Brick

August 31, 2006

Rated: R Runtime: 110 min Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

I like Bogart movies so when I read the description, I was expecting a B&W straight up period piece but Writer/Director Rian Johnson created something totally new, and totally cool.

Brick If film noir and classic gumshoe detective stories are your cup of Joe then this flicker show is for you - sort of. Brick is set in modern times with a high school as it’s backdrop, and ‘teenagers’ as the primary players but the dialog and subject matter is straight out of the 30’s and 40’s. That may sound weird and your first instinct may be to ignore this and go on about your day, but that would be a mistake. Brick is loaded with hip original concepts and a quirky delivery but at the end of the day it’s a darn good movie.

Brendan (Gordon-Levitt) is a loner that’s on a quest to solve the mystery surrounding the disappearance of his ex-girlfriend Emily (de Ravin) by infiltrating the world she stumbled into to avoid him. Emily breaks up with Brendan and tells him not to come looking for her, and to leave her alone she doesn’t need to be ’saved’. Yeah Right, whatever, you know those are famous last words and sure enough Emily gets in too deep and calls on Brendan to save her. Brendan relies on the council and assistance of a cast of cliche 40’s detective flick inspired characters to piece the puzzle together. The mystery is revealed and to find out who is ultimately responsible, Brendan enters into a web of drugs and crime headed by a guy known only as The Pin (Haas), his band of flunkies and a sexy vixen that draws him deeper and deeper into the maze with every move he makes. I don’t like to spoil anything and Brick is a movie that it would spoil it to give away the slightest detail so I will leave you to your devices, and you can decide or not if you want to give this cool movie a shot.

Brick is a blend of old and new concepts and every element of both comes together perfectly.

Posted by J.C. Edwards | Filed Under 4 Stars, DVD, Drama, Emilie De Ravin, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Lucas Haas, Nora Zehetner, R, Richard Roundtree