Jackie Brown Reviews

Adaptation works wonders for Quentin Tarantino. Sure, he can’t help himself when it comes to populating his film with a sprawling running time and (so much) jive talking, but Jackie Brown remains his most mature, accomplished, and satisfactory work. There’s shocking bits of violence here, but much of it actually (gasp!) in service of a story and not just to foster his juvenile instincts or heavy-handed referential nature.

 

Elmore Leonard’s Rum Punch provides a solid framework, one that forces Tarantino does diverge from not only in changing Jackie’s race from white to black but in other narrative details, but it’s also a model of great adaptation work. Leonard’s economical style and Tarantino’s maximalist don’t sound like a match made in cinematic heaven, yet there’s something incredibly juicy and vibrant about their divergent styles meeting in the middle here.

 

Maybe it’s the way that Leonard’s style forces Tarantino to “grow up” cinematically, but there’s honest to god human emotion and recognizable characters here. Led by a stellar Pam Grier in a performance that demanded serious awards attention and a revitalization of her career that strangely didn’t come, Jackie Brown garnishes its entangled double-crosses and crime elements with a center that’s the sweetest, most humane love story in all of Tarantino’s body of work.

 

Unrequited and suppressed emotions run throughout Tarantino’s films, but they usually end in a big bang of violence and artful blood splatter. Think of the Bride’s near phoenix-like origins in the Kill Bill films, of the entirety of Reservoir Dogs turning in on each other, or The Hateful Eight’s long simmering grudges erupting in prolonged scenes of carnage. Jackie Brown is the most complex examination of that emotional state, and it’s most mature.

 

We meet Jackie as a struggling airline stewards for the low rent Cabo Air, and we quickly learn that she doubles as a drug runner for Ordell (Samuel L. Jackson, going near Brechtian but still a joy to watch) once she’s caught by the ATF and its primary detective on the case (Michael Keaton). Her bail bondsman, Max (Robert Forster), is immediately smitten, and their connection is the core of the movie. Everything else, including Ordell’s beach bimbo girlfriend (Bridget Fonda) and thug best friend (Robert De Niro, wincing and grimacing more than acting), is part of a tangled weave to keep shoving these two back together. They are the center that holds it all together.

 

On paper, their affection and blossoming feelings for each other shouldn’t make much sense. Jackie is the world-weary and desperate version of any of Grier’s iconic blaxploitation heroines, while Max is the ultra-buttoned up good cop. Yet there’s visible sparks from the moment they meet, and between the actor’s clear chemistry and joy in playing off each other to the fun of just watching them sit back and talk, their connection becomes our active rooting interest.

 

Tarantino’s always had a strong eye for casting, but he out does himself with the performances he gets from Grier and Forster. Grier is a mesmerizing presence. She’s beautiful, she’s intelligent, she’s resourceful, and she’s got one mean poker-face. Grier’s performance is master class of small bodily movements telegraphing everything for the camera. She never goes “big” because she never has to, and her transition from honest and open communication with Max to staring down danger with an impassive face is demonstrated with a mere eyebrow raising. It’s the kind of performance that would reignite a male actor’s stock and have bigger, better opportunities, I mean, look at what happened with John Travolta before he shot himself in the foot.

 

Just as good is Forster as Max, for which he received the film’s lone Oscar nomination. He deserved the damn thing as he’s the quiet, emotional heart to Jackie’s quick-thinking brain. He’s just as prone to underplaying his scenes as Grier, and his crinkled smile and hint of heartache in their final back-and-forth is a knockout of minute details and specific choices making a moment come alive on camera. It helps that Forster is something of an anonymous character actor, you know you’ve seen him when he pops up but his name frequently escapes you, because a bigger star in this part would’ve titled things out of balance. Forster’s schoolboy crush and conservative demeanor are deeply touching in his elliptical goodbye to Jackie.

 

It’s this kernel of romantic possibilities in the face of middle age that makes Jackie Brown so rewarding. It’s a great hangout movie, even if some of the diversions with Fonda and De Niro prove more distracting than humorous and glaring examples of the director’s fetish for women’s feet. Jackie Brown is also a towering achievement to the cinematic brickhouse that is Pam Grier, and she works hard for the money and adoration.

