Jackie Brown (1997)

User Rating:

7.6/10   

Director:

Quentin Tarantino

Writers:

Quentin Tarantino (written for the screen by)
Elmore Leonard (novel)

Release Date:

25 December 1997 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Thriller

Tagline:

This Christmas, Santa's Got A Brand New Bag

Plot:

A female flight attendant becomes a key figure in a plot between the police and an arms dealer.

Plot Keywords:

Money | Arms Dealer | ATF | Bail | Flight Attendant

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 4 wins & 10 nominations

Cast

Pam Grier	...	Jackie Brown
Samuel L. Jackson	...	Ordell Robbie
Robert Forster	...	Max Cherry
Bridget Fonda	...	Melanie Ralston
Michael Keaton	...	Ray Nicolette
Robert De Niro	...	Louis Gara
Michael Bowen	...	Mark Dargus
Chris Tucker	...	Beaumont Livingston
Lisa Gay Hamilton	...	Sheronda
Tommy 'Tiny' Lister	...	Winston (as Tommy 'Tiny' Lister Jr.)
Hattie Winston	...	Simone
Sid Haig	...	Judge
Aimee Graham	...	Amy - Billingsley Sales Girl
Ellis Williams	...	Cockatoo Bartender (as Ellis E. Williams)
Tangie Ambrose	...	Billingsley Sales Girl #2

Also Known As:

Rum Punch (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong language, some violence, drug use and sexuality.

Runtime:

154 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Canada:14A (Alberta) | Canada:18 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | USA:R (certificate #35732) | USA:TV-MA (TV rating) | Iceland:12 (video rating) | Iceland:14 | Netherlands:12 | Brazil:14 | Philippines:R-18 | South Africa:18 | Argentina:16 | Australia:MA | Belgium:KNT | Canada:14A | Chile:14 | Finland:K-16 | France:U | Germany:16 | Hong Kong:IIB | Ireland:18 | Japan:PG-12 | New Zealand:R18 | Norway:15 | Portugal:M/16 | Singapore:R(A) | South Korea:18 | Spain:13 | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15

Filming Locations:

Carson, California, USA

Company:

Miramax Films

Trivia:

Several Scenes in the film with Pam Grier are accompanied by background instrumental music from the Soundtrack of Coffy (1973) (Roy Ayers, Composer), one of Pam Grier's first roles and a landmark Blackexplotation film of the early 70's. Sid Haig (liberal Judge in “Jackie Brown”) was also in Coffy and their scene together has such music entitled "Exotic Dance", which served as Jackie's theme in several scenes. Also the bongo-piano-brass theme as Jackie is "nervously" leaving the dressing room, the funky brass music when Max is leaving the dressing room with the bag of cash are from Coffy.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: Set in 1995, the calendar in Jackie's kitchen is for 1997.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Girl at Security Gate: Flight 710 to Cabo San Lucas, now boarding Gate 103, first class only. Flight 710, Cabo San Lucas, now boarding Gate 103. First class only.
Jackie Brown: [greeting passengers] Buenos dias. Welcome aboard. Welcome aboard.

Movie Connections:

Edited into The Making of 'Kill Bill' (2003) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Who Is He (And What Is He to You?)

Quentin strikes again.

Where does a director go after making two colossal worldwide hits?

"Reservoir Dogs" (1992) and "Pulp Fiction" (1994) were two of the greatest movies ever made, and they launched director Quentin Tarantino into the realm of Mainstream Hollywood Director. Most of the time, a director faced with this reality will sink into a slew of really bad movies, but so far Tarantino has been either extremely lucky or extremely talented - his third feature film, although lacking in the brutality of its predecessors, contains just as much wit. Based upon the Elmore Leonard novel "Rum Punch," it's packed with the clever dialogue that Leonard is known for in his writing. It's also got a good amount of style, too. It's not a typical Tarantino movie, but is that necessarily a bad thing? In this particular instance, no.

Jackie Brown (Pam Grier) is a flight stewardess forced into running jobs for Ordell (Samuel L. Jackson), a ruthless criminal who has no respect for life - or death, for that matter. However, during one of her smuggling efforts, a couple of FBI Agents (including Michael Keaton) nab her and offer her a deal: If she helps them get Ordell, she will be let free from custody. The Feds do not know who Ordell is, but they know he exists, and that is where Jackie comes in. She reluctantly agrees to participate in their sting operation, but all is not what it seems. And when $500,000 dollars disappears from his retirement fund, Ordell stops, thinks, and arrives upon the conclusion that we all anticipate with glee: Jackie Brown did it.

His partner in crime, Louis (the wonderful Robert De Niro), also decides to double-cross Ordell, with the help of a sexy blonde ditz named Melanie (Bridget Fonda), The movie's twisting plot line and intersecting storylines is very reminiscent of "Pulp Fiction," and De Niro's underrated performance is a real stand-out. The movie's quite well made and enjoyable.

Don't misinterpret what I'm saying. This is no "Reservoir Dogs," nor does it want to be. It's not in the same vein as Tarantino's other movies, at least not at a superficial level. However, it is extremely entertaining, helped along by a great cast and a terrific script. The only difference here is that Tarantino did not come up with everything by himself. He adapted the screenplay from another source, something he usually doesn't do. But there's also a little-known fact that Roger Avary co-wrote some of "Dogs" and "Fiction" with Tarantino, as well as sparked the idea for some of his films. Here, Quentin adapts Leonard's novel and does justice. People who say it isn't as good as his other movies because it's recycled obviously don't know what they're talking about.

Tarantino started out as a video store clerk, and is the movie buff's filmmaker. Not only does Tarantino share a deep passion for films, but he also knows what most of the real movie enthusiasts want. He has yet to disappoint me with any of his directorial efforts. His own life story would make an interesting movie, and indeed it did with "True Romance," partially based on Tarantino's own self-image of himself. (A geek working at a comic book store falls in love and goes off of an adventure into a new realm -- in Tarantino's own case, it was filmmaking. For Clarence, from "True Romance," it was drugs and murder.)

Tarantino has a flair for raw energy in all of his films, and "Jackie Brown" is no exception. The movie is bursting at its edges, packed with wild antics and the occasional fierce brutality. The movie was criticized by Tarantino's die-hard fans for being too different from his other films. However, the mistake of many directors is to repeat the same formulas over and over again. One must at least give Tarantino credit for trying new things in each of his films. If anything, the only thing that Tarantino likes to insert into all his films is a large source of energy. And is that a bad thing?

4.5/5 stars.

- John Ulmer