Jackie Brown (1997)
…………………………………………………
Jackie Brown Movie Review
Jackie Brown is a 1997 crime film directed by Quentin Tarantino and starring Pam Grier, Robert Forster and Samuel L. Jackson. It’s a hugely underrated movie.
………………………………………………….
“My ass may be dumb, but I ain’t no dumbass“
…………………………………………………..
…………………………………………………..
When flight attendant Jackie Brown is busted smuggling money for her arms dealer boss, Ordell Robbie, agent Ray Nicolette and detective Mark Dargus want her help to bring down Robbie. Facing jail time for her silence or death for her cooperation, Brown decides instead to double-cross both parties and make off with the smuggled money. Meanwhile, she enlists the help of bondsman Max Cherry, a man who becomes infatuated with her.
This story is so good, even for a non-fan of this genre such as myself. I loved it a lot. Yes, the film has an overlong runtime, needlessly so. But, it is so incredibly engaging, and even frankly a lot of fun that eventually I wasn’t bothered too much by its runtime.
Like all Tarantino films, this one also features brisk pace, superb, playful dialogue and a lot of twists and turns, especially kills as many characters do not make it until the end, and they all die very memorable deaths actually.
However, the true highlight is its heart. Yes, Tarantino almost never makes emotional movies, but this one is a glorious exception to that role as it’s an absolutely moving look at aging. It’s very melancholic in tone, and it explores betrayal, greed and especially lost dreams and, as I’ve said, aging. The last one is the most memorable, owing to many beautiful moments between the two main characters.
…………………………………………………..
…………………………………………………..
Yes, I adored Jackie and Max. She’s such a cool, but still caring person. It’s rare for the director to feature such badass female characters and this one was a refreshing change in pace in this otherwise male-dominated genre. She’s suave, cool and very manipulative while again being complex internally.
Max himself is such a great soul. He’s difficult not to love as this very endearing, heartwarming and calm older man. The relationship that develops between the two is the heart of the film, and I loved every second of it. It’s ridiculous to me how Pam Grier and Robert Forster did not have bigger careers as they are both absolutely magnificent, entirely believable and honestly revelatory in their performances.
They steal the show actually from other very strong players. Samuel L. Jackson is typecast, but he does his shtick reliably well as he’s so funny at times. But he still remains confident and capable as well which I appreciated. Michael Keaton is entirely forgettable unfortunately, but Bridget Fonda is memorable as this ditzy, bratty girl and Robert De Niro is also terrific in his surprisingly comedic role. The scenes with Jackson and De Niro featured a lot of funny banter for sure.
…………………………………………………..
…………………………………………………..
Jackie Brown surely has a lot of characters and it doesn’t develop all of them properly, but at least the main two are amazing. I loved its humor as it made me laugh a couple of times. The dialogue is as great as always for Tarantino and his direction is superb. The pacing could have been better, but the score and cinematography are great, and the film’s entertainment/coolness factor is huge. The nod for Forster was very much deserved, but the movie needed more Oscar nominations and it needs more love overall.
Due to reliably terrific dialogue and direction from Tarantino, superb humor, many great plot turns and such a beautiful ending, Jackie Brown surely is a terrific film. Yes, it’s overlong and weakly paced, but it’s so incredibly engaging and quite frankly a lot of fun throughout. Unlike the director’s other films, this one has a huge heart, and the theme of aging is particularly well explored in a couple of moving scenes. It’s thus a hugely underrated film that ranks among Tarantino’s best efforts. It also showcases two simply marvelous, also very underappreciated performances from Pam Grier and Robert Forster in two wonderful roles.
