Review of Jackie Brown (1997) by Kevin D — 03 Sep 2012

Arguably my all time favorite movie. It's always a good idea to watch this movie again. A lot of people think this is Quentin's tribute to blaxploitation films, but I think it's his tribute to one of those "groups of friends hanging out' movies. Think Dazed and Confused or American Graffiti, two movies he loves. I've seen this movie at least 5 or 6 times in its entirety and it never gets old. It's always fun to check in with the characters and see how you can relate to them as time passes by.

After all this film is all about growing old and adapting to age. I also love this film because Quentin truly makes it his own, which is strange because the movie is based off a novel. Since he adapted the film from a book (the brilliant Rum Punch), it's not as easy to point fingers at Quentin and blame him for stealing stuff from other movies. This one is all his own and it stays true to the novel its based on (but of course there are a few winks and visual references to Quentin's favorites).

I love this movie so much because it moves at its own pace. It's 2 and a half hours when it really doesn't seem like a movie that deserves that type of running time. The reason for the epic running time is so the audience has enough time to mingle with all of the characters. They're all terrific and all of the actors brought their A-games.

Because we get to know the characters intimately, all of the plot twists and happenings feel extra intimate. Also, the movie at its heart is an unorthodox romantic comedy. My favorite sequence of the movie happens right before the end. Jackie leaves Max's bail bond office and she's getting ready to go on a vacation. Right as she leaves, he gets a call from a customer. The phone call distracts him as he's trying to watch Jackie leave the shop and drive away in her car. He tells the customer to call back. He then quietly watches as his girl drives away, not knowing where he stands with her or when he will see her again. It was a mature sequence from Quentin that really stuck with me.

Since this film, Quentin went on to make entertaining and fun movies like Kill Bill 1 and 2 and Inglourious Basterds. Those films came off as cartoons to me though (not necessarily a criticism). I would just like to see Quentin come back and make a mature film like this one. One that comes from the heart. A dream project per se. I know he has it in him. If not, I don't mind returning to the one and only JACKIE BROWN.