Syd Pope Brown

I first saw this movie in theatre when it opened, in L.A. in 1997. I was in my twenties and had no idea how life was going to pan out for me yet, but even then I recognized that Tarantino’s ‘quietest’ (as someone else wrote) film, about getting older, and what desperate people do when they feel like their lives and choices are running out, was different. Who knows what his career trajectory would have been like if this had done well at the box office? Anyway, I’m now a few years older than Jackie Brown is in the film, and I’ve loved it all this time. It’s still as bright and real as it was before, even with its flaws, but it’s now painfully relevant. I hope the director doesn’t put people off from seeing a really underrated and sometimes poignant film, especially older viewers that can appreciate both the driving forces behind the characters’ choices and the absolutely banging soundtrack.