Gaining the reputation of a great filmmaker is much easier than maintaining it. Quentin Tarantino was well aware of this after his films Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction marked the beginning of a new era in world cinema. Tarantino was hailed as the guru of independent films and a filmmaking genius. Naturally, everyone expected his next film to be equally as important or magnificent as his previous two. However, history teaches us that even the greatest artists produce disappointing work during their careers. With Tarantino reaching Olympic heights from the start, it was almost certain that an inevitable decline would happen very soon. Tarantino tried to postpone this by working as a script doctor and part-time actor in films of dubious quality. But the moment of truth finally came in 1997 with the thriller Jackie Brown.
The plot of the film is based on Rum Punch, a novel by Elmore Leonard. The protagonist of the film is Jackie Brown (played by Pam Grier), a 44-year-old air hostess forced to work for a low salary at a small-time airline. Due to her financial situation, she agrees to work as a part-time money courier for Ordell Robbie (played by Samuel L. Jackson), a Los Angeles gunrunner. Jackie's real problems arise when she is arrested by ATF agent Ray Nicolette (played by Michael Keaton) and offered the chance to testify against Ordell in exchange for her freedom. Ordell has a well-developed procedure for handling such situations - potential informers are bailed out of jail, taken to discreet locations, and executed. Knowing what awaits her, Jackie is not pleased to see Max Cherry (played by Robert Forster), a bounty hunter and bail bondsman who had been bringing bail for Ordell's men before. However, this time, Max falls in love with Jackie and decides to help her play the ATF and Ordell against each other, while taking Ordell's money in the process.
Jackie Brown is far from being a bad film, but, due to Tarantino's reputation, it proved to be one of the greatest disappointments of the 1990s. The main reason for the relative failure of Jackie Brown could be found in Tarantino's decision to use someone else's material instead of his own. Elmore Leonard's works have proven to be good material for other filmmakers, but in the case of Jackie Brown, the mix of Leonard's exotic crime plots and Tarantino's style of screenwriting was not as successful. Tarantino was noticeably un-inventive while making this film - his only major intervention in the literary source was changing the protagonist's race. This allowed Tarantino to cast Pam Grier, a heroine of 1970s blaxploitation cinema, in the role of Jackie. However, his work on the film's plot and other characters remained uninspired. The 1970s music and a few pop culture references in Jackie Brown only serve to remind the audience of the film's director.
Those who are, by some chance, oblivious or ignorant of the director's identity, might ask a simple question - was two and a half hours of running time really necessary for a relatively simple crime thriller? Most of the shots in the film are overlong, the narrative structure is conventional, and unlike Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction, few viewers would remember a single scene or piece of dialogue from this film. Jackie Brown is rescued by an excellent cast that fills the blanks left by Tarantino's script. Pam Grier and Robert Forster, two icons of the 1970s, successfully remind audiences that chemistry can exist between characters who are over 40 years of age. Samuel L. Jackson is impressive, but his performance falls short of the formidable standards set in Pulp Fiction. Nevertheless, he manages to outshine Robert De Niro in the role of Ordell's partner. Bridget Fonda, who plays Ordell's drugged-out girlfriend, would be best remembered for appearing in skimpy clothes and providing Tarantino with plenty of opportunities to satisfy his foot fetish.
Unlike many other films, Jackie Brown probably benefited from the passing of time. With today's audiences accustomed to Tarantino as a mere mortal, this film is less disappointing than it was years ago. Because of that, Jackie Brown is going to be appreciated as a flawed, but stylish and moderately entertaining crime thriller.
RATING: 6/10 (++)
(Note: The text in its original form was posted in the Usenet newsgroup rec.arts.films.reviews on June 21st, 2004)
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