Guillermo del Toro's Favorite Tarantino Movie Is the Most Underrated One: "Brilliant"
Although Jackie Brown is Tarantino's most overlooked and controversial movie, it has its fans, including Guillermo del Toro. Here's what the director thinks about it.
On December 8, 1997, Jackie Brown, Quentin Tarantino's least successful and most polarizing movie premiered. It was shot immediately after the success of Pulp Fiction and before the Kill Bill duology.
Guillermo del Toro Praises Quentin Tarantino's 'Jackie Brown'
Although it lacks cult fame and significant box office success, it has garnered the devotion of fans, including Guillermo del Toro himself.
Although del Toro is known as a dreamer who tells touching yet dark tales, he confessed his love for Tarantino's most overlooked movie on his X account:
“Jackie Brown by Quentin Tarantino. QT is a brilliant director and this is one of my favorites- and one of his most humanistic.”
What Is 'Jackie Brown' About?
Jackie Brown is a flight attendant who earns extra money smuggling cash for an arms dealer. Everything goes well until she gets caught up in a half-million-dollar scam and is arrested by federal agents.
The only way she can remain free is by informing on the dealer. However, Jackie must consider not only the money, but also her own safety – she decides to pocket the money and get rid of the arms dealer.
'Jackie Brown' Is Unlike Anything Tarantino Had Done Before or Since
Jackie Brown is the most atypical Tarantino film, and therefore the most underrated. There are no ultra-violence or postmodernist games with the narrative. The action does without references to everything under the sun every second, and the script is not original.
Jackie Brown is the only example in Quentin's career in which he did not base a movie on his own idea but instead adapted someone else's story. Specifically, it was Rum Punch by his favorite writer, Elmore Leonard.
Tarantino himself calls Jackie Brown his most down-to-earth movie:
"I wanted it to be ultra-realistic. [...] It still looks great but just a little bit more down to earth, a little less like a movie movie, a little bit more like a '70s 'Straight Time.'"
Jackie Brown shows that Tarantino can work subtly and calmly, understand genre techniques and plots, and do more than just combine and mock them.
What Did Critics & Viewers Think of 'Jackie Brown'?
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Jackie Brown has 88% from critics and 85% from viewers on Rotten Tomatoes.
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On IMDb, the movie has a score of 7.5/10.
Where to Watch 'Jackie Brown'?
Jackie Brown is available to buy or rent on Apple TV, Amazon Prime Video, and Vudu.
