Highly enjoyable crime caper

Rating: 8/10 (7 May 2013)

Tarantino is often derided by his dismissives as an over zealous, pop-culturally obsessed schizoid with a penchant for fetishizing violence and, oddly enough, feet. But in this 1997 adaptation of the Elmore Leonard novel, and hot off the heels off the watershed event that was Pulp Fiction three years prior, he chose to follow up his electric filmography by incorporating a slightly more complex and elegant plot in the form of a heist caper. What sets it apart from other entries in the genre (and subsequent adaptations of Leonard works by the likes of other gen X indie directors like Soderbergh), is Tarantino's unique combination of cinema homage and pastiche that gives the proceedings a fresh and vibrant aura. Tarantino skillfully employs elements of blaxploitation through choice soundtrack, camera work, and elegant casting. Pam Grier in the eponymous title role as a middle aged Afro-American woman attempting to emerge out on top of a crime sting is not only a headstrong and intelligently spunky protagonist, but through the course of the film she offers an acute sensitivity to her situation that adds a gravity to the story. coupled with a subtle turn by Robert Forster, in a similair comeback role to John Travolta in Pulp, as an aging, jaded bail bondsman who is injected with a burst of vitalic romantic interest in Jackie Brown, and the subsequent bonding that grows between them offers Tarantino his most empathetically human and thematic material thus far.
But the most entertaining turn in from the cast is Samuel L Jackson as the fast-talking, foul mouthed thug who isn't quite as clever of a criminal as he thinks he is. The often witty and hilarious dialogue exchanges between he, Bridget Fonda, and an unassuming Robert DeNiro as a bumbling, apathetic accomplice is amusing and carries the film deftly onward, even when it threatens to be dragged down by the slightly dry plot. But there is a noticeable lack of cloying pop cultural references in the script that Tarantino is known for. Instead, it is all just great character acting, and he manages to make the mundane a roller coaster of verbal levity.
The look of the picture is great, with skillfully composed shots and fine tuned audio, with a killer soundtrack to top it off. Jackie Brown is a tightly made film that delivers in its black humor and a feel good tale of one sassy feminist throwback getting the better of her clueless colleagues, and learning a little bit of mid life wisdom along the way. Highly recommended for fans of well constructed and stylish crime capers.