Jackie Brown - 1997
this is one of those tarantino films i'd been meaning to watch for ages. reading about it years back and catching the phrase "homage to blaxploitation films" i was like yeah no. but recently i think i caught an article that stated this tarantino's best film or something.
well, for starters, it's not.
it's strangely out of phase with his other works. there's a noticeable shift in tone, which in retrospect makes a lot of sense, because this is his only screenplay in his filmography that he'd adapted (from a novel), rather than writing it from scratch by himself.
anyway, seeing as this is one of his "homage" films, it has that (obligatory) intentionally cheap, lo-fi, flawed 70's style to it. when QT pops up the black ppl disco music though, it's definitely one of those moments where his self indulgence overpowers his pure artistic vision. it's nice to give out a nod or holla at some movie you dig, but modelling an entire film after a flawed genre from the 70's is a bit redundant. especially if you're coming off a fucking masterpiece like Pulp Fiction.
but, say what you will about the man - he knows how to write his dialogues. even though the film is lacking in other departments, and is in some ways tarantino's least delicate work (at least imo) - there are still those highly memorable moments or classic lines, both in writing and performance. namely, the scenes samuel jackson shares with chris tucker, robert de niro (the latter's final scene is the highlight of this movie for me) and even pam grier. when it's good, it's highly entertaining.
a weak point though, is the casting, which i thought was very strange, especially for a dude like tarantino, whose casting is usually right on the money. i mean, michael keaton as a cop trying to nail jackie brown? and DE NIRO? you got motha-fuckin' 90's robert de niro, and you give him the part of the total knucklehead who barely even talks the entire movie? he still aced his part, of course, but he felt so underused in this. their only collaboration - a real shame.
i read that tarantino said that it's one of those movies where the actual interactions and characters hanging out is what matters, because it's the kind of movie you should be able to watch, and enjoy, at least a dozen times. i have a feeling in that regard, it's a total success, as it has a good share of those moments. but as a whole piece, and considering how pretty much all of tarantino's works have such moments, i'd say this one doesn't rank particularly high on his back catalogue.
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