Review of Jackie Brown (1997) by Derek W — 23 Jul 2015

For most people, Reservoir Dogs or Pulp Fiction is their favorite Tarantino movie. I can see that, there both excellent movies, but for my money- this is his best film. I've seen it probably five or six times now, and every time I like it a little more. It's got everything you'd expect from Tarantino. Sharp dialogue, a twisting plot, and a huge cast of characters; but what sets it apart for me- is that it's just slightly toned down from everything else Tarantino has done.

Jackie Brown is a stewardess who gets side money smuggling in cash for arms dealer, Ordell. The ATF is waiting for her on her most recent run and finds the money she was smuggling in from Mexico. This poses a variety of problems: losing her job, jail, death. Soon she's working with both the ATF(to keep herself out of prison) and Ordell(to keep herself alive). From there is where the plot begins to get twisty in the fashion of Pulp Fiction.

Jackie Brown is just an all around excellent movie. There's a great cast here, including outstanding performances from Pam Grier, Robert Forster, Samuel L. Jackson, and Michael Keaton.

This is certainly overshadowed by Tarantino's other works and I believe that's a shame, but I guess it comes with the territory. If you haven't seen this one, do yourself a favor and give it a watch.