Jackie Brown [Case Study]

A little about Jackie Brown:
Directed by: Quentin Tarantino
Release date: 25th of December, 1997
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
How Tarantino uses generic thriller conventions in Jackie Brown.

INTRO SCENE



The title sequence of Jackie Brown establishes to the audience the significance of the character that the opening scene is focussed upon. We meet Jackie Brown herself in her workplace where she is wearing a bold blue uniform. This conveys that she is independant and self sufficient, and audiences realise this from the very first shot which is tracking. Mixed with her body language and facial expression viewers infer that she is calm and collected within her workplace- showing she has control and is intelligent as well as strong.
The scene continues and the camera action switches to a low angle tracking shot, following Jackie as she marches across the airport. The low angle was used to convey how important this character is. The full body is revealed and her elegancy is portrayed in a much more dramatic fashion when the camera is filming from below pointing up.
The emphasis on her arm swinging whilst walking shows that Jackie 'means business'. Her expression is very strong and shows determination without revealing any hints of frustration (even though we see her begin to run as though she is late). Her emotional strength gives the sense that she is a very powerful women, and a very capable main character. Which is a typical stem for creating a believable and classic thriller film. Brown is similar to Kiddo from 'Kill Bill' in the sense that both main characters are female, and both are very strong willed, as well as determined and independant.

Jackie

Kiddo

Another link to the KillBill movies would be the high saturation and colour contrast within this scene. Jackie stands out in her blue uniform due to the editing effects, the same effects were applied in the intro to KillBill VolI.


'GET IN THE TRUNK' SCENE


This scene features chiaroscuro lighting, this could be representing the two characters, or it could simply be a subtle hint to film noir. The setting for this scene is a worn down, beaten up set of flats, which is a typically great place to shoot a thriller. One of the characters we meet wears no shirt for the majority of screen time- this could be infering his weakness, and vulnerability as well as show how naive this character is. The fact he has his back to the camera for a long period of time too could be forshadowing his death later on in the film. Ambient lighting was used throughout the scene to give a more natural and realistic feel to the conversing between the two characters.

Midway into the scene, Tarantino uses his well known 'car boot' shot. When the camera is placed within the trunk looking up at the characters who look enlanlarged due to the angle. This shot alone represents thriller not only because it makes the characters look more menancing and powerful, but because Taraninto uses this exact shot frequently in his film production.

MELANIE'S DEATH



Throughout this scene Melanie shows no independance from her 'partner'. A series of pans and tracking shots reveal that Melanie is constantly following him step by step as though she cannot survive on her own. This character is completely differen to Jackie Brown and this puts even more emphasis and how much of an individual Jackie actually is. Arguing and conversing is the main aspect in this scene and the anger frequently builds up across screen time keeping audiences on edge. As they characters are walking away across the car park, we can see yet again that it is the male leading, with Melanie closely following, showing again her lack of self sufficientcy. Also she is smoking a ciggarette which could be a small hint to her fate that we witness within a few seconds.
The male character shoots Melanie out of frustration and shows no sympathy nor empathy for his actions, its as though he doesn't think twice about murdering someone. His detatchment from emotion is similar to Jason Locke's from 'EssexBoys' and it is displayed by the various long shots and lack of closeups. The character gives off a very psychotic impression, as he murders the female in broad daylight in the middle of a car park. Having a psycopath in a thriller is a classic thriller convention and Tarantino uses the generic idea widely, as well as the car park location.