I already saw this movie a couple of times, in fact, I even saw it in the movie theater when it was released, but since it was a while back, I thought I might as well check it out again. Anyway, in my opinion, while the more recent work from Tarantino tends to be rather overrated in my opinion, it is definitely the most underrated movie directed by Tarantino (‘The Hateful Eight’ might be even more underrated though). Obviously, after the massive success of 'Reservoir Dogs' and 'Pulp Fiction', the expectations were sky high and it was honestly asking a little bit too much to expect from Tarantino to deliver something that was that good or even better. So, I have to admit that it was a slight step down from his previous movies but just a little one, at least, that's my opinion. Indeed, I personally really enjoyed the damned thing. First of all, there was a great cast involved and this movie was also including one of the last great performances by Robert de Niro, the story was really entertaining and I just had a really good time watching this. Furthermore, it was the first movie made by Tarantino with a female main character and I thought he really nailed it as Jackie Brown was just really badass. In my opinion, Jackie Brown felt really genuine, you had the feeling that she was actually coming from our world, with some sh*t to deal with just like the rest of us and I really cared about her, which is something I can't really say about The Bride. Anyway, I think it is actually a very entertaining flick and it definitely doesn't get enough credit.

Been meaning to watch this for a while since I find all work by Quentin Tarantino amazing, however this film seemed a bit lacking of the usual spark in his films, not sure what it is. Maybe its that there wasn't enough killing :D. Great soundtrack though, Across 110street seems to match Jackie so well, the airport scene seems sort of iconic in a way.

Underrated but this is the best directed Tarantino film to date. Pam Grier and Robert Forster have incredible chemistry and it's an odd mix but the film is a feel good crime drama. Terrific supporting cast, a film that gets better and better with each viewing. Awesome soundtrack and nice cinematography. The perfect collection of Tarantino touches.

Tarantino anche quando si smentisce non si smentisce.
Un inno alla blaxpoitation che suona strano messo vicino alla trilogia pulp ma che funziona bene.
Sottovalutato sopratutto dai media quando ripercorrono la carriera del regista, ma non dai suoi fedeli che ne comprendono l'origine.
Il film arriva dai grandi e terribili anni 70 del cinema a basso costo. Violenza, donne, soldi, droga e in questo caso ( a ripesare i vari Foxy Brown, Coffy, e tutti risero, etcetc) ripesca tutta la cinematografia afroamericana.
Blaxpoitation morta e sepolta dal fine anni 70, che Tarantino è capace di rivalutare ( Attori compresi Sid Haig, Pam Grier) e farla conoscere a noi comuni mortali.
Tarantino non finirà mai di stupirci e insegnarci qualcosa.

When I saw this film for the first time on DVD about 2 years ago, I absolutely loved it! After a rewatch, I still really enjoyed it but not quite as much as I did before. Jackie Brown is a more complex, tense but not cooler film than Pulp Fiction. There are a lot of people who say that Quentin Tarantino's career went downfall after this film. However, I don't necessarily think that's true. Jackie Brown didn't become as much of a success regarding money as Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction.


Pam Grier was amazing as Jackie Brown! I was unsure whether I'd like Jackie Brown's character in this film for some reason but I really got into it. Pam made Jackie seem irresistible for a mid 40-year-old and also seems like a bit of a bitch who takes advantage of the men around her so she can have all the money to herself. Samuel L. Jackson is starting to be a great actor in Quentin Tarantino films. He was obviously phenomenal in Pulp Fiction but his performance in this film wasn't that far off from being as good as Jules. I love seeing Jackson play characters who swear a lot and have that cold personality because he makes me laugh. Marc Forster was awesome in this film too as Max Cherry. He was nominated for an Academy Award in this film for Best Supporting Actor. Bridget Fonda was awesome in this film too. She was a real slut because of her pure beauty which is what I liked the most about the character. Robert De Niro was awesome too as Louis but I don't think Robert De Niro exactly matches in a Quentin Tarantino film.


Quentin Tarantino's work is very similar yet very different in comparison to Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs because some of the characters are slightly similar but the plot is totally different even though it is the same genre. One main thing that I have learned about Quentin Tarantino and that is that you know a film by Tarantino when you see one. I think Tarantino thought that this film was a failure because of it not earning as much money as his first two films did which lead to the large success that were Kill Bill: Volumes 1+2.


Overall, Jackie Brown is another very enjoyable Quentin Tarantino film that is cool in its own way like the other Tarantino films are.