Jackie Brown – DVD Review

When I first watched Jackie Brown, I didn’t think much of it.  Well, I must not have seeing as I was unable to remember exactly how I felt about the film.  Nevertheless, I decided to purchase the DVD on nothing other than a hunch that I will probably enjoy the film having some time passed.  After all, it is Tarantino I am talking about here.

Not unlike Tarantino’s other films, Jackie Brown follows many characters with their own stories, in this case there is Ordell Robbie (Samuel L. Jackson) an arms dealer who is working on selling some stock and is having his recently released from prison friend Louis Gara (Robert DeNiro) tag along with him.  Ordell has his money safely stored in Cabo which flight attendant Jackie Brown (Pam Grier) aids him in transporting back and forth.  Upon getting caught by the police (Michael Keaton and Mark Dargus) Jackie Brown needs to decide between giving Ordell up and walking away charge-free only to most likely end up dead at the hands of Ordell, or staying mute and facing jail time.  But Jackie doesn’t wish to do either of those two and instead begins to hatch up a plan of her own with the aid of newly befriended bail bondsman Max Cherry (Robert Forster), who is falling in love with her.

To begin with, Jackie Brown is long film at 154 minutes and it moves at a calm, steady pace throughout the film allowing for the characters to develop and the plot to take shape.  Furthermore, there is not much violence that some people may have grown accustomed to when watching Tarantino unravel his tales, perhaps causing some viewers disappointed and bored.  In fact, most of this film consists of dialogue between several characters, which may not sound overly appealing at first, but as the frame of the film, the characters are what you grow to love the most about the film.  The plot becomes less of an issue, rather you are being told, “Look at these people and watch” watch as their worlds and lives unfold forming the Jackie Brown experience.  This creates a hypnotic vibe within the film which forbids you from looking away even though all that is happening is conversation.  That is the beauty of Jackie Brown.  Tension builds as we are introduced to Jackie’s plan piece by piece over the course of the last hour of the film, until it all concludes in a somewhat restrained Tarantino fashion, keeping some of the glory his finales have become known for.

Seeing as this film is extremely character driven, there’s a lot of demand on the actors, thankfully they all deliver amplifying the flowing quality of the film.  The title sequence, and the title itself, indicates that Jackie Brown is the main character of the film.  While this is true, the supporting characters have pretty major roles and share almost equal amounts of screen time with Pam Grier.  Pam Grier is dynamite as Jackie Brown, bringing just enough sass and attitude to her character without compromising her cool and collected, straight-headed side.  Her foil is Ordell Robbie, who Samuel L. Jackson does a fantastic job of handling, never seeming too dumb to be tricked, nor impervious to being outsmarted.  Then there is Max Cherry, the hapless bail bondsmen who hasn’t had much joy in life until Jackie Brown entered his small office.  Robert Forster delivers perhaps the best performance of his seldom-recognized career and it is a shame to see that he has not had larger roles to take on.  Forster displays all the qualities necessary in order to make Max Cherry believable and he remains consistently genuine throughout the film.  Two other impressive performances are those of Robert DeNiro and Bridget Fonda.  Robert DeNiro, often taking on main roles, steps off to the side in Jackie Brown, quietly tagging along with Ordell, but the subtleties of his actions never slip away from the viewer’s sight and to pull such a feat is striking and adds to the magnetic quality of the film.  Bridget Fonda is Ordell’s girl on the side or as he puts it, “my sweet little surfer girl” who basically sits at home all day smoking weed and watching television.  Still, her character plays a sizeable role in the lives of Ordell and Louis (DeNiro) and having any blond actress in a bikini simply wouldn’t cut it.  Melanie (Fonda) may be doped up half the time, but she has thoughts and emotions and Fonda expresses them, even when horizontally fixed on a couch.

Much like the title character, Jackie Brown is a cool, collected, and methodical film that never gives up too much, but does not hold everything back.  Tensions and relations build and plots begin to form in the “wham bam, thank you ma’am” template, but set to different rhythm.  This uncommon rhythm is what sets Jackie Brown apart from other films and can cause some uncomfortable or undesirable tones, however, giving into the film rather fighting it provides a truly magnificent and engaging experience that is hard to have elsewhere.  Yes the film is a bit long, but sit back, relax, and enjoy the smooth ride of Jackie Brown.

8.7/10