Actor Michael Keaton reprised his role as Betelgeuse for Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, a sequel to the 1988 horror comedy movie. While promoting the movie, Keaton reflected on his lengthy career, which includes a stint as Bruce Wayne / Batman and other iconic roles. However, Keaton also talked about working with director Quentin Tarantino on what is arguably the latter’s weakest film.
During the interview, Keaton shared his experience of working on Tarantino’s Jackie Brown. Despite the film frequently ranking in the lower half of Tarantino’s filmography, Keaton revealed he loves the movie for one reason that might end up surprising some fans. Here is what Keaton had to say about his work on Jackie Brown and why the actor still loves the Tarantino-directed film.
Michael Keaton Reveals Why He Loves Quentin Tarantino’s Jackie Brown
Michael Keaton is currently starring in Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, the long-awaited sequel to Tim Burton’s 1988 horror comedy movie Beetlejuice. To promote the movie, Keaton sat down for a chat with Wired, where he discussed his career, answering some burning questions about him.
During the conversation, Keaton was asked about working with filmmaker Quentin Tarantino on the 1997 crime film Jackie Brown. In the film, Keaton played the supporting role of ATF Agent Ray Nicolette. The actor revealed his opinion on the movie, praising Tarantino’s work.
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.
Keaton made the above statement, explaining that the movie’s simple narrative, combined with Tarantino’s signature directorial style made the movie great in his opinion.
Furthermore, Keaton expressed that the film had some of the best shot compositions, which made it visually stunning. At the same time, Keaton also praised Tarantino’s soundtrack for the movie, which elevated the visuals. Therefore, it is evident that Keaton loves the movie.
Fans Consider Jackie Brown Quentin Tarantino’s Weakest Film
Despite Keaton lauding the film, Jackie Brown is often considered one of the weakest films in Tarantino’s filmography. The film is based on Elmore Leonard’s novel Rum Punch, and the only one directed by Tarantino to be based on a source material. As a result, the film lacked the originality fans expected from the director after films like Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction.
Furthermore, as Keaton pointed out Jackie Brown had a fairly straightforward screenplay, unlike Tarantino’s other two films until that point. Both Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction have a non-linear screenplay, which surprises the audience at every turn and features some shocking plot twists, something mostly absent from Jackie Brown.
Ultimately, Jackie Brown is hard to defend despite Keaton’s praise, primarily because it lacks some of Tarantino’s signature filmmaking techniques. Therefore, despite being a decent movie, it is easy to see why not many Tarantino fans love it.
Although some fans consider it one of Tarantino’s weakest movies, Jackie Brown was still a critical and commercial success. The film holds a Rotten Tomatoes rating of 88%, which is by no means a sign of a poor film. Moreover, the movie grossed $74.7 million against a $12 million budget, proving to be a box office hit.
Jackie Brown is streaming on Sling TV and Amazon Prime Video.
