quentin tarantino seems to have a knack for giving his stars big careers .
after his pulp fiction , many actors began receiving many offers for jobs .
john travolta made his come-back and is now one of today’s most bankable stars .
bruce willis proved his acting chops and is now considered an actual actor .
jackie brown , on the other hand , boasts quite a well known cast , except for the main lead : pam grier .
most likely you have heard of her and seen her in films , but she’s never really had a breakthrough performance ( her first film was in the roger ebert-written beyond the valley of the dolls ) .
that is , until now .
jackie brown is a highly anticipated feature film from quentin tarantino , whose last film was the huge hit pulp fiction .
after mediocre acting jobs , tarantino returns to what made his name a household one : directing and writing .
jackie brown is the result , and it is fantastic entertainment .
despite excellent direction from tarantino , the cast steals the film , giving one good performance after another .
pam grier gives a stunning performance as jackie brown , and she is supported by an incredible mix of talent–samuel l . jackson , bridget fonda , michael keaton , robert de niro , and robert forster .
more than likely , you will see a few of these names in the oscar pool come oscar nominations .
describing a quentin tarantino film is very difficult , as you really can’t say much or you spoil it for everyone else .
i will tread lightly .
jackie brown opens with an impressive shot of jackie brown ( grier ) in a blue outfit walking through the airport .
the camera tracks along with her , and ends up revealing her occupation .
we are also introduced to ordell robbie ( jackson ) , who sells illegal guns to interested buyers . . .
for a hefty price .
ms . brown carries the money from buyer to ordell in order to keep the cops away .
however , an fbi agent ( keaton ) and a local l . a . cop ( michael bowen ) are out to find ordell and catch him while taking the money .
they try to reach him through beaumont livingston ( chris tucker ) , one of ordell’s buyers , but he mysteriously ends up dead .
they try again through brown , but she is hesitant to admit to any wrong-doing .
but after unknowingly carrying some drugs for one of ordell’s friends ( fonda ) , she is caught and sent to jail .
ordell pays her bail through a bail bond agent , max cherry ( forster ) , and then wants to find out what she told the cops .
after she claims to have said nothing , she reveals the fact that she will tell them about ordell in order to stay out of prison .
ordell doesn’t like this , but they both come up with a scheme to throw the feds and cops off their track .
this scheme seems to be going as planned , but unexpected occurances may or may not foul up their goal .
revealing more would spoil the fun of jackie brown , and that’s the biggest reason to go see a tarantino film .
tarantino seems to have a fascination with hitmen and unusual predicaments ( and slang terms ) , but they are always done very well and believably .
his hitmen are normally cruel , but pleasant , in that nasty sort of way .
they talk like normal people , except for when doing business , and they are rude to their girlfriends .
of course , this is a tarantino film , and you know you can expect some awkward situations to arise .
and perhaps the biggest flaw with jackie brown is the slow middle section in which the pace begins to drop .
of course , tarantino fixes this by moving onto the climax of the film , adding a lot of his reservoir dogs-style storytelling to it .
things are told from one person’s perspective , and then from another , and then from another , each time learning more and more .
this all leads up to a very interesting conclusion , which decides who is on whose side .
on the technical side of jackie brown , quentin tarantino directs it with the same style as he did with his 1994 film .
however , this time around it isn’t as nearly as impressive or original .
the writing , on the other hand , is quite good , although i do find tarantino’s use of slang terms offensive .
the story jumps back and forth in time as in pulp fiction , but it’s much more easy to understand .
his previous film needed a second viewing in order to understand the time differentiation , but jackie brown is very simply to follow , especially considering that the time is given during the ” leaps ” in time .
perhaps this is a result of the screenplay being written from the novel ” rum punch ” by elmore leonard .
the dialogue is pretty much intelligent , and all the characters are fully realized .
the cinematography is very well done by guillermo navarro ( who has worked with tarantino on previous films ) and the editing is very good .
and as with pulp fiction , the music is a highlight , bringing back memorable songs from the 70s and 80s .
the acting side of jackie brown is unforgettable .
the performances are incredibly rich , with hidden meaning behind every characters’ actions .
nothing is quite as it seems , and you can’t really tell which side one person is on .
the real treat , of course , is pam grier who gives an astonishing performance as jackie brown .
her poor living conditions are superceded by her superior wits , which play an important role in the film .
watching grieg , i could tell what was going through her mind , even if i didn’t know what she was thinking .
her face portrays a lot of emotion that you can tell when she is sad , happy , or in deep thought .
bridget fonda gives a very good performance as a druggie couch potato .
i didn’t even realize it was fonda until i saw her name in the final credits ( her performance actually reminded me of heather graham’s in boogie nights ) .
michael keaton comes across very well , as does michael bowen .
chris tucker has a small , but effective performance .
samuel l . jackson is very good , but it seems to me that he was replaying his jules winnfield character from pulp fiction ( although much less cynical ) .
but no matter . . .
jackson is very strong in his role .
robert de niro is actually a little annoying at times , but overall he does a good job as one of ordell’s perspective clients and friends .
robert forster gives one of the best performances in the film , as he has one of the most developed characters .
he is present throughout most of the film , and he holds his own against jackson and grier .
jackie brown is rated r for language , sex , violence , drug use , and some offensive remarks .
as a film by itself , jackie brown is a terrific piece of entertainment , with a complex plot to draw viewers in .
however , one can not help but compare it to tarantino’s pulp fiction , and expect great results .
when compared , it comes up short , but not that short .
it’s a worthy effort , with terrific acting and some impressive writing from elmore leonard and tarantino .
perhaps the best thing about jackie brown is the discovery of pam grier as a major hollywood actress .
i can’t remember seeing her in anything ( except for a small role in mars attacks ! ) , but hopefully she will get many more roles from this one .
expect to see her name floating around the oscar nominations ( and hopefully she will even be able to nab one ) .