Brick
A contender for cult film of the year, Brick is an unusual but highly engaging picture from director Rian Johnson. Essentially it’s a film noir mystery set in a Californian high school, as lonely outsider Brendan (Joseph Gordon Levitt) investigates his ex-girlfriend Emily’s murder by infiltrating the circles of school drug dealer the Pin (Lukas Haas).
Full of quirky direction, intriguing performances and offbeat sensibilities, this is indie-movie heaven both for those who like their films to be a bit different and also fun for those steeped in film noir lore. The characters and iconography of the genre are all present and correct – with femme fatales, hard boiled detectives and a whole slew of untrustworthy underworld types inhabiting the familiar dark world of drugs, guns, shadows and skewed camera angles. The only difference is they are all in school.
However this is not as accessible as the true greats of the genre like The Big Sleep, Double Indemnity or Chinatown, simply because of the peculiar lingo the students use, mixing old 40’s noir slang with new Californian teenage slang. Also towards the very end, the film loses momentum and becomes predictable.
Nevertheless, despite a ton of references to old Bogart movies and noir fiction, Brick manages to be startling and original in its own right, particularly in its use of music and sound. Solid performances also help, not only from Joseph Gordon Levitt but also Lukas Haas (the boy in Witness).
It’s easy to admire Brendan and sympathise with his melancholy predicament. He is uncompromising with justice and the truth to the point where it alienates him from everyone. This includes Emily whom we learn via flashback he was trying to protect from his school’s criminal underworld. She points out “you can’t protect me if I don’t want to be protected”. On a spiritual level, that makes the film an interesting comment on the potential cost of standing out from the crowd, plus an insight into how God must feel when we are determined to do the wrong thing.
Simon Dillon, June 2006.
Overrated, frankly. ‘Offbeat sensibilities’ can be good, but mostly makes me think of Donnie Darko. I.e. overrated crap. But I do agree with you about the use of sound - really noticed some great touches in this respect.
Comment by Sparky — 22 November, 2008 @ 12:31 pm