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Laramie Movie Scope:
Jackie Brown

Tarantino strikes again with another hit

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by Robert Roten, Film Critic
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March 9, 1998 -- Quentin Tarantino has done it again. Hollywood's wunder kind has scored another fine movie with "Jackie Brown," a worthy follow up to his earlier crime dramas "Reservoir Dogs" and "Pulp Fiction."

His first movie based on a novel (Elmore Leonard's "Rum Punch"), the film nevertheless bears the Tarantino stamp. There is clever dialogue, quirky characters and a complex story conveyed cleanly.

While not as polished as "Pulp Fiction," his best film, "Jackie Brown" does have one thing his earlier films lacked, a couple of characters with brains. The title character, Jackie Brown (played well by Pam Grier) and her friend and bail bondsman, Max Cherry (Robert Forster, who was nominated for an Academy Award for his performance in this film) are both people of intelligence, if not wisdom.

Brown has gotten herself in a bind as the story starts. She is being pressured to talk by a couple of federal agents played by Michael Keaton and Michael Bowen. Her boss, for whom she has been delivering money, Ordel Robbi (brilliantly played by Samuel L. Jackson who also starred in "Pulp Fiction"), wants to kill her to make sure she doesn't talk.

With the aid of Cherry, she comes up with a plot to rid herself of the feds, Robbi, and to get her hands on $500,000 that she is supposed to deliver to him. There are a couple of tricky money drops in the film, which is basically a caper movie with a love story, but the final caper wasn't quite tricky enough.

<> The love story between Brown and Cherry is understated, but effective. There are also plenty of interesting characters to go around, including the dazed surfer girl Melanie (Bridget Fonda) and the zoned-out ex-con, Louis Gara (Robert De Niro). Both Robbi and Gara were featured in an earlier Elmore Leonard novel "Switch" that Tarantino reportedly shoplifted and read 15 years ago.

Although this movie is doing quite well at the box office, it will probably never come to Laramie. If you want to see it on the big screen you may have to go out of town to see it as I did. It is worth the trip. The acting by Jackson, De Niro and Forster is outstanding. But if you don't like foul language you might want to avoid this film. It is chock full of obscenities. There is also some sex and violence. This film rates a B+.

Click here for links to places to buy this movie in video and/or DVD format, the soundtrack, books, even used videos, games and lots of other stuff. I suggest you shop at least two of these places before buying anything. Prices seem to vary continuously. For more information on this film, click on this link to The Internet Movie Database. Type in the name of the movie in the search box and press enter. You will be able to find background information on the film, the actors, and links to much more information.

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Copyright © 1998 Robert Roten. All rights reserved.
Reproduced with the permission of the copyright holder.
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Robert Roten can be reached via e-mail at my last name at lariat dot org. [Mailer button: image of letter and envelope]

(If you e-mail me with a question about this or any other movie or review, please mention the name of the movie you are asking the question about, otherwise I may have no way of knowing which film you are referring to)