Quentin Tarantino set his sights on the Blaxploitation genre with his third film, Jackie Brown. Adapted from an Elmore Leonard novel (though regrettably switching the action from Miami to LA), it follows Jackie Brown (Pam Grier), a stewardess who, with the help of a no-nonsense bail bondsman (Robert Forster), arrives at a bold plan to play her gunrunner boss Ordell Robbie (Samuel Jackson) and the cops (Michael Keaton and Michael Bowen) against one another after she’s busted for smuggling cash into the U.S.
Jackie Brown is arguably the most underrated entry in Tarantino’s filmography, likely because it eschews his traditional violent standoffs and flashy flourishes for a realistic take on the criminal underworld grounded by characters who live and breathe like we do. Much of this also stems from tour de force performances from the entire cast but especially Grier, who received numerous acting nominations for a role that certainly pays homage – and builds upon – her status as the 70s Blaxploitation queen.