Foxy Brown

UK Release Date. 5 April 1974
Certification. X 
Running Time. 1 hour 32 mins
Director. Jack Hill
Cast. Peter Brown, Terry Carter, Antonio Fargas, Pam Grier, Kathryn Loder.
Rating. 40%

Review.

Blaxploitation films evolved as an ethnic subgenre of the exploitation films that emanated from the United States in the early 1970s. Blaxploitation films positioned black characters (and communities) as the main protagonists rather than supporting characters or victims of crime and brutality. But despite this realignment, blaxploitation films frequently overly glamourised the pimps, pushers and prostitutes who were ultimately preying on their community. Whilst originally aimed at an urban African-American audience, the genre's appeal quickly broadened across racial and ethnic lines.

The blaxploitation genre's influence spans a varied filmography, from Quentin Tarantino's vastly under-rated Jackie Brown to Austin Powers In Goldmember, and Beyoncé Knowles bad-ass FBI agent, Foxxy Cleopatra. Amongst the more notable blaxploitation films are Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song, Super Fly, Black Caesar, Cleopatra Jones, Coffy, and Three The Hard Way, along with Jack Hill's Foxy Brown.

Foxy Brown was originally written as a sequel to the 1973 surprise hit, Coffy, also directed by Jack Hill and starring Pam Grier. Telling pretty much the same story, Foxy Brown (Pam Grier) is out for revenge after her boyfriend is killed. In tracking down the killers Foxy must infiltrate an underground high-class call-girl ring run by the ridiculously cartoonish villain, Madam Wall (Kathryn Loder).

Amidst a lightweight script and almost universally appalling performances, one thing stands out. Pam Grier. Grier amply demonstrates that she is a formidable actress, one that is able to convey an unflinching strength and resolve, despite the film's limitations. Foxy is portrayed as a spirited woman driven by a moral unambiguity. 

The film employs a perfect complimentary soundtrack from Willie Hutch, perhaps best known to most for The Chemical Brothers' remixed and reimagined Brothers Gonna Work It Out opening track on the eponymous compilation album released in 1998. The original Willie Hutch version of Brothers Gonna Work It Out was produced for an earlier film, The Mack starring Max Julien and Richard Pryor.

Foxy Brown is of its time. Admittedly, there's content and dialogue that is completely unacceptable by today's standards. The treatment of Foxy Brown and the violence towards women in general is wholly unpalatable, but then again, blaxploitation films evolved from a genre that, by definition, are exploitative. There are a couple of scenes, which although are unpleasant to watch, follow a similar narrative to films such as Man On Fire, Taken and Extraction.