So, time for another post and this one is a re-look at Quentin Tarantino's third film, Jackie Brown starring Pamela Grier and Samuel L. Jackson. So, the post is the usual revisit and expansion on the previous one.
So, after 26 years, let's see how Jackie Brown still fairs...
And the usual warning is coming...
PLOT SPOILERS ARE AHEAD!!
STORY
So, the film begins with its main character, Jackie Brown (Pam Grier) who works for a small Mexican airline as a flight attendant. Jackie as a sideline also smuggles in money for a black market gun runner, Ordell Robbie (Samuel L. Jackson) who lives in L.A. and is under close observation from the ATF. Ordell also learns that one of his couriers, Beaumont Livingston (Chris Tucker) has been arrested and organises for his bail by paying a visit to a bail bondsman, Max Cherry (Robert Forster).
On Beaumont's release, Ordell pays him a visit and persuades
him to go along for a ride as part of a business transaction and asks
him to get in the boot of his car, which Beaumont reluctantly does,
however not longer after Ordell stops the car, takes a gun, gets out
and opens the boot and shoots Beaumont. Not long after Ordell meets up
with an old friend of his, Louis Gara (Robert De Niro) who was his
former cellmate and shows him Beaumont's body in the boot and tells him
it was a clear cut case of "him or me" in that he had to ensure Beaumont
wouldn't become an informant for the ATF.
Meanwhile, Jackie is under surveillance by the ATF as a result of some
information Beaumont had given to them as they spot her in an
underground car park at an airport, where an ATF agent, Ray Nicolette
(Michael Keaton) and LAPD police officer Mark Dargus (Michael Bowen)
detain her and search her bag filled with Ordell's cash, only to find
some cocaine as well. Jackie is then arrested on the charge of intent
to selling cocaine after she refuses to cooperate and sent to jail.
Ordell then visits Max again and arranges for her bail and when Max meets up with Jackie he becomes attracted to her when they go for a quick drink after her release. Jackie then goes back home only to find Ordell at her doorstep, who is intent on killing her in order that she doesn't talk, but Jackie having discreetly stolen Max's gun points it at Ordell's crotch and pushes him against the wall. After a heated exchange Jackie then decides to help Ordell smuggle the remainder of his money into the country, which is $550,000 worth so he can then retire afterward and she will in the meantime pretend to help the authorities.
In order to carry out the plan, Ordell gets help from Melanie (Bridget
Fonda) a surfer girl who lives with him and also from his friend
Louis. However Jackie's real intentions are to steal $500,000 of the
money herself and she offers Max a cut of the money as well if he agrees
to help her. And from here this where the whole thing starts to get
complicated as Jackie must try and find a way to outwit Ordell and at
the same time no end up behind bars at the hands of the authorities...
THOUGHTS
It has to be said that in terms of Tarantino films, Jackie Brown is actually something of a breath of fresh air, as for starters it is a far more mature and restrained film than either Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction and it is also considerably less violent as well. The film was also an adaptation of Leonard Elmore's book, Rum Punch, in which the main character is actually white, but Tarantino decided to change her to black and her name from Jackie Burke to Brown. Elmore himself was said to have been delighted with Tarantino's adaptation of his book and it also remains a faithful adaptation as well although Tarantino still throws in some of his typical touches as well as keeping the profanity pretty high throughout (but hey that is to be expected with him!).
PERFORMANCES AND NOTABLE SCENES (Warning: this section may contain spoilers and strong language!)
Moving onto the performances, well there is where the film really excels
as the cast are all largely top notch.
Starting with Pamela Grier who is great as the lead character, Jackie Brown, and Grier herself was a popular Blaxploitation actress back in the 1970s and from the start Tarantino was keen to get her for the role which is easy to see why as it would be hard to imagine anyone else play the character so well.
And it has to be said that Jackie Brown is easily the strongest female character in any of Tarantino's films, apart from the Beatrix Kiddo in Kill Bill, but here Jackie is a more realistic character and not some near superhuman killer, but a middle aged woman who is worried about her future and trying to hold down a low paid job as a flight attendant for a small airline, who sees Ordell's money as a way out for herself.
