A very different Tarantino

Rating: Null/10 (25 September 1998)

If you were to take this film, and compare it to Tarantino's earlier work, you'd never guess they came from the same director. Sure, some similarities exist (the hip dialogue, the time juxtaposition, etc.), but those are just petty details, and they've been ripped off innumerable times since. This movie came from a very different place. It's certainly a more mature work, but I wouldn't call it better. Part of what made Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs so compelling was that you had the feeling they were the work of a mad genius. Anything could, and did, happen. Jackie Brown is far more pedestrian. It is by no means boring, but that same adrenaline rush that came along with, well, Uma Thurman's adrenaline rush, just isn't here. I suppose that's what Quentin was shooting for: a more subdued character piece. He would have been tarred and feathered had he made Pulp Fiction 2, so I expected a different direction. I admire him for trying something new, and on many levels he succeeded. The romance between Max and Jackie is beautifully handled and portrayed, never feeling forced or sappy. Jackie Brown called for a more relaxed pace, and it is delivered. But its director is perhaps the reigning master of cinematic chaos, and all of that energy is (wisely) held in. Let's hope Tarantino's next project allows him to really let loose, so he can do what he does best: blow our minds.