"It's Jackie Brown", mutters Ordell Robbie as he quietly ponders who could have sabotaged his money exchange. In this pivotal and nearly poetic moment, Samuel L. Jackson's character sits in a van, closes his eyes and goes into deep, silent thought as the camera slowly zooms in towards him. He's contemplative, but most importantly, he's finally vulnerable. It's a reaction that's not expected from this character, because all the while before this he's so cool, collected and sure of himself. This scene, like many other scenes in the film, speaks volumes about the enigmatic Jackie Brown, the film's main protagonist. She seems to have the world at her heels.
When I first saw Jackie Brown years ago, I was a young, maniacal Tarantino fanboy, having recently watched Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction---the latter of which I immediately proclaimed to be my favorite film of all time (I still put it in my top three). Needless to say, my expectations for Jackie Brown were very, very high; but like many others, I was somewhat dissapointed, and really felt that the film lacked something that should of been there. I suppose that my initial reactions were that the film was a little too conventional to be a true Tarantino film, and I recall being a little annoyed with the film's slow pacing and long runtime. I had also grown accustomed to Tarantino's blatant disregard for linearity, and was a little offended by the fact that the story unfolded chronologically for most of the way.
Jackie Brown quickly slipped from my memory bank and I really didn't give it much thought until about a year ago, after the release of Inglorious Basterds. I was trying to decide where that one fit in on my list of favorite Tarantino films, and it occurred to me that I should also revisit Jackie Brown as my recollection of it was a bit fuzzy. Over the last year or so, I've probably watched the film three times, and my take on it now is much different than it was back then.