Grier herself has some great scenes in the film such as the scene where she arrives back home after being bailed out of jail only to find Ordell show up who proceeds to quietly question her as he intends to kill her, she presses a gun against Ordell's crotch. And in the scene Ordell hears the cock of the gun and asks "Is that what I think it is?" and Jackie in an intense voice asks "What do you think it is?" and Ordell says "I think its a gun pressed up against my dick" and she says "You thought right. Now take your hands off from around my throat, nigga!".
And then there is the scene where Jackie reflects over her life as she talks with Max the day after her release from jail and says to him "And now with this arrest over my head, I'm scared. If I lose my job I gotta start all over again, but I got nothing to start over with. I'll be stuck with whatever I can get. And that shit is more scary than Ordell".
Grier also shares a nice onscreen chemistry with Robert Forster as Jackie and Max eventually scheme together to steal Ordell's money and share a good scene where they meet at the mall and Jackie asks Max twice if he would take the money. So, the first time Max says "Yeahs sure, I'd be temped" and he talks about how he is looking to get out of being a bails bondsman and she says "I'm not sure you answered my question" and Max asks "What questions?" and Jackie asks "If you had a chance, unemployed now, to walk off with half a million dollars, would you take it?".
Grier also has some good moments
Jackson where they argue and also with Keaton in the scene where he
confronts her over the money run going awry. And in the scene Jackie explains to Keaton's
character, Ray Nicolete what happened in the store. So, Ray says to her "You know if I had all this shit hanging over my head, I would go shopping later" and Jackie says "Look, look just wait a fuckin second! I got there early and the idea was I going to try the suit on, only for Melanie burst into the fitting room and steal the bag but I couldn't go after because I was in my fucking underwear! And I had to put this suit on as I took less time than it takes to put on my uniform!" and Ray says "You had time to pay the sales chick!" and Jackie says "I HAD to! What else was I supposed to do?".
Ray then angrily asks Jackie if she has any idea where the money went "You have no idea what happened to the 50,000? No clue at all? It could have gone here or could have gone there?!" and Jackie angrily tells "No I don't even have any idea where the motherfuckin money is!" and Nicolete asks her "Will you take a polygraph?" and she says "Yeah if it will make you motherfuckin happy! Put it right there, I'll do it!".
Then there is the scene where Ordell and Max turn up at Max's office as Jackie sits nervously waiting in the dark for them. So, Ordell in the says "That you, Jackie?" and Jackie says nervously "Yeah" and Ordell smiles and says "Goddamn girl! What are you doin sitting in the dark?". However at this point, the ATF agent, Ray comes out and Jackie shouts "Ray, he's got a gun!" and Ray shoots Ordell dead. So, afterward Jackie approaches Ray who stands over Ordell's body and she says "You know when you said you hope to reach Ordell before he reaches me" and Ray says "Yeah?" and Jackie says "Looks like you did. Thanks".
And last of all is the final scene where Jackie pays Max a visit at his office just before she leaves town to travel to Spain. So, Jackie says to Max "Hey, I got your package. It was fun getting half a million dollars in the mail". Max notices the car outside "That Ordell's?" and Jackie says "They confiscated everything else. Registration was in the glove box, keys were underneath the seat. What's the matter? Haven't you ever borrowed anybody's car before" and Max says "Not after they're dead!". Jackie then tells Max "I never lied to you, Max and I never used you" and Max says "I know that" and Jackie says "We're partners". Jackie then offers Max to go with her to Spain but he turns her down and she says goodbye and kisses him and says "I'll send you a postcard" and walks out.
Samuel L Jackson is also great in the film as Ordell, the main antagonist, and he get's most of the film's best dialogue to say and in fine tradition it is largely all profane. Jackson however also makes Ordell somewhat charming aswellven though Ordell is essentially just a street hood who thinks he is smarter than he actually is.
