Jackie Brown is a
1997The year 1997 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*The Star Wars original trilogy's 20th Anniversary Special Editions are released.*Production begins on Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace....
crime filmA crime film, in the most general sense, is a film that involves various aspects crime and the criminal justice system. Stylistically, it can fall under many different genres, most commonly drama, thriller, Mystery film and film noir...
written and directed by
Quentin TarantinoQuentin Jerome Tarantino is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer and actor. In the early 1990s he was an independent filmmaker whose films used nonlinear storylines and aestheticization of violence...
. It is an adaptation of the
novelA novel is a long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
Rum PunchRum Punch is a 1992 novel written by Elmore Leonard, adapted into a film by director Quentin Tarantino, who changed some of the characters and the plot...
by American novelist
Elmore LeonardElmore John Leonard, Jr. is an American novelist and screenwriter.His earliest published novels in the 1950s were westerns, and Leonard went on to specialize in crime fiction and suspense thrillers, several of which have been adapted into successful motion pictures or TV movies.-Biography:Leonard...
, but reworks it to create an homage to 1970s
blaxploitationBlaxploitation is a film genre that emerged in the United States in the early 1970s when many exploitation films were made that targeted the urban black audience; the word itself is a portmanteau of the words "black" and "exploitation." Blaxploitation films were the first to feature soundtracks of...
films. The film stars
Pam GrierPamela Suzette "Pam" Grier is an American actress. She came to fame in the early 1970s, after starring in a string of moderately successful women in prison films and blaxploitation films such as 1974's Foxy Brown. Her career was revitalized in 1997 after her appearance in Quentin Tarantino's film...
,
Robert ForsterRobert Forster is an American actor.-Early life:Forster was born in Rochester, New York...
,
Robert De NiroRobert Mario De Niro, Jr. is an American actor, director, and producer.De Niro is well-known for his method acting and portrayals of conflicted, troubled characters and for his enduring collaboration with director Martin Scorsese...
,
Samuel L. JacksonSamuel Leroy Jackson is an American film and television actor. After Jackson became involved with the Civil Rights Movement, he moved on to acting in theater at Morehouse College, and then, films. He had several small roles, before meeting his mentor, Morgan Freeman, and the director Spike Lee...
,
Bridget FondaBridget Jane Fonda is an American actress.-Early life:Fonda was born in Los Angeles, California into a family of actors, including her grandfather Henry Fonda, her father Peter Fonda, and her aunt Jane Fonda. Her mother, Susan Jane Brewer, is an artist...
and
Michael KeatonMichael John Douglas , better known as Michael Keaton, is an American actor, well known for his early comedic roles in films such as Night Shift, Mr...
. It was Tarantino's third film, following his successes with
Reservoir DogsReservoir Dogs is the 1992 debut film of director and writer Quentin Tarantino. It portrays what happens before and after a botched jewel heist, but not the heist itself. Reservoir Dogs stars an ensemble cast with Harvey Keitel, Steve Buscemi, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen, Quentin Tarantino, Chris Penn...
(1992) and
Pulp FictionPulp Fiction is a 1994 crime film directed by Quentin Tarantino, who cowrote its screenplay with Roger Avary. The film is known for its rich, eclectic dialogue, ironic mix of humor and violence, nonlinear storyline, and host of cinematic allusions and pop culture references...
(1994).
Grier and Forster were both veteran actors but neither had performed a leading role in many years.
Jackie Brown revitalized both actors' careers. The film garnered Forster an
Academy AwardThe Academy Awards, popularly known as the Oscars, are presented annually by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers. The formal ceremony at which the awards are presented is...
nomination for Best Supporting Actor, and Jackson and Grier were nominated for Golden Globe Awards.
Plot
Set in
Los AngelesLos Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the municipality of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123.445 inhabitants...
in 1995, Jackie Brown (
Pam GrierPamela Suzette "Pam" Grier is an American actress. She came to fame in the early 1970s, after starring in a string of moderately successful women in prison films and blaxploitation films such as 1974's Foxy Brown. Her career was revitalized in 1997 after her appearance in Quentin Tarantino's film...
