Jackie Brown. 1997. USA. Written and directed by Quentin Tarantino. With Pam Grier, Robert Forster, Samuel L. Jackson, Robert De Niro. 35mm. 154 min.
Samuel L. Jackson’s ability to combine affability and menace finds its apotheosis in his performance as Ordell Robbie, a sociopathic, small-time gun dealer who’s willing to kill anyone who comes between him and early retirement. As Jackson told one interviewer, “I’ve never played a character who had no redeeming social qualities whatsoever…until this guy. He’s charming, but he’s so deadly and conniving it’s incredible.” But even this cold-blooded operator may have met his match in Jackie Brown (Pam Grier), a wily flight attendant who teams up with an unflappable bail-bondsman (Robert Forster) for a high-stakes con playing Robbie and his partners (Robert De Niro and a scene-stealing Bridget Fonda) against a high-strung ATF agent (Michael Keaton). Jackie Brown boasts the finest of Quentin Tarantino’s many stellar ensemble casts, and they certainly racked up the accolades come awards season—including Jackson, who garnered a Golden Globe nomination and a Silver Bear for Best Actor at the Berlin Film Festival.