IronWatcher’s review published on Letterboxd:
Watched on Blu-Ray
Director, writer and producer Jack Hill earned his spurs in the circle of the then omnipresent B-movie messiah Roger Corman. He and Francis Ford Coppola were the two assistant directors that Corman gave a more or less free hand on "The Terror", whereupon they were allowed to direct a large part of the film independently. Learning by doing, in other words. He initially remained faithful to low-budget drive-in horror, even creating a minor classic of the genre in 1967 with "Spider Baby". At the beginning of the 70s, he discovered a new genre for himself and was practically one of its co-founders. "The Big Doll House" and "The Big Bird Cage" are considered pioneers of the women-in-prison movie. At the same time, he helped the previously unknown young actress Pam Grier to her big breakthrough. She went on to become a star in this fast-moving sub-genre, in which, to be honest, nobody wants to grow old - and, strictly speaking, nobody could. So it was once again Jack Hill who made her the first (and only) real female superstar of this movement at the height of the blaxploitation wave. "Coffy" was like a bombshell, as it not only turned the ethnic framework of Hollywood films upside down, as was usual in blaxploitation films, but also turned the (non-)gender question, which was even taken for granted there, on its head. "Foxy Brown" was the logical next step.
While films such as "Shaft" or "Truck Turner" presented themselves as black and proud but not even remotely emancipated, Foxy Brown strikes back mercilessly with all the weapons of femininity. Although Pam Grier is allowed/must swing her curves lasciviously in her underwear in the opening credits to Willie Hutch's fantastic soundtrack, she is not reduced to a decorative sex object as the story progresses. On the contrary, she uses her feminine advantages to first infiltrate the enemy and then, with unprecedented uncompromisingness, to put every role cliché to rest. An avoidable weakness becomes a secret weapon. This never takes place in a negative context, as it puts the extremely critical basic tone of a very exploitative plot in the right light. It is all reactionary without ifs and buts, but not only with the necessary rage in the belly, but also with the punctual intellect. Much more than comparable titles, "Foxy Brown" describes the current mood in a variety of ways and underpins it with incisive force in moments that could almost be classified as incidental. Be it the vicious circle of ghettoization and the drug milieu, forced prostitution and human trafficking, powerlessness and vigilante justice or the perverted and corrupted omnipotence of a purely Caucasian, old-established establishment that rises above the "underclass" as if at a cattle market.
Jack Hill fires from all guns blazing, elevating the fantastic Pam Grier to a pedestal and giving her enough room to unfold her full potential. The result is a wild, radical, but never cheap or exploitative exploitation thriller that fully understands the weight it carries under its coarse shell. This is miles away from the sleazy keyhole charm of the former WIP rippers. "Foxy Brown" is uncompromising, necessarily radical, truly stirring and, above all, incredibly courageous niche cinema, whose sheer presence and self-confidence command a great deal of respect. In addition, it has a penetrating power that is second to none. At the time, there was hardly much more emancipation possible in an extremely male-dominated genre. Still impressive and furious to the core.