JACKIE BROWN di Quentin Tarantino (1997)
- Planet Claire
- 1 day ago
- 7 min read
Third film by Quentin Tarantino, Jackie Brown follows Reservoir Dogs (1992) and Pulp Fiction (1994), but it has a more relaxed and reflective pace. Tarantino embraces an almost classical narrative, which allows the characters to "breathe" and develop, within an unprecedented authorial poetics.
Jackie Brown is, first and foremost, a film dedicated to its protagonist, actress Pam Grier, an icon of African-American cinema of the Seventies. Tarantino crafts a meticulous cinephile homage to that fertile era for genre cinema, fertile for the evolution of cinematic language, for the extraordinary creative freedom and experimentation, in which cinema opened itself to new aesthetics, new cultural representations, and a new morality. Jackie Brown is an intelligent and sophisticated operation of personal reinterpretation of Blaxploitation.
A film genre born in the United States in the early Seventies, in a context of marginalisation and struggle for civil rights, Blaxploitation represented a form of cultural empowerment, with films made mainly by and for the African-American community. The term derives from the fusion of “black” and “exploitation": these films exploited elements of African-American culture to attract a specific audience and often, in keeping with the revolutionary spirit of the time, with an emancipatory and transgressive value. The African-American protagonists, anti-heroes and anti-heroines, were engaged in challenging oppressive power structures, both criminal hierarchies and socio-political institutions. Racism, corruption and the struggle for justice were central themes, told through a mix of action, stylised violence, humour and a soundtrack dominated by funk and soul. Among the best-known films of the genre are Shaft (1971), Super Fly (1972), Coffy (1973). Blaxploitation played an important role in African-American representation in Hollywood, bringing to the screen for the first time strong, sexually emancipated and independent black protagonists. However, the genre also perpetuated stereotypes and clichés linked to violence, drugs and criminality. Its influence is still evident in contemporary cinema and popular culture.
For Tarantino, Blaxploitation is much more than a mere stylistic reference. That era for the director is not just a reservoir of visual and narrative quotations, because he reinvents them; he evokes the spirit of that movement in a conscious, respectful, yet modern and ironic version, transforming apparently nostalgic references into a contemporary filmic language capable of engaging with today’s audience while maintaining a deep connection with the history of cinema.
But Jackie Brown is also a contemporary reinterpretation of classic film noir, of which it contains many ingredients. Just like in a classic noir, the female protagonist is a somewhat ambiguous femme fatale; the themes are deceit, double-crossing, betrayal: nothing is as it seems and the characters move in a world of hypocrisy, corruption and self-interest, trapped in a cycle of dishonest actions with no way out. The male character of Max is also a classic of film noir: a sort of disillusioned private investigator who finds himself caught in a spiral of events that will test him. The use of enclosed spaces and dark interiors helps create an atmosphere of tension, uncertainty and suspense. The ending is a partial victory over a world that is never completely fair or safe, another central theme of film noir.
Jackie Brown is based on the novel Rum Punch (1992) by North American crime writer Elmore Leonard. The novel is set in Florida and Tarantino moves the action to the South of Los Angeles. There are many differences in the characters and also a useful streamlining of the plot. Tarantino has done a masterful and highly effective job on the material at the origin of this story.
Orchestrated with the usual narrative mastery, it is a story of visceral energy, with the typical Tarantinian centrality of anti-heroic figures. As always, Tarantino also expresses himself through temporal deconstruction and the taste for the characters’ everyday details.
The protagonist, Jackie Brown, played by a beautiful, seductive and very talented Pam Grier, is a forty-four-year-old flight attendant for a modest Mexican airline. With a past of legal irregularities, involved in money trafficking on behalf of dangerous arms dealer Ordell Robbie (Samuel L. Jackson), she is arrested by the ATF, the government agency that controls illegal trafficking, for smuggling money and drugs. Pressured to become a police informant, Jackie must find a way to avoid jail and secure a way out without getting killed: she devises a plan to deceive both Ordell and the authorities, trying to save herself and ensure a new life, with the help of Max Cherry (Robert Forster), a bail bondsman, a sort of private investigative detective who gets people out of jail on bail, who falls in love with her. The audience is kept in suspense by intricate twists, until the final resolution.
Pam Grier, absolute icon of Blaxploitation, is here revisited as an action heroine but also as a layered, melancholic yet determined figure, and the maturity of the character elevates her beyond the boundaries of the genre. Tarantino does not simply pay homage to Grier, he celebrates her.
