JACKIE BROWN (1997)
a review by Christian Pyle
In "Jackie Brown," the title character (Pam Grier) is a stewardess who is caught by the feds (Michael Keaton, Michael Bowen) bringing in a shipment of cash for arms dealer Ordell Robbie (Samuel L. Jackson). Ordell sends bailbondsman Max Cherry (Robert Forster) to get Jackie out of jail, and Max falls for her at first sight. Jackie soon hatches a plan to play the feds and Ordell against each other to make off with a sackfull of Ordell's money.
"Jackie Brown" attempts to introduce audiences to a different Quentin Tarantino-more low key, more subtle than the fast-paced maverick of "Reservoir Dogs" (1992) and "Pulp Fiction" (1994). Touches of the old QT are here, of course-Ordell and his pal Louis (Robert De Niro) are refugees from the atmosphere of "Pulp"-but the heart of "Jackie Brown" is the romance of Jackie and Max.
The weakness of the movie is its casting. Although he has two of the best actors in Hollywood on hand (Jackson and De Niro), Tarantino gives the most crucial roles to Grier and Forster, neither of which is up to the challenge. Tarantino offers several long close-ups of Forster's deep-lined face as if the actor's expression is supposed to communicate Max's unspoken thoughts and feelings. However, Forster's expression says nothing. Likewise, Grier, obviously cast in homage to her 70's blaxploitation films, can deliver dialogue with gusto but cannot lend her character the complexity that Tarantino's pacing and script seem to desire.
Grade: B-
© 1999 Christian L. Pyle
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