Quentin Tarantino was a big player in nineties, reshaping the crime genre into a pulpy, violent sprawl of witty dialogue and incongruous narrative. Whilst Pulp Fiction and Reservoir Dogs stand testament to the director's successes, often-overlooked Jackie Brown showcases his abilities as a more subtle, restrained director. The story follows the titular Jackie Brown (Pam Grier) as a flight attendant who inadvertently becomes embroiled in the drug running of psychotic pimp Samuel L Jackson and oily thug, Robert De Niro. Unexpectedly arrested by Michael Keaton's cop, Brown finds herself playing off against the police and the dealers in an attempt to steal half a million dollars with the help of bail bondsman Robert Forster (incidentally playing the most 'straight-up', respectable character Tarantino has ever written). To its unfair disadvantage, the style and flair of a usual Tarantino flick is toned down in this film, leading to an unremarkable reception from audiences who feared that the 'Pulp Fiction effect' had waned with this exciting new director. Contrarily, it shows Tarantino taking the foot off the gas and allowing for this tight crime caper to tell itself - a luxury afforded by its compelling characters and natural flow. If its lukewarm reception is the reason why we've not seen a Tarantino film like Jackie Brown since (or ever will again), it only shows that the temperate, more mature side to the director has faded; leaving us the firecracker with a penchant for the pastiche and limited self-control.
