Review of Jackie Brown (1997) by Lloyd H — 09 Feb 2013

Jackie Brown is Quentin Tarantino's third film and first adaption. Many consider this to be one of Tarantino's weaker films but personally I think Jackie Brown holds its own as a strong addition to Tarantino's directorial career. The script is strong, the characters and performances are great and the story telling is thoroughly enjoyable. Jackie Brown is very easy watching and is a relaxing and interesting viewing experience, it holds back on the violence of Tarantino's previous films but the true to form script of real quality takes centre stage convincingly.

The casting of Pam Grier as the title role Jackie Brown was a stroak of genius. She gives the performance of her career and she holds her own brilliantly alongside some of the biggest names in cinema. Samuel L. Jackson features in his second collaboration with Tarantino and stars as arms dealer Ordell. He gives another strong performance and carries the film brilliantly. Robert Forster for me gives the performance of the film as bail bondsman Max Cherry. He's such an underrated actor but sadly he hasn't seemed to of had many major roles of real significance. His scenes with Pam Grier are brilliant and his coolness steals every scene. I was so pleased with the inclusion of Michael Keaton, I love his simplistic understated performance and bar Beetlejuice and the Batman films, this is my favourite performance of his. Robert De Niro gives a good performance but by his standards this is far from his most memorable roles. Bridget Fonda and Michael Bowen give strong performances also.

Jackie Brown is a well made film and is thoroughly enjoyable. The opening credits is one of my all time favourites with Pam Grier running through the airport with 'Bobby Womacks - 110th Street' playing in the back ground. The script is great, the understated performances are very refreshing and the characters are likeable and memorable. The soundtrack is very good also with great songs from Bobby Womack, The Brothers Johnson, Randy Crawford and The Delphonics. In terms of influence Jackie Brown hasn't had the same effect as some of Tarantino's other films, but for this to be considered as one of his worst films is ludicrous. Jackie Brown is definitely something of an unsung masterpiece.