Jackson has plenty of highlights in the film and the first one that springs to mind is the scene where he shows off his knowledge of guns to his former cellmate, Louis and he shows him the clip of the AK-47. And Ordelll says "AK-47! The very best there is. When you absolutely, positively gotta kill every motherfucker in the room, accept no substitutes!".
Then there is the scene where Ordell meets up with Beaumont and asks him for a favour and Ordell says "You know I hate to be the kind of nigga to do a nigga a favour and BAM ask that nigga for a favour. But I gots to be that kind of nigga" and Beaumont asks "What do you mean?" and Ordell says "I need a favour nigga". And Ordell then shows Beaumont his car and opens the trunk and tells him "All I need you to do is step inside this trunk" and he takes out a shotgun and says "and rack this motherfucker!". Beaumont however is unwilling to get into the trunk and Beaumont says "I gotta problem with small spaces" and Ordell says "I gotta problem with spending 10,000 dollars on ungrateful peanut headed niggas but I did it!". And he tries to placate Beaumont by saying "Look when we're through fuckin with these Mexicans, I'll take you out for some Mexican food, that's some good eatin'!".
And then we have the scene where Ordell arrives back at Melanie's apartment having taken Louis out to get some new clothes. And Melanie smiles as she sees them and says to Louis "Hey you got some new clothes!" and Ordell says to him "Well I couldn't have Louis looking like no bum" and Louis meekly protests "Hey, I didn't look like a bum" and Ordell says "Come on, man, you had that Salvation army thing goin on!".
Another one of Jackson's best scenes is also where Louis picks up Ordell after the money exchange and he finds out that Jackie has double crossed her and it dawns on him she did it. And after he takes out the gun Louis shot Melanie with he sits and thinks for a moment before realising it was Jackie and he says "Its Jackie Brown" and Louis says "Why?" and Ordell says "I'll ask that bitch before I blow her brains out!".And when Louis inadvertently reveals he saw Max Cherry in the clothes store, Ordell quickly puts two and two together and chastises Louis for doing nothing about it. So, Ordell angered says to Louis "You see Max Cherry in the dress department where we...MAN, LOOK AT ME WHEN I'M TALKING TO YOU!" and Louis looks at him and Ordell yells "You see that motherfucker in the dress department and you think nothing of it?!" and Louis asks "Do they know each other?" and Ordell shouts "Hell yeah, he bonded her ass out of county! You know your bail bondsmen don't you?! You know those motherfuckers are as crooked as a barrel of snakes, don't ya?!". So, as Louis tries to reason with Ordell and says "Look I am trying to fuckin tell you reasons!" and Ordell shouts "You gonna tell me reason you lost every goddamn cent I have in the world?! Let me tell you the reason, motherfucker! The reason is, your ass ain't worth a shit no more!" and he proceeds to shoot Louis in the stomach and says "What the fuck happened to you, man? Her ass use to be beautiful!" and he shoots him again at point blank range in the chest before ditching the car and walking away.
Another hilarious moment Jackson has is when he hides at one of the girl's places he has set up, who is basically a crack addict and he looks around her filthy room while he is talking to his business partner, Walker, on the phone. And Ordell says to the girl "Damn girl, how can you live like this?!" and she says "Like what?" and he says "This! This is some repugnant shit!".
And last of all is the scene where Ordell and Max pull up outside Max's office where Jackie is waiting inside nervously for them. So, Ordell quietly tells Max "My money's in that office, right? If she start giving me some bullshit about it ain't there, and we got to go someplace else and get it, I'm gonna shoot you in the head then and there. Then I'm gonna shoot that bitch in the kneecaps, find out where my goddamn money is. She gonna tell me too. Hey, look at me when I'm talking to you, motherfucker. You listen: we go in there, and that nigga Winston or anybody else is in there, you the first motherfucker to get shot. You understand?" and Max calmly says "Yeah". Ordell then quietly asks Max "Last chance motherfucker? You ain't got anything else to tell me?" and Max says "Nope" and Ordell asks "Last chance, motherfucker? You sure?" and Max says "Yep" and Ordell quietly says "Better be, motherfucker. Alright lets roll".
