May 26, 2003
Jackie Brown
Jackie Brown is wunderkind director Quentin
Tarantino's third effort, and the movie that proved he wasn't just
a lucky two-timer. A solid followup to his smash hit Pulp
Fiction, Jackie Brown follows the exploits of a stewardess
who is trying to con both the FBI and a ruthless gun smuggler in an
attempt to stay alive, stay out of jail, and get away rich. A bright,
intelligent, sassy movie, it has all the hallmarks of a Tarantino
movie, yet is much more accessible than the ultra-violent and too cool
for school Pulp Fiction.
Pam Grier, a blaxploitation movie veteran, has a brilliant turn as Jackie Brown, a down on her luck 45ish stewardess for a rundown airline, who is just trying to get by, when she gets pulled over by the FBI on her way out of the airport. There ATF Agent Ray Nicolette, played with twitchy seriousness by Michael Keaton and his partner discover (obviously tipped off) a package of cash destined for a gun smuggler by the name of Ordell Robbie. Robbie, played with typical panache and intensity by Tarantino favorite Samuel L. Jackson, is a vindictive crook who thinks nothing of popping anyone who gets in his way.
While in lockup, the Feds try to get Jackie Brown to turn Ordell in, or at least set him up. Jackie is caught between a rock and a hard place, knowing that Ordell murdered his last employee who was nabbed by the police. She resists their efforts, but knows that she has to do something.
Things get even more complicated when her bailbondsman silently falls in love with her. Max Cherry (Robert Forster in an excellent effort) sees her coming out of the jail and Tarantino lets us know he is on a Natural High (music by Bloodstone) at first sight. So he decides to help her out, at first unknowingly when she steals his gun, and then he gets totally enmeshed in her plot to break free.
Robert De Niro has a part to play in this, as Ordell's old friend, fresh from jail. He's going to help Ordell pull off one last smuggle, getting the rest of his $500,000 into the country from Mexico. It's a strange turn for De Niro, as he plays an addled brained ex-con who is just floating through things.
Jackie Brown has a lot of cool Tarantino touches. I am by no means a Tarantino groupie, having only seen Pulp Fiction once (horrors!), and never Reservoir Dogs, but I like his style. Sometimes it can get in the way of the movie, like I felt it sometimes did in Pulp Fiction, but he has a genuine love for the subject in Jackie Brown and it really shows. In many ways, it is a subtle and sometimes not so subtle salute to the blaxploitation films of the 70s, with a soundtrack rife with 70s soul music. Jackie Brown herself is still stuck with old fashioned vinyl, getting Max Cherry turned on to the whole era with songs like Didn't I Blow Your Mind This Time by The Delfonics. Must be nice to have a big song budget!
Other cool things are the stuff he does with the camera. Sometimes it can get dizzying, but other times the shots make you go "Wow!". Like the time the camera was at one end of the couch, looking back on Ordell. As Ordell walked along the front of the couch, the camera gradually rolled along the back of it, really giving you a feel of being Right There.
Another part that deserves special mention is the sound, and I don't just mean the soundtrack. All the ambient sounds seem to just fit perfectly, from the clink of glasses to the background murmur in a bar. Crisp and sharp, but yet they never overpower the main action. Gun shots sound real (and there are plenty of shocking ones), but even the rustle of clothing and the crinkling of bags seems to be perfect. I really enjoyed listening to the sounds of this movie. I'm glad I took the extra effort of changing the default sound from Dolby Digital to DTS, as I've heard that DTS is a fuller experience. This would be a good test movie, to try it again in DD and listen for the difference.
It is also a really good transfer. He tends to play some games with lighting too, but the DVD really pulls it off. Extras on the DVD include a couple of featurettes, a music video and alternate scenes. But as Netflix makes you rent two movies for a two disc set, I haven't had a chance to check them out.
So I highly recommend you see Jackie Brown, especially if you have a warm spot for 70s soul music. But even if you don't, you'll get an excellent crime caper flick, with a perfect, real life ending. Pam Grier is a knockout in the title role, and I'm sure you'll agree.
Buy Jackie Brown from Barnes & Noble
Buy Jackie Brown (Special Edition) from
DVD Planet
Pam Grier, Samuel
L. Jackson, Robert Forster, Bridget Fonda, Michael Keaton, Robert
DeNiro, Chris Tucker, Tom "Tiny" Lister Jr., Denise Crosby, Michael
Bowen
A female flight attendant becomes a key figure in a plot
between the police and an arms dealer.
