Movie Info
Movie Name: Jackie Brown
Studio: A Band Apart
Genre(s): Drama/Mystery/Suspense
Release Date(s): December 25, 1997
MPAA Rating: R
That’s right, I’m Jackie Brown dammit!
An illegal arms dealer (Samuel L. Jackson), a flight attendant (Pam Grier), a druggie girl (Bridgette Fonda), an ex-con (Robert De Niro), a bondsman (Robert Forster), and a Federal agent (Michael Keaton) are going for a big score, but who’s going to end up with the money when everything is done?
Directed by Quentin Tarantino and based on Elmore Leonard’s novel Rum Punch, Jackie Brown is a great film. The movie was well received and had multiple award nominations. Samuel L. Jackson and Pam Grier both were nominated for Golden Globes and Forster received a Best Supporting Actor nomination for his portrayal of bondsman Max Cherry.
Jackie, you might be the star, but I steal the show!
Forster stands out among the cast but the whole cast is fantastic. Pam Grier makes a great return to the screen and shows that she might have started out in low-budget blaxploitation flicks, but that she has some acting chops. De Niro plays a nice understated role and works well with Fonda. Michael Keaton and Samuel L. Jackson play Michael Keaton and Samuel L. Jackson…like normal…but they are good at it. Michael Keaton’s character does show up again in Out of Sight (which also adapted an Elmore Leonard novel). With the whole cast working together, the movie takes the smart script and makes it work.
Just two guys…hanging out on a couch
Jackie Brown is possibly my favorite Quentin Tarantino movie (that or Reservoir Dogs). The reason is that it isn’t flashy. It isn’t an attempt to “be cool” like many of Tarantino’s movie. Tarantino simply tells a smart, well directed story without a lot of flash, but still makes it look great. Tarantino seems to be like one of those directors that is always “on” and wants everyone to watch and look at him. With Jackie Brown, it feels like he isn’t trying sooo hard to be liked and revolutionary.
Jackie Brown is often the forgotten Quentin Tarantino movie. It doesn’t have the flash action of Kill Bill Part 1 or the dialogue of Pulp Fiction, but it stands on its own. Check it out if you haven’t seen it and if you have seen it, enjoy it again for a second or third time. It is worth it.
