Jackie Brown is unequivocally the most dissimilar Quentin Tarantino film that he has directed to date. Which is perhaps why it’s one of his best.
As opposed to the non-linear narratives of Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs, Jackie Brown’s story relies not on its glossy aesthetics or visual flare, but on the pure storytelling of the director at the helm.
What does stay in the tradition of a Tarantino movie is the complexity of the plot.
Jackie Brown (Pam Grier) is a foxy flight attendant that gets arrested by a couple of ATF agents (played by Michael Keaton and Michael Bowen) catching her smuggling money and cocaine from Cabo to America.
But the two agents aren’t primarily after her, they want the source of the currency and narcotics: in particular an illegal arms dealer named Ordell Robbie (Samuel L. Jackson).
By arresting Brown in the beginning of the film, Tarantino effectively lays out his narrative. The ATF agents make a deal with Jackie to work for the Government, by going undercover and completing one more deal where they’ll be able to arrest Ordell and his accomplices.
This catapults Brown to numerous people and places: in order to release her from jail, Ordell has to pay bail. Accordingly, he goes to a bails bondsmen name Max Cherry (Robert Forester) who understands Ordell’s conspicuous business, but doesn’t ask questions.
The nuance in characterization doesn’t end there. Naturally Cherry must go to the prison to pick up Brown. He’s inexplicably instantly romantically drawn to her – Bloodstone’s Natural High plays in the background as she walks up, it’s a wonderful and pure moment of film.
Robert De Niro (left) and Samuel L. Jackson (right) discussing serious illegal matters in "Jackie Brown".
To add to the mix of characters is Louis Gara (Robert De Niro), a bank robber who recently finished a 4-year bid in jail for (who would’ve guessed) robbing a bank. Gara is a seemingly subtle guy, but ends up having a hot temper. He assists Ordell in his illegal scheming.
With all the pieces of the puzzle in place, Tarantino reveals the crux of the crime: Ordell has a half million dollars in Cabo, but the only way for him to obtain the money is for Jackie to go over the border and smuggle it back to U.S. soil.
The 500,000 dollars acts as a springboard for personal motivations from all parties involved: the question is, who will survive when it’s all over? And most importantly, whose lap will the money fall into at the end of the day?
Jackie has many facets to her personality, and acts accordingly with whom ever she’s with: honest to Cherry, serious to the ATF, and sassy, strong-willed with Ordell. What most of the characters don’t know is the elaborate façade she’s putting up on all fronts.
That is, with the exception of Cherry – who is really the character we the audience can identify with, and look to for moral guidance. He’s sympathetic towards Brown, who confides to him that she’s been stuck in this dirty business for so long she can hardly tell right from wrong.
Ordell (left) and Jackie (right) are actively arguing over miscommunication in Quentin Tarantino's "Jackie Brown"
Brown and Cherry’s relationship – which operates romantically and cinematically – is the one aspect of the film worth caring for. Everyone else acts with little integrity: there truly isn’t a character (again with the exception of Cherry) that isn’t looking out for him or herself.
In some sort of homage to the Blaxploitation films of the 1970s, Jackie Brown isn’t your run-of-the-mill crime caper. This is a different breed of filmmaking where the characters have intelligence, and where spewing out forced exposition and lousy clichés to move along the narrative, is a thing of the past.
The construction of the climatic scene (in which perspectives of each character apart of the half million dollar pick up at the mall, are shown) reveals the prowess and ingenuity behind Jackie Brown.
Tarantino is more restraint here (likely because he’s adapting from an American novel by Elmore Leonard), thus making his execution tougher and grittier than anything he’s produced prior.
For once in Tarantino’s oeuvre, he’s made a film that’s more about substance than style.
In fact, Jackie Brown may just be his masterpiece.
Rating: 
Jackie Brown (1997)
Cast: Pam Grier, Samuel L. Jackson, Robert Forster
Director: Quentin Tarantino
Writer: Quentin Tarantino, Elmore Leonard
Runtime: 154 minutes
Genre: thriller, drama, crime
Nice work, Sam. Jackie Brown is my favorite Tarantino film and sticks with me the most out of all his movies. You hit on a lot of the reasons for why it works so well. I’m also a fan of a lot of Tarantino’s other work, but I still believe this represents a high point.
I’m glad someone else shares the same opinion on the film.
