Tarantino's honest contribution to Noir

Rating: Null/10 (26 July 2011)

Quentin Tarantino is a force that can't be reckoned with. When I was at grad school I discovered his movies and became an instant fan. I truly appreciated his understanding and perception of cinema. His individual style has been very unique from the beginning. Not many directors have managed to replicate or plagarise his work at all. Many have made Tarantino esque movies, but they have never lived up to becoming a huge success. His vision has been shared many times with Robert Rodriguez, with whom he has made joint collaborations. It has almost seemed like Tarantino has a patented license for all his works.
Since his debut feature 'my best friend's birthday', it was evident that had talent not only as a write but also as a director. His first big feature 'Reservoir dogs' set his career in to motion from the outset. 'Pulp Fiction' later followed which won multiple awards. Many have regarded it as one of the best movies of all time. Unfortunately the recent 'Inglorious Basteards' didn't receive my approval. But I understood that he enjoys to experiment with different genres of movies. I'm eagerly awaiting his next venture 'Django'.
'Jackie Brown' is his third directed movie. And it follows in the traditional crime and gangster theme. Upon viewing this feature it is evident that it was his tribute to the 70s blaxploitation cinema. Movies such as 'Superfly' and 'Snatch' still create echos to this day on. And Tarantino has given his offering. He has also incorporated his witty humour. The movie also helped to relaunch Pam Grier's movie career. Many still remember her from the 70's movie 'Coffy' and 'Foxy Brown'. Her portrayal of the bad revenge seeking woman is still very memorable to some. However she doesn't exactly get chance to relive those moments due to the different nature of this movie. This is an adaptation of Elmore Leanord's novel 'Rum Punch'. Tarantino has changed the location from Florida to California. The novel also had a blonde white woman as it's central character. He has cleverly managed to alter a few elements of the novel while still maintaining it's authenticity.
The movie doesn't fall in to one category immediately. There is a atmosphere of noir as well as crime elements. The central theme involves a pair of cops that intend on apprehending a gun runner with the help of a flight attendant. She has a choice whether or not to cooperate. Not giving assistance means spending a few years in prison due to possession of illegal drugs. I fell that this is the closest that Tarantino could come to making a noir movie. Many of the conventional noir aspects exist, right from the double crosses to the deceitful female characters. And the main theme surrounding cash and deception is at the top of the list here. However one of the most common elements such as extra marital affair scenario does not exist. Every character is very well depicted and each contribute positively to the plot.
SPOILERS Ordell (Samuel Jackson) is a gun runner who profits from selling unlicensed and unregistered firearms. One day a associate of his is arrested by the authorities. Ordell approaches a bails bondsman Max Cherry (Roberty Forster) to get the young guy's bail. But his real intention is to murder him so that he doesn't say anything to the police that would place his life in jeopardy. Ordell is reunited with his old accomplice De Niro and also has a female woman Melanie (Bridget Fonda) to help out with the odd jobs occasionally. Meanwhile a flight attendant Jackie Brown (Pam Grier) is stopped by two cops to be checked and searched. They discover a sachet of cocaine and a few bundles of hard cash. She delivers money to Ordell through her airline flights. And is asked to cooperate with the authorities to bring Ordell to justice otherwise spending a few years behind bars. She accepts and the plan is to apprehend him after a cash delivery is to be made. However Jackie has plans of her own and decides to keep the money and share it with Max, but the authorities will be unaware of this. Meanwhile Melanie become devious too as she wishes to take the money also. Unfortunately all does not go as planned and Melanie is shot by De Niro. The money was taken by Max and after Ordell discovers about this from De Niro, he is killed too. Jackie and the cops devise a plan again, this time to get Ordell to come for the money and so they can make the move on him. END OF SPOILERS
With a running time of 2 hours 30 minutes the movie does seem pretty heavy going. But Tarantino has incorporated all the small detail from the novel so there is nothing lacking. I found that there was a dramatic atmosphere absent in the movie. One scene progresses to the next at a steady pace, But the sheer quality is at the surprising moments, for example De Niro's death scene. The director makes many scenes effective even without the use of a background score. The 70's soundtrack compliments many scenes nicely. Clearly this is an example of substance over style as Tarantino has concentrated on narrating a story rather than just throwing style in our faces. While viewing the movie I had a strange thought that this felt like a combination of two movies put together. 'Bound' and 'Pulp Fiction' came to mind instantly. The money scenario from Bound and the undercover cop from Reservoir dogs.
I could not help but noticing that Bridget Fonda, De Niro and Samuel L Jackson's characters were lacking common sense to a small extent in their roles. They weren't capable of achieving their intentions like they should have.