QT Retrospective: JACKIE BROWN

This has somehow already become the forgotten great Tarantino film.

Based off Elmore Leonard’s RUM PUNCH the film focuses on the titular character (Pam Grier) who’s a stewardess (don’t worry, that was politically correct in 1997) and sometimes money smuggler. After the cops pinch her, Jackie’s boss (Samuel L. Jackson) bails her out in fear that she might become an informant to the police. Things become more complicated as the bail bondsman (Robert Forster) instantly falls for the beautiful Jackie.

The most character-driven of all Tarantino’s films the story contains genuine heart in the middle of all the crime that encompasses the plot. The cast, which also includes Robert De Niro, Bridget Fonda, Michael Keaton and Chris Tucker, is first-class and Tarantino’s direction is assured and mature. It took three years for him to make his follow-up feature to the phenomenon PULP FICTION, but the wait was definately worth it.

Even if it’s been overlooked since its initial release, JACKIE BROWN earns a spot right next to PULP as one of the very best achievements of the writer/director’s career. (R.J. LaForce)