) is a flight attendant for a small Mexican airline, the latest step down for her career in the airline industry. Despite the low pay, the job enables her to smuggle money from Mexico into the United States for Ordell Robbie (
Samuel L. JacksonSamuel Leroy Jackson is an American film and television actor. After Jackson became involved with the Civil Rights Movement, he moved on to acting in theater at Morehouse College, and then, films. He had several small roles, before meeting his mentor, Morgan Freeman, and the director Spike Lee...
), a gun runner under the close watch of the
ATFThe Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is a specialized federal law enforcement agency and regulatory organization within the United States Department of Justice...
.
Ordell learns that another of his workers, Beaumont Livingston (
Chris TuckerChristopher "Chris" Tucker is an American actor and comedian, Tucker is best known for his roles as Smokey in Friday and Detective James Carter in the Rush Hour trilogy.-Early life:...
), has been arrested and, fearing that he will talk to authorities in order to avoid jail time, Ordell arranges for Beaumont's bail and murders him. Acting on information Beaumont had indeed shared, ATF agent Ray Nicolette (
Michael KeatonMichael John Douglas , better known as Michael Keaton, is an American actor, well known for his early comedic roles in films such as Night Shift, Mr...
) and
LAPDThe Los Angeles Police Department is the police department of the city of Los Angeles, California. With nearly 9,900 officers and more than 3,000 civilian staff, covering an area of with a population of more than 3.8 million people, it is one of the largest law enforcement agencies in the United...
Detective Mark Dargus (
Michael BowenMichael Bowen is an American actor. Films he has appeared in include Jackie Brown, Magnolia, Less Than Zero and as Buck in Kill Bill: Vol 1...
) catch Jackie as she arrives in the U.S. with Ordell's cash and some
cocaineCocaine is a crystalline tropane alkaloid that is obtained from the leaves of the coca plant. The name comes from "coca" in addition to the alkaloid suffix -ine, forming cocaine. It is a stimulant of the central nervous system and an appetite suppressant...
that Brown was unaware was stashed along with the cash. She initially refuses to deal with Nicolette and Dargus, and is sent to
jailA jail is a short-term detention facility in the United States.Jail may also refer to:*Prison or jail, a place for confinement*Jail , a program resources sandbox mechanism*Jail , a 2009 Bollywood movie...
on possession of drugs with intent to sell.
Ordell, sensing Jackie may be just as likely to inform as Beaumont had been, arranges to bail her out. He returns to Max Cherry (
Robert ForsterRobert Forster is an American actor.-Early life:Forster was born in Rochester, New York...
), the same
bail bondsmanA bail bond agent, or bondsman, is any person or corporation which will act as a surety and pledge money or property as bail for the appearance of a criminal defendant in court...
he used to arrange Beaumont's release, to bail out Brown. Cherry arranges for Jackie's bail and, only partly masking his physical attraction, offers to help her determine her legal options. Later that night, Ordell shows up at Jackie's house, presumably to eliminate her, but using a gun she stole from Cherry, she cuts a deal whereby she will pretend to help the authorities while still managing to smuggle $500,000 of Ordell's money, enough to allow him to retire.
To carry out this plan, Ordell employs several others, a woman he lives with, Melanie Ralston (
Bridget FondaBridget Jane Fonda is an American actress.-Early life:Fonda was born in Los Angeles, California into a family of actors, including her grandfather Henry Fonda, her father Peter Fonda, and her aunt Jane Fonda. Her mother, Susan Jane Brewer, is an artist...
), Louis Gara (
Robert De NiroRobert Mario De Niro, Jr. is an American actor, director, and producer.De Niro is well-known for his method acting and portrayals of conflicted, troubled characters and for his enduring collaboration with director Martin Scorsese...
), his friend and former cellmate, and a naïve Southern girl, Sheronda (
Lisa Gay HamiltonLisa Gay Hamilton is an American film, television, and theater actress known for her role as attorney Rebecca Washington on the ABC legal drama The Practice, and for her critically acclaimed performance as young Sethe in Jonathan Demme's film adaptation of Toni Morrison's Beloved...
