Michael Keaton speaks out regarding his opinions on one key Quentin Tarantino movie. Tarantino has been a notable name in Hollywood since the 1990s, making his breakout film Reservoir Dogs in 1992. Since then, Tarantino has gone on to direct notable works including Pulp Fiction and the Kill Bill movies. The director’s most recent film was Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood, which was released in 2019 to largely positive reviews.
In a Wired autocomplete interview, actor Keaton explains why he thinks Tarantino’s Jackie Brown is so great.
Speaking on his Tarantino film, Keaton noted that “Jackie Brown’s great!” The actor went on to laud how th Tarantino film “broke everything down to its simplest form,” by “telling just a very simple narrative.” Beyond the film itself, Keaton had a lot of great things to say about Tarantino himself, mentioning “all of his movies are great.” Check out the full quote from Keaton below:
Jackie Brown, I don’t know if you’ve seen Jackie Brown lately. Jackie Brown’s great! I mean, all of his movies are great, but it kind of broke everything down to its simplest form, telling just a very simple narrative and that vibe. It has some of the greatest shots I’ve ever seen, and a great, great soundtrack. Yeah, Quentin’s great.
Why Jackie Brown Is An Overlooked Tarantino Film
Jackie Brown Was Overshadowed By Pulp Fiction
Jackie Brown is a 1997 Tarantino movie that sees Keaton in the role of Ray Nicolette. Like Pulp Fiction or Reservoir Dogs, the film has a superstar, outstanding cast that helps elevate the work. In Jackie Brown, this cast included Pam Grier, Samuel L. Jackson, Robert Forster, Bridget Fonda, and Robert De Niro. Forster was nominated for an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor, but the film did not receive any other Academy Award nods. Jackie Brown did receive good reviews, getting an 88% Tomatometer from Rotten Tomatoes critics.
Jackie Brown has been a largely overlooked entry within Tarantino’s filmography, for the director is far more recognized for works like Reservoir Dogs, Kill Bill, and Pulp Fiction. Pulp Fiction‘s release just three years earlier is likely a huge part of why Jackie Brown is underrated. Pulp Fiction gained both instant traction and long-term cult film classic status, becoming the most major Tarantino film to come out of the 1990s. Comparatively, Jackie Brown seems to be a much lesser film.
Keaton makes a good point about how Jackie Brown tells its story in the “simplest form.” Pulp Fiction, on the other hand, has a non-linear, intertwining narrative that takes great liberties with structure and form. Audiences and critics saw what Tarantino was stylistically capable of with Pulp Fiction, so Jackie Brown could thus seem to be playing it safer. This is not to say that Jackie Brown is inherently worse, and perhaps Keaton is right that those who overlooked Jackie Brown should give it another look.
Source: Wired / YouTube