Around Grier moves a cast of great-calibre actors, each of whom contributes to creating a mosaic of memorable characters.
Robert De Niro, in a surprisingly restrained and subdued role –a new side of his acting– plays Louis Gara, a downbeat and almost awkward criminal.
His presence contrasts sharply with that of Samuel L. Jackson, who brings to life Ordell Robbie, a manipulative and charismatic arms dealer. Jackson, with his verbal and physical magnetism, and wearing a wig of sparse straight hair, builds an antagonist capable of alternating moments of disturbing cruelty with scenes of lightness in which we recognise Tarantino’s typical humour.
Bridget Fonda (Peter Fonda’s daughter), in the role of Melanie Ralston, is the young, beautiful and very lazy white Californian surfer girl.
Michael Keaton is perfect in the role of the pragmatic agent Ray Nicolette.
Max Cherry, interpreted with extraordinary finesse by Robert Forster, is one of the central characters of Jackie Brown and one of the most complex in Quentin Tarantino’s entire filmography. Max is a man who has spent much of his professional life in the labyrinths of crime and law, yet he retains a surprising moral honesty and sense of integrity. His relationship with Jackie Brown is the emotional heart of the film. From their very first meeting, Max is fascinated by the hostess, by her beauty, her charisma, and the inner strength he perceives in her. Max Cherry is not a traditional hero: he becomes involved in the plot gradually, almost reluctantly. He is a man who falls in love silently, with a gaze and presence that communicate far more than words. Tarantino builds the character with unusual sobriety, which contrasts with the exuberance of the other protagonists. For this great performance –between vulnerability and firmness– Robert Forster was nominated for an Oscar as Best Supporting Actor.
Tarantino is a master at creating stunning dialogues that define the characters and their world. In the case of African-American criminality, gangster language is also a way of expressing power, status and identity. Samuel L. Jackson contributed to the creation of the street language of the film.
The cinematography by Guillermo Navarro creates a visual language that pays homage to the cinema of the Seventies without being a mere exercise in style. The use of natural light and saturated colours evokes the Blaxploitation aesthetic. Navarro and Tarantino use warm tones, often dominated by shades of orange, brown and gold, recalling the era that inspired the film. They favour long takes and static shots that give the actors’ performances room to "breathe". The frequent use of close-ups allows us to come into direct contact with the characters’ emotions. The challenging gazes are those of the Western, a genre much loved by Tarantino. The long shots emphasise isolation or tension in scenes of greater suspense. The camera, while dynamic when necessary, avoids virtuosity, always maintaining focus on the narrative and the characters. The work with shadows and contrasts strengthens the sense of danger and moral ambiguity that permeates the story.
The soundtrack, an ever-dominant element in Tarantino’s films, is a work of art in itself. Released in 1997, Jackie Brown: Music from the Miramax Motion Picture mixes soul, funk, and R&B with sections of dialogue from the film.
Among the most beautiful songs:
Across 110th Street is a magnificent song by Bobby Womack, heard at the opening and closing of the film, as a thematic commentary on Jackie’s story and her struggle for independence.
Who Is He (And What Is He to You)? by Bill Withers
Tennessee Stud by Johnny Cash
Long Time Woman by Les Baxter, sung by Pam Grier
Street Life by Randy Crawford
Didn’t I (Blow Your Mind This Time) by The Delfonics, the famous R&B vocal group from Philadelphia
The film is also a reflection on the passing of time and the weight of choices. Jackie Brown is not an idealised heroine like Uma Thurman in Kill Bill, but a real person. She is a woman who fights for her survival, in a story of deceit and redemption, and she does so with a wisdom and depth that make her great.
With this film, Tarantino once again demonstrates his ability to reinvent genres, with playfulness, to converse with the cinematic past and to create stunning characters that remain in memory: a work of cinematic art that nourishes the viewer in a complex and complete way.
It has long been known that Quentin Tarantino, author of nine excellent films, intends to retire after having directed exactly ten films.
Since 2022, he had been working on his tenth and final film, The Movie Critic, about which he maintained the utmost secrecy, although announcing – in 2023 – that Brad Pitt would be part of the cast. However, in April 2024, the multi-award-winning director decided to cancel the project and, for the moment, has chosen to remain withdrawn, away from the scene. We await developments.
update, Oct 2025: Tarantino mentioned in early 2025 that he is currently writing a play, and he may adapt it into his final film. Also, he has stated it will be a while before he starts production as he wants his children to get older.
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