Robert Forster is also excellent in his role as Max Cherry, the bail bondsman, who get's involved in Jackie's scam to steal the money as he falls for her. Forster who had been out of the limelight for years revived his career with this role and also received an academy award nomination for his performance.
Forster has some good scenes as well in the film such as the scene where he meets with Ordell for the second time as Ordell wants to bail out Jackie. And in the scene Max wearily tells Ordell "Ordell this isn't a bar, you don't have a tab!" and as Ordell tries to make Max sympathise with him over Jackie's situation and tells him "You gotta look at this with a little compassion. You're talking about a gainfully employed 44 year old black women. She wasn't expecting this shit!" and Max says "Is white guilt suppose to make me forget that I run a business?".
Forster's best moments in the film are generally in his scenes with Grier and the two of them share some good scenes together on screen. One of the best moments is where Max meets with Jackie at the mall and he tells her how he wants to get out of the bail business and he tells her when he decided, which was the night they both met.
And he says to Jackie "Yeah that I went to pick up a guy. So I sneak into his house and wait for him. So I went to my office and took another gun and a stun gun and went to this guy's house in El monte and waited for him to come home" and Jackie asks what he would do when the guy came home and Max says "Shoot him with the stun gun. While he's incapacitated, cuff him and take him to county. He never came home. But I'm sitting on the couch in the dark, and the whole house smells of cat pee. So after a couple of hours I think "what am I doing here? Nineteen years of this shit?!" So I made up my mind. That's it."
Another good scene is when Max meets with Ordell and Ordell asks him "How did you find me?" and Max says "Winston found you" and Ordell asks "How did he find me?" and Max says "That's his job, he finds people that don't want to be found" and Ordell says "Well, bully for that nigga!". And Ordell asks how Max helped Jackie take the money and Max tells him "Jackie didn't trust Melanie. She'd already tried to get Jackie to go in with her, split the half million amongst themselves. What she did was take quite a risk to make sure you got your money" and Ordell says "And you helped her" and Max says All I did was walk out with it". Max then tells Ordell how scared Jackie was when he said he would name her as an accessory to taking the money "She's scared to meet with you, when you said that you'd go up as her accessory that mad her more scared than anything".
And last of all is the final scene of the film where Jackie says goodbye to Max at his office and Jackie says to him that she has taken Ordell's car. So, Jackie smiles and says "What's the matter, you never borrowed anybody's car?" and Max says "Not after they're dead!". Jackie then says to Max "I never lied to you, Max and I never used you" and Max says to her "I'm 56 years old. I can't blame anybody for anything I do". And after Jackie leaves, Max receives a call from someone but he is too distracted thinking about Jackie's offer to go with him and he says to the caller "Is it OK if I excuse myself? Would you call me back in about half and hour?" and he steps away from his desk as he watches Jackie drive off.
As for the other cast members, Robert De Niro is pretty good in his role
as Louis Gara, although his performance is largely subdued until nearer
the end when Louis grows tired and impatient with Melanie during the
money exchange scene and that's when we see De Niro at his best here.
And De Niro still has some good moments such as
in the scene where Louis and Melanie chat with one another after Ordell
has left and Melanie casually asks him "You wanna fuck?" and Louis, who
is a little taken aback at first, simply says "Yeah". And it cuts to
three minutes later, and we hear the grunts and groans of them having
sex and as they finish, Melanie says "that was good" and Louis gasping
says "Yeah that hit the spot!".
Also later in the scene where Melanie
winds up Louis to breaking point in the car park at the mall after they
have got the bag and she teases him "Is it this aisle, Louis?! Louis? Louissssss!" and he spots the car in the distance and says "Its this one" and Melanie continues teasing him "Are you sure? You don't so sure to me" and Louis suddenly spins round to her and says "Don't say
anything else, okay? I'm telling you, keep your mouth shut!" and as
Melanie is about to continue he warns again and says "I mean it. Don't
say one fuckin word!" and as Melanie says sarcastically "OK Louis" he
takes out his gun and shoots her twice and he calmly walks on and spots the car and says smiling back at Melanie from a distance "See? Exactly where I said it was!".
