Jackie Brown-1997

Director Quentin Tarantino

Starring Pam Grier, Robert Forster

Top 250 Films #124

Scott’s Review #356

Reviewed January 9, 2016

Grade: A

Quentin Tarantino’s Jackie Brown (1997) is a fantastic film and one of the few to have a solely female lead (Kill Bill Volumes I and II are the others) and successfully re-launched the careers of stars Pam Grier and Robert Forster after too many years on the sidelines.

Grier’s earlier films heavily influenced the 1970s blaxploitation genre.

Jackie Brown is one of Tarantino’s more obscure films, but it is brilliant nonetheless and filled with slow, plodding yet tremendous scenes.

Grier plays the title character, Jackie Brown, a flight attendant for a small Mexican airline who smuggles money from Mexico to the United States to supplement her income.

When she is caught and threatened by the Feds to help them catch a much larger fish, she plots to use both sides to her advantage and walk away with the money.

Jackie develops feelings, and a sweet relationship ensues with Max Cherry, a bondsman played by Forster.

Mixed in with the plot are Tarantino staples: Samuel L. Jackson as Ordell Robbie, a crooked drug smuggler; Robert De Niro as Louis, a former cellmate of Ordell’s; and Bridget Fonda as Melanie, a dizzy stoner girl.

As is always the case with Tarantino films, Jackie Brown features a stellar cast just chomping at the bit to deliver the best performances they can, aided by rich, crackling dialogue written for them.

The writing is always fantastic in Tarantino films, and Jackie Brown has plenty of plot twists and turns.

My favorite scene by far is the one involving the transfer of money at the local Mall. Rich with flavor and atmosphere, it is a marvel. Jackie and Max engage in small talk at the food court before the transfer is to take place- Jackie then goes to a fitting room where the “switch” will occur.

Throughout this sequence, the tension is incredibly high, and the film turns into a nail-biter.

Tarantino, not one to focus on a romantic storyline, gives Jackie Brown a unique quality by featuring the respectful and delicious romance between Jackie and Max. This adds layers to the mainly bloody and crime-laden film.

In contrast to this relationship is the volatile relationship between Louis and Melanie, which ends in tragedy.

I love how the film is set in Los Angeles. Sunny, bright, with a stuffy and superficial element to the action, mixing the beach and the hot weather with a crime story, manipulation, and double-crossing works so well.

Giving aging Hollywood stars a deserving comeback, Tarantino weaves a complex, adventurous, and well-paced crime drama featuring veteran actors who deliver the goods.

Jackie Brown (1997) is a treasure in a world of Tarantino’s other treasures and a must-have for all the director’s fans and fanatics.

Oscar Nominations: Best Supporting Actor-Robert Forster