). With Jackie's help Nicolette arranges a sting to catch Ordell, though Jackie and Ordell plan to double cross him by diverting the actual money before Ray makes an arrest.
Unbeknownst to Ray or Ordell, Jackie plans to deceive them both with the help of Max in order to keep the $500,000 for herself. After a dry run, during which Ray could observe the operation, the stage is set for the actual event. Set in a
Los Angeles mallDel Amo Fashion Center is a two-level regional shopping mall in Torrance, California, USA. It is currently managed and co-owned by Simon Property Group....
, Jackie stops in a dressing room before the official exchange to swap bags with Melanie and Louis, supposedly passing off the $500,000 under Nicolette's nose, but in fact only giving Melanie $50,000 and leaving the rest behind in the dressing room for Max to later pick up. Jackie then feigns despair as she calls Ray out from hiding and claims Melanie took all the money and ran.
Though angered, Ray leaves assuming Ordell has escaped with the money through little fault of Jackie's. Melanie grows on Louis' nerves, leading him to shoot and kill her in the parking lot while making their escape. When Ordell later discovers that Louis has only delivered $40,000 (Melanie having taken $10,000 for herself after being tricked into doing so by Jackie), Ordell kills him, now understanding that Jackie took his money. Max and Jackie ultimately lure Ordell back to Max's office to claim his money. Jackie yells out that Ordell has a gun and Ordell is shot by Nicolette who was hidden in the office. The movie ends with Max saying no to Jackie's invitation to come with her as she leaves the country with Ordell's money and the two part after a kiss.
Cast
- Pam Grier
Pamela Suzette "Pam" Grier is an American actress. She came to fame in the early 1970s, after starring in a string of moderately successful women in prison films and blaxploitation films such as 1974's Foxy Brown. Her career was revitalized in 1997 after her appearance in Quentin Tarantino's film...
as Jackie Brown
- Samuel L. Jackson
Samuel Leroy Jackson is an American film and television actor. After Jackson became involved with the Civil Rights Movement, he moved on to acting in theater at Morehouse College, and then, films. He had several small roles, before meeting his mentor, Morgan Freeman, and the director Spike Lee...
as Ordell Robbie
- Robert Forster
Robert Forster is an American actor.-Early life:Forster was born in Rochester, New York...
as Max Cherry
- Michael Keaton
Michael John Douglas , better known as Michael Keaton, is an American actor, well known for his early comedic roles in films such as Night Shift, Mr...
as Ray Nicolette
- Robert De Niro
Robert Mario De Niro, Jr. is an American actor, director, and producer.De Niro is well-known for his method acting and portrayals of conflicted, troubled characters and for his enduring collaboration with director Martin Scorsese...
as Louis Gara
- Bridget Fonda
Bridget Jane Fonda is an American actress.-Early life:Fonda was born in Los Angeles, California into a family of actors, including her grandfather Henry Fonda, her father Peter Fonda, and her aunt Jane Fonda. Her mother, Susan Jane Brewer, is an artist...
as Melanie Ralston
- Michael Bowen
Michael Bowen is an American actor. Films he has appeared in include Jackie Brown, Magnolia, Less Than Zero and as Buck in Kill Bill: Vol 1...
as Mark Dargus
- Chris Tucker
Christopher "Chris" Tucker is an American actor and comedian, Tucker is best known for his roles as Smokey in Friday and Detective James Carter in the Rush Hour trilogy.-Early life:...
as Beaumont Livingston
- Lisa Gay Hamilton
Lisa Gay Hamilton is an American film, television, and theater actress known for her role as attorney Rebecca Washington on the ABC legal drama The Practice, and for her critically acclaimed performance as young Sethe in Jonathan Demme's film adaptation of Toni Morrison's Beloved...
as Sheronda
- Tommy "Tiny" Lister Jr. as Winston
Production
Tarantino changed the race of the main character of Leonard's novel from white to black. The casting of
Pam GrierPamela Suzette "Pam" Grier is an American actress. She came to fame in the early 1970s, after starring in a string of moderately successful women in prison films and blaxploitation films such as 1974's Foxy Brown. Her career was revitalized in 1997 after her appearance in Quentin Tarantino's film...
