Jackie Brown is one of my favorite movies, and I've been meaning to write a full post on it forever. I wrote a brief piece for my lovely Twitter pal Sasha James a while ago, and now I've done a longer, if still insufficient (given my deep love of the film) article on the movie for Spectrum Culture's "Criminally Underrated" series. And even now I'm still not satisfied with commenting on the film; I may yet write an even larger piece on the movie and how it shapes my entire view of Quentin Tarantino.
But for now, head on over to Spectrum Culture to read my review of this incredible, occasionally neglected, masterpiece.
The BBC's film critic Mark Kermode has an interesting theory about Tarantino: that he made two flashy, funny hits and then made a mature drama with Jackie Brown, which had real characters but flopped at the box office, so he went back to make increasingly bloated, flashy, (less) funny hits. I don't entirely agree with that assessment, but at least it shows that Jackie Brown is recognized by some film critics as being the reason why most film critics shouldn't dismiss Tarantino outright.
ReplyDeleteI don't often agree with Mark Kermode's theory on Tarantino. While I much prefer Reservoir Dogs, I still think this is one of the best films that most people had never seen. It's a film that I think gets better with each viewing. There's a maturity in the way Tarantino frames the film and the way he sets up the romance between Jackie and Max Cherry. That film is the work of a filmmaker who has not only done a great tribute to the Blaxploitation genre but also opened the doors for himself in the craft of filmmaking.
ReplyDeleteJackie Brown is indeed one of the most underrated films of the decade, not just of Tarantino's films. Someone on Twitter last week (probably in response to your post) said they didn't understand why so many felt JB was the worst of Tarantino's films -- and given Four Rooms, I am equally perplexed by this common opinion. I agree Forster has a limited range, but I think it's a practiced limited range, something he has cultivated because it works so well for the roles he is given. He was practically brilliant in Mulholland Dr., delivery so dead it was almost deadpan.
ReplyDeleteSmall Soldiers :/
ReplyDeleteYou might've convinced me. There might be something more in this film that I previously believed. It's been forever since I've seen it, so I intend to blow off the dust from the DVD and give it a viewing.
I saw it again last night. It reafirmed my origninal assessment. Poorly edited, disjointed directing, under acted and without much suspense.
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