My friend and I were wandering the video store last December, looking for some pre-Christmas entertainment. She said to me, “Hey, how about Jackie Brown? I think its like Rat Race with...more violence.” I knew a little bit about the movie. I knew it starred Pam Grier, Samuel L. Jackson, and Michael Keaton, I knew it was directed by Quentin Tarantino and it was his follow-up to Pulp Fiction. I agreed to the selection, as it seemed like it would be an entertaining diversion. What I wasn’t expecting was a modern masterpiece, but that is exactly what I got. Suffice it to say, the Jackie Brown Special Edition DVD is now a proud fixture of my DVD library.
So who is Jackie Brown? Played by blaxploitation star Pam Grier, Jackie Brown is an embittered yet kind-hearted flight attendant. To earn extra cash, Jackie is working for a gun runner named Ordell Robbie (played by Tarantino regular, Samuel L. Jackson). But unfortunately for Jackie, two ATF agents are after Ordell and uncover Jackie as an accomplice. Thus they proposition Jackie with an offer: help the government put an end to Ordell’s illegal weapon sales, and they will give her immunity. But what good is immunity if your dead? And dead is what you will be if Ordell suspects you of talking to the police. So Jackie comes up with a plan, filled with double crosses and triple crosses. And before you can say “Tarantino,” Jackie, Ordell, the feds, a bail bonds man, an ex-con, and a beach bunny are all chasing 500k in illegal weapons money.
For the majority of people, Quentin Tarantino is associated with three things: his humorous and often irreverent dialogue, copious amounts of violence, and Pulp Fiction (which just happens to embody both of these elements). Jackie Brown has the humorous and irreverent dialogue, but its low on the violence, and very different from Pulp Fiction in many other ways. Jackie Brown may seem like a much more low-key film, especially when compared to the other films by Tarantino, in that the script takes time to develop the characters and slowly let the suspense build. Because of this, many have said that Tarantino broke his own rules with Jackie Brown, making the film the worst of his bunch. I disagree, Jackie Brown is indeed different from his previous pictures, but this isn’t a bad thing! Watching this movie is like watching a film-maker mature and branch-out before your very eyes!
It is true that Jackie Brown is a more conventional movie than Pulp Fiction, but to be fair, what could possibly beat Pulp in terms of innovation? Pulp Fiction broke all the rules of cinema and created a distinct sub-genre of fast-paced dialogue and scrambled scenes which has sense been dubbed “Tarantino-esque.” But Quentin Tarantino didn’t set out to make Pulp Fiction 2, Jackie Brown is its own movie; and this fact is what may have resulted in some less than fantastic reviews. This isn’t to say that this movie isn’t distinctly Tarantino, as what other director could create a movie about characters and relationships centered around an illegal weapons ring?
In one way or another, all of Tarantino’s films could qualify as ensemble pieces, and Jackie Brown is no different. Pam Grier is the centerpiece of the cast, but Samuel L. Jackson, Robert Forster, Robert De Niro, Michael Keaton, and Bridget Fonda round out a group of actors which define “star-studded.” With names like these, one would expect Jackie Brown to be fantastically acted, and they would be absolutely right. I have never seen any other features starring Pam Grier or Robert Forster, as both are commonly classified as relics from the past and most of their filmography‘s contain B-list cinema. Yet these two “old-shoes” prove that you don’t have to be 20-something and on the cover of Vogue or Entertainment Weekly to deliver great performances.
As I have stated before, I have great admiration for Tarantino because he doesn’t merely churn out a so-so movie every other year; he takes his time in crafting his movies and each feature is special. Of his four movies thus far (Reservoir Dogs, Pulp Fiction, Jackie Brown, and Kill Bill), I believe that Jackie Brown is his overriding masterpiece. Of course I realize this immediately places me in a very small minority, but even though the rest are great, Jackie Brown is special because only in this feature can Quentin Tarantino step back from his work and let the movie speak for itself; all the bells and whistles of Pulp Fiction are gone, and Tarantino proves with Jackie Brown that he can create a masterpiece without having to break (almost) all the rules.
Grade: A
DVD Extras Grade: Excellent
© 2004 Jacob Sproul
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