is an homage to the
blaxploitationBlaxploitation is a film genre that emerged in the United States in the early 1970s when many exploitation films were made that targeted the urban black audience; the word itself is a portmanteau of the words "black" and "exploitation." Blaxploitation films were the first to feature soundtracks of...
genre, in which Grier had made several films, such as
Black Mama, White MamaBlack Mama, White Mama is a 1972 women in prison film with elements of blaxploitation, starring Pam Grier and Margaret Markov, and directed by Eddie Romero.-Plot:...
. Grier's career is referenced in many ways. The poster for the film directly references the posters for Grier's films
CoffyCoffy is a 1973 blaxploitation film written and directed by American filmmaker Jack Hill.The story is about a black female vigilante, played by Pam Grier....
and
Foxy BrownFoxy Brown is a 1974 blaxploitation film written and directed by Jack Hill. It stars Pam Grier as the title character, described by one character as "a whole lot of woman" who showcases unrelenting sexiness while battling the villains.- Plot :...
; it even includes quotes from both of them. The typeface for the film's opening titles is also identical to what was used on the opening titles of
Foxy Brown. Some of the background music is also lifted from these films.
The main character in Leonard's novel is called Jackie Burke, but Tarantino changed her name to Jackie Brown. This is an homage to a gun runner in the 1973 film
The Friends of Eddie CoyleThe Friends of Eddie Coyle is a 1973 crime film starring Robert Mitchum and Peter Boyle. Directed by Peter Yates, the screenplay was adapted from the novel by George V. Higgins. It was released on DVD for the first time from The Criterion Collection on May 19, 2009.-Plot:Eddie Coyle is an aging,...
, based on a novel of the same name by
George V. HigginsGeorge V. Higgins was a United States author, lawyer, newspaper columnist, and college professor. He is best known for his bestselling crime novels. His full name was George Vincent Higgins, but his books were all published as by George V...
.
The opening sequence of the film is a careful homage to that of
The GraduateThe Graduate is a American comedy-drama film directed by Mike Nichols, based on the 1963 novel The Graduate by Charles Webb, who wrote it shortly after graduating from Williams College. The screenplay is by Calder Willingham and Buck Henry, who makes a cameo appearance as the hotel clerk...
. Where
Dustin HoffmanDustin Lee Hoffman is an American actor who has had an active career in film, television, and theatre since 1960. He first drew critical praise for the 1966 Off-Broadway play Eh? for which he won a Theatre World Award and a Drama Desk Award. This was soon followed by his breakout movie role as Ben...
passes wearily through
LAXLos Angeles International Airport is the primary airport serving Los Angeles, California, the second-most populated metropolitan area of the United States. It is often referred to by its airport code LAX, with the letters usually pronounced individually...
past white tiles to a sombre
folkThe term folk music originated in the 19th century as a term for musical folklore. It has been defined in several ways; as music transmitted by word of mouth, music of the lower classes, music with no known composer...
soundtrack, Pam Grier walks past the same spot, years later, to a soaring
soulSoul music is a music genre originating in the United States combining elements of gospel music and rhythm and blues. According to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, soul is "music that arose out of the black experience in America through the transmutation of gospel and rhythm & blues into a form of...
soundtrack ("
Across 110th StreetAcross 110th Street is a 1972 American crime-drama film, starring Anthony Quinn, Yaphet Kotto, and Tony Franciosa, and directed by Barry Shear...
" by
Bobby WomackRobert Dwayne "Bobby" Womack is an American singer-songwriter and musician. An active recording artist since the early 1960s where he started his career as the lead singer of his family musical group The Valentinos and as Sam Cooke's backing guitarist, Womack's career has spanned more than 40...
).
