memorable performance, the music fits perfectly, the atmosphere created is the sort you can lose yourself in for the running time of the film (which feels significantly shorter than it is), and the screenplay, with its witty exchanges, striking characters, and plentiful plot twists, keeps the viewer more than entertained. This is a truly engaging film.

Tarantino movies do it for me. I don't think he's one of the greatest directors of all time or anything, but he is a talented director with the capacity to make tremendously entertaining films. While many would prefer him to do films like "Kill Bill" I think "Jackie Brown" is a far better representation of his talent. He's certainly not completely out of his element here, there's plenty of 70's retro cool in this film, but thankfully it is contained and kept from going overboard.

Expect another "Pulp Fiction" and disappointment is an understandable reaction, but if you go into this with an open mind and expect nothing in particular you might just find that "Jackie Brown" is not only Tarantino's best but one of the most entertaining films of the 90's.

9.5/10

Jackie Brown is considered by many (myself included) to be one of Quentin Tarantino's best films and also one of his most under-appreciated. There's love for it but it isn't met with the same reverence as Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction, or the same enthusiasm as his genre homages that followed. But it should be more widely praised as it's an exceptional movie. The direction is wonderful, the soundtrack is fun, and the script is full of memorable dialogue, as you would expect from Tarantino. The cast is terrific, led by '70s legend Pam Grier in her "comeback" role and Robert Forster in an understated performance that deservedly earned him an Oscar nomination. Every scene with Grier and Forster, separately or together, is a treat. As fun as Sam Jackson is, these two are what hold the film together and make it so enjoyable to watch over and over. For his part, Jackson does what you expect him to do. He's foul-mouthed and funny but still very menacing when he needs to be. Robert DeNiro and Bridget Fonda both offer amusing support. Chris Tucker has a brief but funny appearance. The movie has a lot of humor. That's one of the main things that makes it so enjoyable to watch over and over. It's a great film that probably holds more appeal to non-Tarantino fans than most of his movies do.

The middle age stewardess Jackie Brown (Pam Grier) smuggles money from Mexico to Los Angeles for the arms dealer Ordell Robbie (Samuel L. Jackson). When she gets caught by the agents Ray Nicolette (Michael Keaton) and Mark Dargus (Michael Bowen) with ten thousand dollars and cocaine in her purse, they propose a deal to her to help them to arrest Ordell in exchange of her freedom. Meanwhile Ordell asks the fifty-six year-old Max Cherry (Robert Forster), who runs a bail bond business, to release Jackie Brown with the intention of eliminating her. Jackie suspects of Ordell's intention and plots a complicate confidence game with Max to steal half a million dollar from Ordell.

"Jackie Brown" is another great movie by Quentin Tarantino. The story of a sophisticated swindle shows the return of Pam Grier to a lead role and Robert Forster in an important role. The scene in the department store is original, with different perspectives of the same event. However there is a hole since it seems that there is no investigation with the seller but the marked bills. Otherwise she would tell that Jackie Brown had found a bad with towels in the fitting room. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Jackie Brown"