Jackie Brown - Noir? Nah. Cool? Yes. (Jackie Brown (DVD))

Member Name: joecooper

Product:	Jackie Brown (DVD)
Date:	30/01/03 (193 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Possibly Tarantino's best film, De Niro, Samuel L. Jackson

Disadvantages: Lots of dialogue (but it's cool)

I like to think I know my cinema. I can bandy the word ?noir? around when I get confused, rattle off a dozen French director?s names to impress the chicks, and slag the mass-produced Hollywood blockbusters like I?d be the first to knock $20 million back to star in The Mummy VI. However, the big question I ask, come the end of any film, is, ?Was that cool, or did it suck?? It?s a technical analysis, but one that serves me well. In the case of Quentin Tarantino?s 1997 offering, Jackie Brown, the answer to the all-important question is ?Yes?. Jackie Brown is a very cool film.

Although based heavily on ol? Elmore Leonard?s novel Rum Punch, Jackie Brown is clearly a Tarantino event. The collection of big-namers filling quirky roles, and the depiction of parallel storylines has Pulp Fiction written all over it. However, unlike Pulp Fiction (and Reservoir Dogs), Jackie Brown doesn?t rocket along. At over two and a half hours, this film meanders along like a pothead?s day off. It?s a cool meandering though, with interesting characters. If Tarantino does anything well, it comes in the form of conjuring up cool, ?watchable? characters. All up, Jackie Brown is another winner for Tarantino.

A triple cross in the making ? The story

Jackie Brown (Pam Grier) is a forty-something flight attendant. She?s been bumped down her particular career ladder until the stage where she?s now working for a dinky little airline that flies back and forth between California and Mexico. Age is not on her side, and without a nest egg she finds herself smuggling money and drugs for a budding arms dealer by the name of Ordell Robbie (Samuel L.Jackson).

The film kicks off with Jackie on her most recent return from Mexico with a bag full of cash for Ordell. Making her way out of the airport she gets nabbed by ATF officer, Ray Nicolet (Michael Keaton) and co. After being sat down for a deep and meaningful talk with the law, Jackie?s faced with a heavy prison senten
ce. It?s apparent though that the ATF boy, Nicolet, is far more interested in bringing down the big-fish, Ordell. Thus Jackie offers her assistance in launching a sting to catch the arms dealer red handed.

However, Ordell?s not a man to be messed with. His reputation for dispensing violent retribution, on anyone that hinders his business success, is well known. Accordingly, Jackie finds Ordell and immediately tells the arms dealer about what the ATF plans, and adds a tasty little suggestion for a double cross. Ordell accepts.

Looking after Ordell?s interests may save Jackie?s life, but she?s well aware that it wouldn?t be much of a life to live. She?s bound to lose her job, and who?s going to employ a middle-aged woman with a criminal record? Using all her wiles, Jackie comes up with a plan.

To triple the cross, Jackie enlists the aid of her bail bondsman, Max Cherry (Robert Forster), who has taken an obvious fancy to her. Together they plan to hoodwink both Ordell and the ATF and spirit away with a lot of money ? enough money for the aging flight attendant to live comfortably for the rest of her life. Thus the stage is set, with three camps maneuvering to get what they want on a very tight time line. We?re left to see who succeeds.

A galaxy of stars ? the acting

As mentioned at the beginning of this review, Jackie Brown contains the usual Tarantino-esque collection of stars. To blurt them out, before I select my highlights, Jackie Brown?s cast includes Pam Grier, Samuel L. Jackson, Robert Forster, Robert De Niro, Michael Keaton and Bridget Fonda.

Jackie Brown signals the comeback of Pam Grier for her fans. It?s a glistening comeback, that, sadly, didn?t result in any further major roles. However, as Jackie the aging flight attendant performing a mad juggling act, she?s superb. Of particular note is her ability to convey the angst of a lonely middle-aged woman who?s painfully aware that her best years of em
ployment and security are behind her. It?s the type of character that?s not often featured (especially in a Tarantino film) and Pam Grier performs it with spirit.

Who better to play a charismatic gangster than Samuel L. Jackson? As Ordell Robbie, Jackson?s all street wisdom and cool, complete with a trademark ?Kanga? hat worn backwards. If you didn?t get enough of him in Pulp Fiction, then you?ll be pleased with his performance in Jackie Brown.

In two of the quirkier roles are Robert De Niro and Bridget Fonda. De Niro plays an old crim that?s recently been released from the joint and is hanging out with Ordell. In much the same way as Bruce Willis was happy to share the limelight in Pulp Fiction, De Niro?s happy as a secondary character in Jackie Brown. As always, De Niro?s a pleasure to watch. The highlight of De Niro?s role comes when Bridget Fonda?s character, Melanie begins to get on his nerves. Melanie?s Ordell?s ?little surfer girl?, who sits around cheerfully smoking drugs and pulling her pants down for the occasional bit of sex. Like De Niro, Fonda seems happy to play this little part to the best of her ability.

More F words than you can poke a stick at ? The dialogue.

I?ve never been an arms dealer, or a crim of any sort for that matter. Accordingly, I?m left taking Tarantino?s word for the sort of dialogue that bounces back and forth between the ?badder? members of Western society. If Tarantino?s right, then they swear a lot.

Jackie Brown is dialogue heavy, with each of the character?s chipping in with long conversations in between the films bursts of action. As with the swearing, some viewers will consider the dialogue excessive. However, I didn?t. I felt that it provided the characters with necessary depth. For instance, without a few long ramblings by Jackie to Max Cherry we never would have discovered her anxiety over her age and her future financial well-being.

I can hear you blood-thirsty ps
ychos out there thinking, ?Where?s the violence? Has Tarantino gone soft?? Relax! Jackie Brown coughs up enough violence to keep your hunger pangs at bay. It?s not the abattoir of blood that Reservoir Dogs was, but there?s enough shootings to keep you happy, and it?s all delivered in classic Tarantino style.

Joe?s final word

In case it hasn?t become apparent, Jackie Brown shouldn?t sit on the shelf next to Aladdin. It?s definitely not suitable for the kiddlywinks. Additionally, if politically incorrect concepts, violence, and heavy profanity upset you, then Chitty Chitty Bang Bang might be a better option for your viewing this Friday night.

Jackie Brown is cool. In many ways, I rate it higher on the cool chart than Pulp Fiction, or any of Quentin Tarantino's other films for that matter. Accordingly, I?m giving this film five big stars. If it were any cooler it?d be the Fonz.

Cheers for reading!


~Joe

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