Favorite Filmmakers: Quentin Tarantino- Jackie Brown

Jackie Brown (1997)

Starring: Pam Grier, Samuel L. Jackson, Robert Forster

Directed by: Quentin Tarantino


Plot Summary: Jackie Brown is a flight attendant working for a small Mexican airline. To earn some extra cash, Jackie smuggles money into the United States for a Los Angeles black-market gun runner named Ordell Robbie. During one of her smuggling trips, Jackie is intercepted by ATF agent Ray Nicolette and LAPD detective Mark Dargus. When they discover some cocaine stashed away in Jackie's bag, she is sent to jail on possession of drugs with intent to distribute. Afraid that Jackie may rat him out to the ATF, Ordell arranges her bail with a local bail bondsman named Max Cherry, who develops an attraction to Jackie when he picks her up from jail. When Ordell shows up at Jackie's home to murder her, she cuts a deal with him to smuggle $550,000 of his money into the United States. The only catch is that they plan to stage a sting operation with the ATF to catch Ordell during a transfer of $50,000 money, leaving $500,000 left for Ordell to retire afterwards. What Ordell doesn't know is that Jackie is planning to double cross everybody and keep the $500,000 for herself and giving Max a share for helping her.

It's now time to return Quentin Tarantino to the director's chair and talk about one of his most underrated gems with Jackie Brown. Picture the time frame for Tarantino. The year is 1997. 3 years earlier, you changed the landscape of films forever with Pulp Fiction. All eyes are on you now to see how you follow that success. Jackie Brown is definitely one of the films that helped audiences get acquainted with the Tarantino we know today. The brilliance of Tarantino is that he is a big movie buff at heart getting to make his own movies. So, ever since Pulp Fiction was released, Tarantino has followed his success by making modern films that pay homage to his favorite film genres. With Jackie Brown, Tarantino pays homage to the Blaxploitation movies of the 1970s. In many ways, this film is absolutely captivating to behold, so why is it one of Tarantino's least talked about films? While not the typical movie bloodbath that Tarantino is used to churning out, it still has tons of memorable characters and acting performances that are worth talking about. And while the screenplay may not have the quirky monologues that fans are accustomed to, the narrative still has a familiar sequence that fits Tarantino's style of filmmaking. So let's give credit where credit is due and talk about why more people should talk about Jackie Brown.

Tarantino knew what he was doing in paying homage to the Blaxploitation genre by casting Pam Grier as Jackie Brown. The first act of this movie really painted Jackie as a quiet and independent type. In fact, my wife actually walked out on our first viewing of this movie because of that and we put the film away for a while. When I tried picking it up again, it was shortly after that point that I saw a complete shift in Jackie's character when prompted. She quickly becomes a strong and empowered woman who isn't afraid to take on both the cops and the criminals in order to get what she wants. She's not a woman motivated by fear of being killed or fear of a big, strong man. She's a woman who is fighting for survival, in fear of not being able to make a living for herself. That's admirable. That easily creates a female protagonists audiences can get behind and relate to. Tarantino's known for writing memorable and powerful female characters, and Jackie Brown is arguably one of his best.

One of the film's best performances is Robert Forster as bail bondsman Max Cherry. Forster was the only actor in the film to be nominated for an Academy Award (Best Supporting Actor). In fact, he was the ONLY nomination the film actually received. He really does stand out as one of the most compelling characters. A man who makes a living so close to the law, he forgoes that morality due to an affection he has for Jackie. Forster knows how to make Cherry a very genuinely likable character. Little tidbits like paying attention to Jackie's musical preferences really shows how much he cares for Jackie and it's really easy for the viewer to find his love for her endearing. Another memorable performance comes from Samuel L. Jackson as Ordell Robbie. Not much else needs to be said other than it's Samuel L. Jackson in a Tarantino movie. He does a terrific job like you'd expect and you hang on every word Ordell says. Also, be prepared to laugh at his ridiculous hair. If you thought his Jheri curl in Pulp Fiction was silly, you haven't seen anything yet.

One of the compelling side stories in the film involves two characters very close to Ordell. The first is a friend of his named Louis Gara, played by Robert De Niro. What else needs to be said? It's FREAKING De Niro. Having De Niro act alongside Jackson in multiple scenes is worth the price of admission alone. The character Louis interacts with the most, however, is Melanie Ralston, played by Bridget Fonda. While I said Tarantino can write strong female characters, that doesn't mean he's incapable of putting other types of female characters in his movies. Take Melanie, for example. She's the worst. She's obnoxious. She's addicted to smoking pot and watching TV all day long. She gets excited by Louis's criminal past, but that quickly gets extinguished after a romantic encounter that lacks a certain spark. From there, all she does is bring him a mouth full of sass. You really want her to shut up and so does Louis. Their chemistry together works really well, and the payoff for their bickering is one of the film's greatest moments.

Rounding out the ensemble is Michael Keaton as ATF agent Ray Nicolette. Batman. Check. Beetlejuice. Check. Birdman. Check. And now he's a major role in a Tarantino movie. Michael Keaton...I love you, man. It's just great seeing one of my favorite actors collaborate with my favorite director. Whenever I see that in Tarantino films, it's a match made in heaven. Ray isn't one of the all-time great Tarantino characters, but he's still a solid one to have around. He's your average "good cop" character who wants to bring the bad guy to justice. He's at least likable due to his ability to be patient and understanding with Jackie. And c'mon, it's Michael Keaton. It needs no further explanation. The man was ROBBED at the Oscars this year. Just saying.

At the end of the day, Jackie Brown is not your typical Tarantino movie. It doesn't have some of the tropes fans are familiar with, but it still has a ton of quality. The film's climax is filmed in an out of sequence style that actually shows the vantage points of all the different characters. The characters are so enjoyable that it's fun to try and figure out who's really on whose side. If anything, the film is proof that you don't NEED to be stuck in your own tropes in order to make a good film and I think that's what a lot of people are forgetting when thinking about this film. Jackie Brown, regardless of the lack of blood and monologues, is still a good movie. It's still got great characters. It's still shot and edited brilliantly. It's still an entertaining film brought to the big screen, thanks in large part to Tarantino for assembling the cast, writing the screenplay, and directing it.


Rating: 4 out of 5 stars.

While Jackie Brown may not be like a traditional Tarantino movie with memorable monologues and gratuitous violence, it's still worth checking out. It's a film that focuses on great characters and their relationships with each other, while also delivering a narrative that keeps the audience engaged and focus in order to have all the details figured out. If you're a Tarantino fan, definitely add this underrated gem to your collection.

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Jackie Brown and movie images are copyrighted by Miramax Films