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

Although different than some of Tarantino's more violent precursors, such as "Reservoir Dogs", "Pulp Fiction" and "True Romance" this is an excellent film. Where it lacks in violence however, the film makes up for in language earning it an "R" rating in the US. In certain scenes, I thought it Tarantino went to far with the explicit language and it seemed awkward and artificial, but that does not cast a shadow of over what I thought was an otherwise fantastic film. The editing and directing is excellent. There is good character development of the main characters, yet there is not one scene where the movie drags throughout its entire 150 minutes. I couldn't tear myself away from this movie until the very end.

Especially enjoyable is the performance by Robert Forster whose character I thought was outstanding. Max Cherry, played by Forster, is a tempered bail bondsman who cautiously handles his unscrupulous clients. One day he is approached by Ordell Robbie, played by Samuel L. Jackson, to post a bond for Jackie Brown, a middle aged flight attendant for a low cost airline who gets caught smuggling Ordell's fortune in Mexico into the US. The initial meeting between Jackie and Max sets up a relationship between these two characters on both professional and personal level and that changes Max from a methodical and business man to almost an innocent young boy with a crush. The last scene in the movie between these two characters is absolutely brilliant.

I highly recommend this film and it's fun to watch Tarantino mature as a director. The little extras littered throughout the film such as "Chick with Guns", the fabulous locations such as the Cockatoo Inn, and the excellent characters make this film well worth a view.

Being a huge fan of Tarantinos earlier efforts Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction expectations were of course high. Especially since Jackie Brown is based on the Elmore Leonard novel "Rum Punch". And Elmore Leonards stories usually fit the big screen very well, they are actually one of the rare occasions where i usually prefer the film to the novel.

Tarantino sets a different mood here compared to the more frantic and violent Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction. This is more of a slow crime story that focuses more on being cool than being shocking. I think this movie works very well despite the slow pace which seems to put a lot of people off. Mainly i think it works because the actors are all giving it their best (the casting is also excellent) while Tarantino seems to handle the whole story more gently than in Pulp Fiction. He doesn't stress it, he doesn't run the risk of over-doing the "cool" parts. The end result is enjoyable but a lot more somber than what you're used to from Tarantino.

All in all i feel this movie is underrated. It's enjoyable, well made and stylish. Recommended to those not demanding all movies to head on at breakneck speed. I rate it 7/10.

Many people were disappointed with 'Jackie Brown' when it was first released as it didn't live up to their expectations created by the more flamboyant 'Reservoir Dogs' and 'Pulp Fiction'. I admit that I was one of those disappointed fans. But as the years have gone by I have come to appreciate this movie more and more, and if you deal with what it IS and not what you thought it was going to be, you'll see that it is an underrated gem of a movie. 'Jackie Brown' is much more character driven and leisurely plotted than Tarantino's previous two movies. I haven't read the Elmore Leonard novel on which it was based so I can't tell whether this was a conscious decision by Tarantino himself, or it's because of the source material, but it might be a stumbling block for those with MTV-style attention spans. 1970s crime movie buffs will find it much easier going. The big names in the cast like De Niro, Jackson and Fonda are all very good, but the real standout performances in this movie are by 70s blaxploitation icon Pam Grier ('Coffy', 'Foxy Brown', 'Black Mama White Mama',etc.etc.) and a revelatory one from Robert Forster. Forster back in the day showed plenty of promise in movies like 'Medium Cool' but quickly found himself stuck in b-grade exploitation movies like 'Vigilante' and 'Alligator'. Fun stuff, but hardly Oscar material. Max Cherry is the best role he has ever been given, and he is superb in it. The fascinating thing about 'Jackie Brown' for me is that Tarantino's critics accuse him of making shallow and violent self-consciously hip crime films, but the central story of this movie concerns an inter-racial Middle Aged romance, something I haven't seen done in a believable or realistic fashion by Hollywood before. By doing this so well Tarantino shows he has much more depth, and is a much more interesting and braver film maker than his more acclaimed contemporaries. 'Jackie Brown' is a fine movie that hopefully one day will get the kudos it deserves. Don't overlook this one just because it isn't 'Pulp Fiction The Next Generation'!

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