And later Louis picks up Ordell
who asks him where Melanie is and he says "Well that's what I gotta
tell you. She bugged me the whole time and she got pissy with me
because I wouldn't let her carry the bag. And I couldn't remember where
I parked the car and she got on me about that "Is it this aisle,
Lou-is??? Is that aisle, Lou-is??" Totally fucking with my nerves,
man!". Ordell then asks "So where is she?" and Louis admits "I shot her" and Ordell stunned asks "You shot Melanie" and Louis says "Twice, in the parking lot" and Ordell asks "Is she dead?" and Louis says "Pretty much" and Ordell shouts "What do you mean pretty much! That ain't a fuckin answer! Is she dead?!" and Louis awkwardly says "I think so" and Ordell shouts again "What do you mean?! Is she dead?! Yes or no?!" and Louis says "She's dead" and Ordell asks "Where did you shoot her?" and Louis says "In the chest and in the stomach".
However as they drive, Ordell checks the bag and finds it to be filled with books and only about 40 grand in the bag itself. So, Ordell grows suspicious of Louis and asks "Louis, are you sure Melanie ain't waiting for you in a room somewhere with half a million dollars of my money?" and Louis offended says "Fuck you for asking me that?! How could you ask me that?" and Ordell says "Pull over the car here". So, as the two of them try and work out what happened, Louis has a realisation that he saw Max Cherry and he says to Ordell "You know what? You know who I say in the department store? I mean did wonder what he was doing there. I thought he might be with his girlfriend or wife?" and as he rambles Ordell interrupts him and says "Louis! Louis! Who did you see?" and Louis says "Max Cherry". Ordell then berates Louis for not realising that Jackie and Max were friendly and most likely planning to sabotage the exchange. And as Louis says "How do I know that they know each other?!" and Ordell says "Don't give me excuses, Louis!" and Louis angrily says "I don't, I'm not giving you fucking excuses! I'm telling you! I'm giving you reasons!". And as Ordell tells Louis "You're ass ain't worth a shit no more!" Louis warns him "You better fuckin back off man!" before Ordell shoots him.
Bridget Fonda is also really good in her role as Melanie, Ordell's blonde haired surfer girl, who spends most of her time smoking pot and watching TV and bitches and complains alot throughout the film, which eventually becomes her own undoing.
And her best scenes
include when Melanie chats with Louis at her apartment and she says to
her that she met a guy over in Japan and she shows him a photo of them
and she says "I met this guy his name was Hirosh...Hiro something. But
we didn't have much to say to each other, as his English was terrible,
but what I was going to say as his English was better than my Japanese.
Anyway I keep that because of all the time I spent there it was the
only picture I got of me in Japan" and she points to the background
behind her in the photo and says "That's Japan!". And as Louis mumbles something, Melanie point blank asks Louis "Wanna fuck?" and Louis says "Yeah" and after they have sex, Melanie says "Now we can catch up!" and she walks to the bathroom.
And later on when Melanie winds up Louis after the money exchange and they walk through the car park as Louis struggles to remember where he parked the car, she teases him by saying "Jesus but if you two aren't the biggest fucks up I've seen in my life.... how did you ever rob a bank?! When you robbed banks did you have to go look for your car then too?! No wonder you went to jail!". And she carries winding up Louis by saying "Is it THIS aisle Lou-iss? Is it this aisle or the next one over??? Lou-isssss???". And Louis looks and thinks he spots the car from a distance and says "Its this one?" and Melanie asks "Are you sure? You don't sound sure to me!" and Louis finally snaps and says to her "Look don't say anything else, OK?" and as Melanie says "Well..." Louis gives her one last warning "I mean it! Don't say one more fucking word!" but Melanie says "OK, Louis!" and without warning, Louis takes out his gun and shoots her dead.
Michael Keaton next is excellent in his role as Ray Nicolete, the ATF agent who surveillances Ordell and cuts a deal with Jackie to help them get Ordell in the act.
