Tarantino's most mature (and arguably best) movie to date.

Rating: 8/10 (24 January 2015)

The late 90's weren't the best time to be a Tarantino fan. While peaking in the early 90's with masterpieces like Reservoir Dogs & Pulp Fiction, the mid 90's didn't show him the best light, as Four Rooms was a huge waste of potential (and Tarantino's segment was the most pointless in the film) & while From Dusk Til Dawn was a fun B-movie homage, that's all it was, and it was very forgettable in the process. And let's not even start on his horrible attempts at acting. Because of this, many felt that by this point, Tarantino was a two-trick pony and had to make something truly special in order to say otherwise. This is where Jackie Brown comes in. Despite being his least stylistic film, Jackie Brown makes up for it with strong character development, an engaging story and a great script, creating Tarantino's most mature film to date.
The story is that Jackie Brown, a flight attendant, smuggles money from Mexico to the US for Ordell Robbie, a black-market gun runner in order to make extra income for herself. However, when she is arrested for smuggling drugs that she was unaware were in her bag, she decides in order to avoid jail time to help the law get Ordell in jail. However, she finds it difficult to find where her loyalties lie. The story for the most part is very engaging, as it keeps you guessing as to what is going to happen all throughout the film. While the large amount of subplots can make the film overly complicated and hard to follow at times, it is still interesting and keeps you on the edge throughout the film's duration.
The characters are also very well written and demonstrate Tarantino's best character writing to date. All of the characters are three dimensional and very compelling. It also helps that all the acting is fantastic, with Pam Grier being the standout, delivering an Oscar worthy performance as someone who is struggling with what to do with her life, and will go to extreme lengths in order to have a peaceful life. Samuel L. Jackson, Robert Forester, Robert De Niro, Michael Keaton among others are very good as well and Chris Tucker actually isn't annoying for once. The script is also very good as well, with great dialogue & interesting themes relating to the ideas of aging, gun violence, betrayal and many more that keep the film utterly engrossing throughout.
The biggest problem for many is that this is Tarantino's least stylistic film to date. The dialogue isn't as Tarantino-esque as before, there isn't much action & the story is for the most part (except for an outstanding sequence set in a mall where a scenario happens from multiple perspectives) told in a linear fashion. To be fair, the film does feel slower than his previous films and isn't as enjoyable as them because of it (not helped by he film's overlong two and a half hour running time), but it is still engaging nonetheless, due to it's story and characters, which due to the lack of action the film has more time for. The film also has some style, as particularly highlighted with the aforementioned mall and the marvelous soundtrack, which oozes funk and soul, and is fits with the film perfectly.
Overall, this is a great film. While not as good as Tarantino's previous efforts, it still is quite outstanding, due to its characters, story and acting. Too long and potentially hard to follow sometimes it may be, but it still is worthwhile viewing for any Tarantino fan, who want to see him at his most mature, and arguably best, era of film-making.