Jackie Brown, a quick take.

In Quentin Tarantino’s third film Jackie Brown, a flight attendant named Jackie Brown, of course, makes extra money by smuggling cash from Mexico into the United States for Ordell Robbie, a black market gun dealer played by Samuel L. Jackson. Ordell has been under close watch by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) and they have arrested one of Ordell’s couriers. From the information he gives the ATF, the ATF intercept Jackie Brown returning from Mexico. Ordell gets money from bondsman Max Cherry in order to pay her bail before the ATF can get any information, but Max Cherry becomes attracted to Jackie, which begins a circuitous plan to double cross the ATF and Ordell.

Jackie Brown, the protagonist of this film.

Tarantino, known as an excellent director but an even more creative screenwriter, has only ever had one adapted screenplay and that is Jackie Brown. Jackie Brown is based on Rum Punch, a book by Elmore Leonard. Tarantino and frequent collaborator Roger Avary, after completing Pulp Fiction, bought the films rights to three of Leonard’s books, Rum Punch, Freaky Deaky, and Killshot. Originally, Tarantino wanted to film either Freaky Deaky or Killshot, but he reread Rum Punch and realized it was the much better of the three. Although it is adapted, Tarantino still incorporated some of his trademark humor and pacing. Tarantino changed some portions of the story and it has some inspirations from blaxploitation films, but Tarantino says it is not a blaxploitation film itself. Pam Grier, the actress who plays Jackie Brown, was known for her roles in blaxploitation films, and this film reinvigorated her career.

Samuel L. Jackson’s Ordell Robbie and Robert De Niro’s Louis Gara.

Jackie Brown often gets forgotten when someone recounts all of Tarantino’s films, but some regard it as one of his best. The dialogue of Jackie Brown is quite different when compared to the other films by Tarantino, as it is more realistic and less Tarantino-esque. It might be often forgotten as a Tarantino film because it feels the least like a Tarantino film out of all of his filmography, which is nuanced. Besides Samuel L. Jackson, the cast of this film has none of Tarantino’s frequent collaborators, which may make it feel out of place. Jackie Brown also does not follow Tarantino’s usual non-linear storytelling and his technique of splitting the film into chapters. I believe that Jackie Brown is a great film, but it always gets forgotten in Tarantino’s discography because it is so unlike his other films.

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