And I will mention two of Keaton's scenes starting with his first one where he meets Jackie along with his fellow agent, Dargus and as Jackie refuses at first to co-operate, Ray butts in and tries to be more tactful. So, Ray tells Jackie "Jackie. I hope you don't mind if I call you, Jackie. Those guys down in customs. They're a bunch of fucking pricks. There's something about that job that makes them really hard to get along with. Now, you can go down there and talk with those guys who are really suspicious and disagreeable human beings, or you can talk to a couple of good-hearted guys like us".
And lastly there is Keaton's best scene in the film where Ray angrily confronts Jackie over how the money exchange went down as Jackie claims Melanie stole the bag. And in the scene, Ray angrily walks into the interview room and says to Jackie "You didn't tell me you were going shopping" and Jackie says "I thought I did" and Ray angrily slams the door "No, you didn't!" and he tells her "You know if it were me and I had all this shit hanging over my head, I would go shopping later!". And as Jackie tries to explain herself, Ray frustrated as he is, seems to accept what Jackie tells him. However, he turns to her and angrily asks "You have no idea where the 50,000 is?! No clue?! It could have gone here or there?!" and Jackie defiantly says "I have no motherfuckin idea where the money is!" and Ray says "Will you polygraph to that?!" and she says "Yeah, if that would make you motherfuckin happy!". Ray finally sits down and looks at Jackie and says "I sure hope you didn't do anything stupid, Jackie".
Michael Bowen is also good as the LAPD officer, Dargus who works with Nicolete and he gives Jackie a hard time on their first meeting and he says to her about her poor income.
So, I will mention one of Bowen's scenes and its the one where Jackie is questioned by Dargus at the ATF office but she refuses to say anything and Dargus insults her low income job as an air stewardess.
And in the scene as Jackie lights a cigarette, Dargus says to her "I didn't hear you ask permission if you an smoke in my office?" and Jackie asks "Can i smoke?" and Dargus says "No you may not". Dargus then continues "So you get off with a slap on the wrist but all this criminal activity fucks up your shit for good with the big airlines. Cut to years later, you’re years of age flying for the shittiest little shuttle-fuckin’ piece of shit Mexican airline there is...where you make what, $12000 a year?". Jackie then says "I made $16,000 last year plus benefits" and Dargus teases her "You been in the service industry for years, and all you make is $16,000 plus benefits? Didn’t exactly set the world on fire, did you, Jackie?".
And last of all is Chris Tucker who manages to be less annoying for once in a film and delivers a decent enough performance as Beaumont Livingstone, a troublesome employee of Ordell.
And I will mention just the one scene (well he is technically only in two!) where Ordell tries to persuade Beaumont to try and get into the trunk of his car and hold a shotgun to intimidate some Mexicans Ordell is supposedly dealing with but Beau is less than enthused about doing it.
So, in the scene Beaumont tells Ordell "Look man I crawling into no dirty ass trunk! I have a problem with small spaces!" and Ordell angrily says "And I've got a problem with paying $10,000 for ungrateful peanut headed niggas but I did it!". Beaumont then says "Look I wanna help you but I don't wanna be locked in no trunk of no goddamn car!" and Ordell says "Look all I'm askin you to do is to hold this shotgun and when I pop the hood, you point it at these budha heads" and Beaumont says "You're catching a nigga off guard with this shit!". Ordell finally closes the deal on Beau by tempting him with a good meal afterward and says "That's some good eatin" and Beau sighs and points at the open trunk "Exactly how long have I gotta be in this motherfucker?!". And we cut to Ordell closing the boot on Beaumont who lies in it with the shotgun who shouts "Hey, motherfucker you hit my goddamn head! You ponytail wearing motherfucker!".
DIRECTOR
As for the direction, Quentin Tarantino does a great job here with the film
although he paces the film a little more leisurely but he still keeps the story ticking along nicely and makes
good use of visual sense and makes the odd nod to other filmmakers such
as Brian De Palma in the scene where we see the split scan shot of Max
check the glove compartment of his car to find his gun missing and
Jackie click it against Ordell. The film's opening scene is also a
strong nod to the beginning of The Graduate, starring Dustin Hoffman, as
Jackie travels along a travelator. Another impressive visual scene is the tracking shot where Ordell drives his car with Beaumont in the boot into a yard nearby and opens the boot and shoots him.
