Tarantino awards 'Jackie Brown' an often foregone human element.

Rating: 8/10 (18 July 2015)

'Jackie Brown' quickly became one of my favourite Tarantino films, and my satisfaction with the title began in the first scene, with a stylish set of opening credits, accompanied by Bobby Womack's wonderful 'Across 110th Street'. Pam Grier as the eponymous character delivers a brilliant, very convincing performance as a middle-aged flight attendant caught by the police with a bag of cocaine and a dubious amount of money. Jackie must then consider her options. The film boasts a surprisingly strong performance by Samuel L. Jackson, who seems to – and I know how strange this sounds – outperform Robert De Niro in places. Of course, the film benefits from the presence of the 'Taxi Driver' icon, but De Niro's performance is a little underwhelming. I'm choosing to attribute that to the writing of his character, though – which brings me on to my next point. One thing that has often deterred me from Tarantino's films is how cartoonlike his creations sometimes seem. I couldn't invest in the characters of 'True Romance', and I couldn't see 'Reservoir Dogs' as anything other than bizarre. Tarantino's world is inhabited by some unforgettable but not-quite-believable characters: Marsellus Wallace, O-Ren Ishii and Alabama Whitman are all examples of this. Pam Grier's Jackie Brown, however, is very believable, very ordinary and very human. This is where I think Tarantino made the right choice, as her fellow characters Ordell Robbie (Samuel L. Jackson) and Louis Gara (Robert De Niro) would be a little too "caricature" in their own world. As Jackie Brown is the most normal aspect of 'Jackie Brown', she serves as a relatable reference point, allowing the desperation of her situation to really sink in. Standing at two and a half hours, the film teeters on the edge of losing momentum in several places, but it is consistently salvaged by some unexpected development, intelligent scene or well- placed soundtrack. The editing in 'Jackie Brown' is commendable, and it is shrewder than the editing in many other Tarantino films, not feeling at all arbitrary. There is one scene (or one series of scenes) which employs multiple-perspective editing excellently, and this scene remains the highlight of the film. I think that 'Jackie Brown' is Tarantino at his best, and I was consistently impressed.