MovieChat Forums > Jackie Brown (1997) Discussion > All of a sudden, Ordell becomes a dumb a...

All of a sudden, Ordell becomes a dumb a$$...

posted 8 years ago by Senzaltro
9 replies | jump to latest

He drives Max Cherry back to his office, tells him if anybody is in there besides Jackie, he's gonna drop Max right there, am I correct? So, why then does he:

1. Enter an office with no lights on?
2. Walk into the doorway leaving Max behind him and saying something like, "Jackie? That you, girl?"
3. See the door open in the background and Ray come into the hallway and do nothing?
4. Basically, just show up like a lamb to the slaughter?

Am I right or am I right?

[–] OptimumTaurus 8 years ago

Ordell, by that point, was desperate and REALLY wanted his money.

Never hate your enemies. It affects your judgment. -Michael Corleone

[–] eelb 8 years ago

I thought that was out of character too. All along Ordell has tended to be very cautious, and makes sure he has the upper hand in any situation.

It's even more confusing, given he has just given Max detailed instructions, that Max is going to be the first one shot if anything appears out of order when they enter the office. Yet, the office is dark, and Ordell just walks in the door and leaves Max standing there behind him. It should've been evident to Ordell that something was afoul when there were no lights on.

[–] cpmorr 8 years ago

Yeah, that was pretty weak, especially considering how hair-trigger Ordell ws over walking in there in the first place.

[–] franzkabuki 8 years ago

It is strongly hinted that he was never that terribly smart to begin with. Certainly not as smart as he thought he was.

"facts are stupid things" Ronald Reagan

[–] eelb 8 years ago

He's uneducated, but he's too street smart for that final scene to play out as it does.

[–] stevekaczynski 7 years ago

Yes, he seemed to have at least basic street smarts earlier that evaporated here. Melanie thought he was not as smart as he thought he was, though this seemed mainly to be based on him moving his lips when he read. I think the comparative ease with which he was taken out was the weakest aspect of the film.
A later thought: perhaps he senses the police closing in and is starting to lose it. After all, there is a trail of dead bodies now. Beaumont, Melanie (OK, he didn't shoot Melanie but the cops might think he did) and Louis.

"Chicken soup - with a *beep* straw."

[–] TheCaliforniaOp (78) 2 years ago

That Delfonics song makes Ordell so sad; it pushes him further off-balance; he’s not a nice guy, not at all, but he’s lost already, walking into Cherry’s office.

[–] FilmBoy (1084) 2 years ago

Ya - let's wrap it up people - we're at the end of the film.
Felt betrayed there.
He shoulda had him bring out the bad from the office to his car, then burned out.

[–] stickman38 (3017) 2 years ago

Just saw this movie yesterday for the first time and yep, I wasn't very impressed with the ending, in fact, the whole movie is uninspiring and I usually like Tarantino.

In my view, this film is almost borderline satire. It would have been better to just turn it into a crime comedy rather than a straight-up crime drama. Too much music in the movie too, every 5 minutes they blast some damn song that kills any hint of suspense and drama that's building in the movie. I thought I was watching a musical for a few moments there.

That's not to say the film is terrible, it certainly has some good scenes in it but I gotta give it a 6.1 out of 10. Still decent but not as good as I was hoping for.