There are also two references to
Burt ReynoldsBurton Leon "Burt" Reynolds, Jr. is an American actor. Some of his memorable roles include Lewis Medlock in Deliverance, Paul "Wrecking" Crewe in The Longest Yard, Coach Nate Scarborough in the 2005 remake of The Longest Yard, Bo 'Bandit' Darville in Smokey and the Bandit, J.J...
movies. The song "Street Life" by
Randy CrawfordRandy Crawford is an American jazz and R&B singer. She has surprisingly proved more successful in Europe than her homeland, where she has yet to crack the Billboard Hot 100.-Career:...
is used in a scene where Jackie is en route to the climactic set up in Del Amo Mall; this is an homage to the
Sharky's MachineSharky's Machine is a 1981 motion picture directed by Burt Reynolds, who stars in the title role. The movie is an adaptation of William Diehl's first novel Sharky's Machine , with a screenplay by Gerald Di Pego....
(1981). And when Ordell and Louis contemplate who took the money in the VW van, the shot is similar to one in the 1985 film
StickStick is a 1985 film directed by and starring Burt Reynolds, based on the novel of the same name by Elmore Leonard.-Plot:Ernest "Stick" Stickley, a former car thief, has just been released from prison. He meets up with an old friend, Rainy, whose "quick stop" near the Florida Everglades before they...
, which is also based on an Elmore Leonard novel.
Reception
Jackie Brown was given generally positive reviews by critics, with a score of 85% on
Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films. The name derives from the historical cliché of throwing tomatoes and other produce at stage performers if a performance was particularly bad.- History :...
.
Soundtrack
The soundtrack album for
Jackie Brown, entitled
Jackie Brown: Music from the Miramax Motion PictureJackie Brown: Music from the Miramax Motion Picture is the soundtrack to Quentin Tarantino's motion picture Jackie Brown. It was originally released on December 9, 1997. The soundtrack uses a variety of music genres, including soul...
, was released on December 9, 1997.
There was no
film scoreA film score is an alternative word used for the background music of a film . The term soundtrack is often confused with film score, though a soundtrack may also include songs featured in the film as well as previously released music by other artists, while the score does not...
music composed for
Jackie Brown as Quentin Tarantino used a variety of different pieces of music with different genres in the film. These include soundtracks from
Slash's SnakepitSlash's Snakepit was a rock band formed by then-Guns N' Roses lead guitarist Slash in 1994. Fellow Guns N' Roses members Matt Sorum , Gilby Clarke also joined him. On bass was Mike Inez of Alice in Chains. Eric Dover sang lead vocals...
heard throughout the film. The original soundtrack features separate tracks with dialogue from the film. Also, some music from Pam Grier's earlier film,
CoffyCoffy is a 1973 blaxploitation film written and directed by American filmmaker Jack Hill.The story is about a black female vigilante, played by Pam Grier....
, can be heard throughout the film in the background.
A number of songs used in the movie do not appear on the soundtrack, such as: "Cissy Strut" (
The MetersThe Meters were an American funk band based in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Meters performed and recorded their own music from the late 1960s until 1977 and also played an influential role as backing musicians for other artists such as Lee Dorsey and Dr John...
) and "Undun" (
The Guess WhoThe Guess Who are a Canadian rock band from Winnipeg, Manitoba. Produced by Jack Richardson, C.M., they were the first Canadian rock group to have a No.1 hit in the United States ....
).
DVD
The Special Edition DVD, released by Buena Vista in 2002 Special features include an introduction from Tarantino an hour-long retrospective interview, a subtitle trivia track and soundtrack chapter selection, a half-hour making-of documentary ("How It Went Down"), the entire "Chicks With Guns" video as seen in the movie, many deleted and alternate scenes, including an alternate opening title sequence, Siskel and Ebert's review of the movie, Jackie Brown appearances on MTV, TV spots and theatrical trailers, written reviews and articles and filmographies, and over an hour of trailers for Pam Grier and Robert Forster movies dating from the 1960s onwards. The box also includes a mini-poster of the film, similar to the one above, and on the back of that, two other mini-posters, one of Grier, the other of Forster, both similar to the album cover.
Although the back cover of the Special Edition DVD states that the film is presented in a 2.35:1 Aspect Ratio, it was actually shot with a 1.85:1 ratio, the only Tarantino-directed film to date shot in such a format.
External links