Tarantino's film is a homage to early
1970s blaxploitation films, from its movie poster to its cast.
Pam Grier had starred in many such films in the 1970s, but had not had a leading role in many years. The film is one of several produced in the
1990s and adapted from Elmore Leonard's crime novels, along with
Out of Sight (
1998) and
Get Shorty (
1995). In the film, Jackie Brown is arrested by ATF agent Ray Nicolette (
Michael Keaton) for smuggling money and cocaine, and Nicolette wants Brown's help in bringing down her boss, Ordell Robbie. Robbie gets bail bondsman Max Cherry to bail out Brown, fearing that she will talk to the authorities. In order to make enough money to flee the cops who are closing in, Robbie wants Brown to do one last job—a big $500,000 job that Nicolette also wants her to do so that they can bring down Robbie. However, Brown conspires with Cherry to swindle both Robbie and Nicolette so that they can split the $500,000.
Robert De Niro plays stoner ex-con Louis Gara and
Bridget Fonda plays the ditzy live-in girlfriend of Robbie, who has also had a past with Gara.