Jackie Brown

Jackie Brown is a 1997 motion picture directed by Quentin Tarantino. The film stars Pam Grier and Robert Forster, Robert De Niro, Samuel L. Jackson, Bridget Fonda, and Michael Keaton.

The screenplay is based on the novel Rum Punch by American novelist Elmore Leonard, although Tarantino made considerable changes to the story line and characters. Pam Grier plays Jackie Brown, a middle-aged airline flight attendant who gets coerced by ATF agent Ray Nicolet (Keaton) to help them bring down arms smuggler Ordell (Jackson) and his accomplices Louis Gara and Melanie (De Niro and Fonda). In true Tarantino form, this film has a substantial amount of violence and profanity. It has been criticized, as was Tarantino's previous film Pulp Fiction, for the frequent use of the word "nigger" in the dialogue. Also noteworthy was the casting of Grier and Forster in lead roles. Both were veteran actors, but neither had performed a leading role in many years. Jackie Brown revitalised both actors' careers, Grier's to a greater degree. De Niro and Keaton were major stars, but were cast in supporting roles. The film is in some respects a homage to earlier blaxploitation films, many of which also featured Pam Grier, and the movie's soundtrack is reminiscent of those earlier films as well. It received several major awards nominations, with Robert Forster earning an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor and Samuel L. Jackson and Pam Grier nominated for Golden Globe Awards.