FFWD Weekly
Copyright © 1997. All Rights Reserved.
Quentin's got a mostly new bag
Jackie Brown no Royale With Cheese.
by Robert TarryJackie Brown
directed by Quentin Tarantino
starring Pam Grier, Samuel L. Jackson, Peter Forster, Robert De Niro, Bridget FondaIt's hard to tell who's going to be more disappointed with Jackie Brown - the Tarantino cultists looking for another Reservoir Dogs or the anti-Tarantino coalition looking to expose him as a one-trick pony. Too bad for them both. Jackie Brown lies somewhere between the two, mixing some familiar Tarantino touches with a more subdued, traditional (dare we say it... mature?) approach to storytelling.
Those expecting more super cool "foot massage" speeches to quote verbatim when they're drunk will find mostly long, serious discussions about what it's like to grow old. Those expecting hollow, showy dialogue that says more about the person who wrote it than the character who says it, will find mostly long, serious discussions about what's it's like to grow old.
Straddling these two daunting expectations, this is probably the only movie Tarantino could have made while managing to keep both his dignity and career on track.
Okay, fine... but is it any good? Is it a sell out to The System or a cop out to past successes?
It's neither, actually. It's just a movie. And an all right one at that.
When you clear your mind of the above-mentioned preconceptions (and believe me, when it's His name above the title, it's tough) and judge Jackie Brown on its own merits, it turns out it's a pretty standard crime movie, filled with absolutely fantastic performances (especially Pam Grier and Peter Forster) and authentic (almost dull) dialogue, delivered with a keen sense of style and considerably less sense of pacing. (As a pretty standard crime movie with no real twists, it's about a half-hour longer than it needs to be.) But all in all, whoever this Tarantino guy is, he's got a pretty bright future ahead of him.
Okay, back to reality.
When discussing "the new Tarantino movie," it's nearly impossible to talk about the movie without talking about the man. (See above.)
So rather than ignore that, I'll embrace it and render two verdicts on Jackie Brown:
As an evening spent watching a too-long crime movie, it's pretty good.
As the next step in the career of America's most exciting director, it's a smash hit.
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