Thursday, June 7, 2007

Brick...rock solid

Brick - Rian Johnson - 2005 - 8/10

Summary:

Brendan (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is a loner consumed by his own morose personality. His loner status is tossed away as he enters the fold when his ex girlfriend (Emilie De Ravin) calls him frantically, asking for his help. The call sparks a long, hard journey for Brendan as he uses his brains, his muscles, his deals and everything he possibly can to track down a lead and pursue it. He does most of it on his own, but is also helped by his best friend, affectionately called "The Brain" (Matt O'Leary) as well as a woman who's motives Brendan questions at first, but finally lets inside his guard (Nora Zehetner). What ensues is a well executed film reminiscient of the classic film noirs with a modern, yet aptly suited, environment of the teen drug scene. As Brendan races to find out why Emily needed his help, encountering the powerful "The Pin" and his muscle, "Tugger," he meets an intriguing cadre of characters perfectly suited for their role in this new noir. At the center of it all is a mysterious word Emily utters on the phone, "brick."

Critique:



I loved this movie. At the same time, it's a movie that really needs to be watched more than once so that you can absorb everything. The allure of the movie and of one particular character is obsessive, yet predictable despite the numerous corkscrews they try to throw at you. What was so impressive to me was the performance Joseph Gordon-Levitt turned in as the main lead, Brendan. What particularly interested me was the growth Levitt has enjoyed since his role in 10 Things I Hate About You where he was the sidekick, the naive young one to Heath Ledger's cool, calm, and collected lead. In Brick, Levitt is great - emotional and able to convey his loner nature as well as his intelligence and ability to manipulate people. I loved the parallels this film had to classic noirs. How characters, like the principle for instance, is a powerful deal maker that when he is introduced half way through the movie, is not even questioned because you have already been swallowed by the noir. I simply loved it.

Verdict:

Buy it, so you can watch it multiple times.

If you liked this movie, watch...
...The Black Dahlia
...Chinatown
...LA Confidential
~ Spoilers here, stop if you haven't seen the movie ~

I LOVED Nora Zehetner! I could not take my eyes off of her. She was so, so alluring. She was addictive on screen. When I first saw her, in the red dress, I instantly thought of Marley Shelton in Sin City where, despite her short screen time, was equally captivating. Try to keep Marley Shelton with short hair, not the long hair she grew for Grindhouse, that's the Marley Shelton I'm talking about.

Now I'll stop ranting about the two of them and say my piece about Nora's character. I saw this coming. I was wondering what type of ending Rian was going to go for, but when Brendan started talking, I knew it. At the same time, I think Laura really did love Brendan. It was like she said - she saw how much Brendan's love for Emily consumed him, and she wanted that - she wanted to feel that and have someone feel that for her. Even at the end, she tried so hard for that one thing she wanted and didn't want to let go when she had no choice. And when she did, she still did what she did for love.

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