Tarantino's screenplay is also
funny and even charming in places and is also very witty (not to mention
foul mouthed as well) although he did come under fire from director, Spike Lee
for the use of the word "nigga" in the film and accused him of providing
the film with racist overtones and that as a white man he didn't have
the right to write for black characters, which Tarantino strongly
objected to as he said in the press "Spike Lee says I can't write black
characters?? Fuck you, THAT'S racist!!".
MUSIC
The film's soundtrack is also excellent and Tarantino again expertly chooses some soul and R&B tracks which fit the film perfectly. The most notable tracks include Bobby Womack's "Across 110th street" which is used at the start and end of the film, The Brothers Johnson "Strawberry 23", The Delfonics "Didn't I (Blow your mind this time)" (although I'm not a big fan of that one!). Also there are some other good tracks such as "The lions and the cucumber" by The Vampires sound corporation, "Midnight confessions" by The Grass Roots and "Cissy Strut" by The Meters.
FLAWS (Warning: this section may contain spoilers!)
As for Jackie Brown's flaws...... well the film hasn't got too many to
moan about apart from maybe as I hinted at the film at two and hours
long is a bit on the long side and there are some scenes which are a bit drawn out. Such examples include the one where Ordell shoots Beaumont (although I do like how it was shot, so to speak!) and the scene where Jackie frantically looks around the mall for Ray, which seems to go on forever before she calls out his name!
Another criticism that could be leveled at the film is there are still tinges of misogny in Tarantino's screenplay and this is evident with Melanie's character, who is an incessant nag who get's killed as a result by Louis, purely because she didn't know when to shut up. And its Tarantino's inclusion of having Melanie killed that proves to be the one shocking violent moment in the film and the one bit of "Tarantino" action that we get in the film where he just has to have one surprise kill in there.
And in the end you think why did Louis have to kill her and as Ordell says himself "couldn't you just hit her?" and he later himself laments that she was dead to Max "I told that fuckin Louis all he had to do was hit her in the mouth, but no he had to shoot her!". I guess Tarantino though likes to create nagging female characters such as Melanie in Jackie Brown or Jodie in Pulp Fiction to act as a direct contrast to the men to keep them in their place.
Another thing that bugged me is how Max bought the cassette of the Delfonics because he liked the song "Didn't I (Blow your mind this time)" and he ONLY listens to that song and listens to it over and over again! I mean come on, there are more tracks than that on the tape surely and he just listens to the same damn one! Its like people how buy albums just for the hits and don't bother listening to the rest of the album to see if there are any other good ones.
And last of all I had was to do with Samuel's delivery of the line "her ass used to be beautiful" as it is a bit vague as to who he is referring to here, is it Jackie or Melanie? You could also argue he said "Our ass" or even "Your ass" referring to both him and Louis as if they were once a good team working together but the line delivery is pretty vague. I personally think he is saying "her ass" and he might be referring to Melanie and how she used to be beautiful as he says earlier that "she isn't as pretty as she used to be" and that he shot Louis out of anger for him shooting Melanie in the first place. Again this is just a theory and its a bit ambiguous who Quentin meant this line for.
So, that's it for the flaws.
SUM UP
So, in summing it all up, Jackie Brown is an excellent Tarantino movie, which has aged very well and its a breath of fresh air compared to his more violent films as it lacks the blood and brutality of some of his other movies and is more character driven and focused. The film also has top performances from its cast and particularly did wonders for Pamela Grier and Robert Forster's careers and Quentin's dialogue is clever, witty and amusing as ever. And despite any slight niggles or flaws, this is easily one of Tarantino's most mature films to date and after 26 years its still well worth checking out.
So, I will rate Jackie Brown:
9 out of 10
And that's it for now and I will be back sometime soon with another post.
Until then its bye for now!
No comments:
Post a Comment