Sunday Matinee #26 Jackie Brown

Do you believe in love at first sight?

Hi there, and welcome to the latest entry in the R-Rated Movie Club newsletter. Taking movies that don’t often get looked at with theology in mind has proven a fun creative exercise, and I’m grateful that you subscribed, thank you. We had a poll earlier this month, thanks for participating, and it’s time to check out the results.

I’m in catch-up mode after losing post drafts for June and July, so there’s no Audience Reaction poll this month and thus, no results to discuss. Instead, we’ll move right along to this week’s Quotes with Notes from one of my favorite movies!

Quotes with Notes

Genesis 24:64-65
Full Text: Genesis 24:34-38, 42-49, 58-67 (Revised Common Lectionary)
6th Sunday after Pentecost (July 9, 2023)
Sign up for a free course at EnterTheBible.org to learn more.
Context: Abraham has sent one of his servants to find a woman to marry his son, Isaac. The servant meets Rebekah and is convinced she’s perfect. He convinces her to return with him to meet Isaac and when she does, we see her response to the man before her.

64 And Rebekah looked up, and when she saw Isaac, she slipped quickly from the camel 65 and said to the servant, “Who is the man over there, walking in the field to meet us?” The servant said, “It is my master.” So she took her veil and covered herself.

Jackie Brown | 1997 A Band Apart, Miramax | IMDB
Starring Pam Grier, Robert Forster, Samuel L. Jackson, Robert De Niro, Bridget Fonda, Michael Keaton
Written by Quentin Tarantino based on the book Rum Punch by Elmore Leonard | Directed by Quentin Tarantino
Context: Max Cherry (Robert Forster, in an Oscar-nominated role) is an aging bail bondsman on his way to the local women’s prison. He is a go-by-the-book fellow, with a very routine, and very dull, life. Here, he has been tasked by gun runner Ordell Robie (Samuel L. Jackson, in what should have been an Oscar-nominated role) to pick up his accomplice Jackie Brown (Pam Grier, give her a nom, too!). We see his response to the woman before him.

I don’t always include a video, especially if I can’t find an official clip. However, this quote is, for the most part, visual, so here’s the best video I could find:

Max: Hey, Candy.
Candy: Hey, Max.
Max: Dropping off Lopez, Anita. Picking up Brown, Jackie...
Candy: Okay, no problem. You armed? 
Max: You bet I am… 
Max turns in his revolver and Candy puts it in a locker. Max walks Anita back to jail. Fade to black.
Fade up on Max reading a book.
Candy: Max, here she comes…
Max stands and looks down the prison road. The camera gives us a medium shot of Max that cuts back to Jackie walking toward him in full profile, flanked on either side by the gate bars that obstruct Max’s view. As it cuts back and forth, the medium shot of Max slowly zooms in to a closeup. Meanwhile, “Natural High” by Bloodstone plays, slow and soulful, the lyrics illustrating the scene:
Why do I keep my mind. / On you all the time.
And I don’t even know you. (I don’t know you.)
Why do I feel this way. / Thinking about you. / Every day.
And I don’t even know you. (I don’t know you.)
Candy buzzes Jackie through the gate. Jackie approaches Max.
Max: Ms. Brown?
Jackie: Yes?
Max: I’m Max Cherry. I’m your bail bondsman. …I can give you a lift home, if you like.

Commentary:

Ah, young love!

Abraham’s servant must’ve somehow been familiar with the song “Lookin’ for Love in All the Wrong Places,” because when he rides to a well, the first one he encounters, he seems dead-set on one of the women he meets there to be the one. Lucky ducky, he meets Rebekah and she is the one. I mean, this is the sort of servant you want: hopeful heart, prompt service, and a “get ‘er done” attitude.

Rebeka goes through the motions of her watering jugs, but her attitude is nothing routine. She is kind and generous, helping a stranger. When the servant inquires about hospitality, she is quick to respond, offering a place to stay. And even after the servant tells her family the whole story about Abraham sending him off to find Isaac a wife and how he set up a sign in his mind on who would be the right fit (water for him, water for his camels), and they say you will go with him, she is ready to go. That’s a lot of trust! Then, we see her see him.

This moment of the story feels very Hollywood, doesn’t it? Rebekah looks up, sees this handsome young man Isaac, and is so smitten that she jumps off her camel. You know, just like all of those famous camel jumping scenes in the movies! She’s into this guy. And when you strip away the layers of “Abraham sends a servant to find a wife for his son” and “the servant goes to a well and says whelp, this is the place” and “come with me, you’ve gotta see this guy,” these layers that can feel a little fantastic, to be honest, we’re left with love.

This whole family will go on to have a complex dynamic and we’ll see that play out over the next few weeks. It’s a reminder that no one person gets it right every time. But at this moment, these two form a bond together.

Ah, old love!

One of my favorite movie character relationships is between flight attendant Jackie Brown (Pam Grier) and bail bondsman Max Cherry (Robert Forster in an Oscar-nominated role) in Jackie Brown. They have candid conversations about work, music, relationships, crime and punishment, and frequently talk about aging. While neither is necessarily happy about it, Jackie has the most issues with it. She sighs, laments, and wishes life were a lot different. She’s 44, she’s making $16,000 annually after 19 years in the service industry (that’s $30,317.96 in buying power today), working for the worst airline in the industry. She’s stuck, she’s desperate. When she formulates a plan to rip off gun runner Ordell Robie (Samuel L. Jackson), it’s Max’s vision of her that helps make the plan happen.

Max goes through the motions of fulfilling bail bonds, but his attitude is nothing routine. The job is routine and he’s even contemplating leaving it, but there’s something about this stranger. He’s attracted to her right away, but as he gets to know her, he believes in her. He helps her. And when the plan is complete, he supports her and has zero regrets. At one point, Max tells Jackie: “I’m 56 years old. I can’t blame anybody for anything I’d do.” He has a lot of trust in her, and it begins with empathy.

When this movie came out in 1997, I was 18 and remember thinking, yeah, those characters are pretty old (Tarantino was 34). Now that I’m much closer to 56 and 44 is like right here, they don’t seem that old at all. Statistically, and in terms of family history, I’m more than likely past my half life. I often find myself fighting against the pull to be productive. I don’t think Jackie has that, but she wants to get to a better place soon. Abraham, too, knows it’s time for Isaac to take a step forward and get married. In this movie and scripture story, an opportunity - mixed with romance - presents itself and it’s time to take action.

There are times I wish the Bible gave us more. I’d like to know the inner thoughts of Bible figures more often. Last week’s story of God Trusts Abraham is a perfect example. What did Abraham think about as he and Isaac walked to the mountain? Here, Rebekah’s feelings are revealed by her actions. For Max, it’s his pleasant look and the lyrics and tune of the song along with the camera angle and editing that tell us how he feels. That’s good writing and that’s good filmmaking, in my book.

If it’s been a while since you’ve read this story or seen this movie, give them a shot!

Thanks, everyone, and I hope you have a wonderful day. May you find holy wisdom anywhere you look, whether in the scriptures or even at the movies. And to today’s preachers, may worship bring you closer to the holy as you do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly in the name of God. God’s peace and good movies to you!