This may just be his high point.
I won’t go so far as to say that this is a masterpiece from Tarantino but I will say that he does know what he’s doing with this material. I like how he took his time with this story, by building it up more and more until the tension was almost too much to handle. It’s not perfect, but still a very good flick from the master. Nice review Sam.
I’m not quite positive I consider Tarantino a master yet. He’s getting there though.
What did you find wrong with it?
Jackie Brown was my favorite Tarantino until Basterds, which, even Tarantino, speaking through his characters, states that Basterds is his masterpiece. But I choose not to use the “M” word lightly.
Yes, my final line in the review pays homage to Inglorious Basterds’s concluding line.
I don’t use it lightly either.
It seems to me that, more so than any QT film, people either absolutely love this movie, or detest it. Glad to see your one of the former like myself. Excellent review, and nice cross-film kicker
Yes! Glad someone caught my reference. So, what did you think of the film my man?
This is a film that I think with repeated viewing, it gets better. Other Tarantino films still retain a sense of brilliance but this one really shows what he’s capable of as a filmmaker. I’m not sure where I would put this film but it’s certainly one of the most underrated films ever. The scene where Max Cherry first meets Jackie Brown is probably one of the most perfect moments in film. The use of that music, the way the Tarantino frames the actors. It is truly one of the romantic moments in cinema.
Echoing my thoughts exactly Steven – especially that romantic scene, sheer brilliance.
Thank you for reading Steven.
I think the relationship between Pam Grier and Robert Forster just really worked. it gave the movie heart. By the way, I believe this movie was the first and only time Tarantino directed a film not based on his own original screenplay. He adapted it from a novel by Elmore Leonard, the legendary crime writer who is known for creating some of the most colorful and interesting criminals in popular fiction. Check out TV’s “Justified” to see more of Leonard’s work. “Justified” is just about the best program on television.
I wrote nearly all of the things you mentioned in your comment James. I’ve heard great things about Justified.
On the note of adaptation, this is Tarantino’s one and only occasion in which he does adapt. He’s also said he’ll probably never do it again.
Which is a shame.
While Reservoir Dogs is my favorite Tarantino film, and Pulp Fiction is the one I admire the most, it’s Jackie Brown and Inglourious Basterds that I hold in particularly high regard. Jackie Brown is an absolutely brilliant thriller, echoing True Romance which Tarantino wrote, and introducing much-needed themes and ideas that Tarantino only began nurturing with his earlier films and became fully sprouted with this one. Definitely a hugely underrated great movie.
Hmm, really … Reservoir Dogs? Not many say that. I thought it was good, but certainly not great – looking forward to a repeated viewing on that one though.
I still haven’t seen True Romance, so I can’t quite make the correlation. And yes, it’s certainly underrated.
Glad you dug it. I do think it’s some of Tarantino’s best character writing…which might be more of a result of Elmore Leonard’s original novel. Like you say, they’re layered and complicated which makes them compelling. Also, it’s just a lot of fun to hang out with these guys. That’s something people say a lot about about QT films, but this is the one where I feel that the most.
Easily my favorite QT. For a while I considered him a master, but after a while, some of his films quit working for me. I still think he’s interesting and effective, I’m just not as enamored with his sensibilities as I used to be.
Another film related feature that I chose purely off your comments/writings. I’m right with you on the “Tarantino not being a master” front.
He’s almost there, just needs that one film to prove to us all that it isn’t just style.
Great write-up of a great film, Sam. It’s a movie that despite the guns and drugs and what-have-ya that, at its core, has such an ADULT romance between Jackie and Max, even though they don’t completely act on it (as they probably would in a lesser movie) and such a perfect sense of the walls of the world closing in as you get older.
Man, I’m so old I remember when this movie hit theaters and everyone – myself included – was expecting another “Pulp Fiction” and when it wasn’t that I think a lot of people were just confused. But it’s aged so well and just gets more and more impressive.
I’m inclined to call “Kill Bill” (undivided) Q.T.’s masterpiece, if only because I think it’s more representative of his true style. But that’s really just apples/oranges.
What were your initial impressions of it Nick?
I can imagine that within the massive amounts of hype and raves over Pulp Fiction & Reservoir Dogs that Jackie Brown would have a lot to live up to.
I still haven’t seen Kill Bill, don’t be angry.