Brick (Johnson, 2005)
****1/2
OK ... so, this movie "Brick." Where do I start? How about the fact that is was mind-blowingly original, wickedly funny and an utterly fantastic piece of cinema? Yeah, that should just about do it.
I've been following this film for a while now ... ever since its debut at Sundance last year. The premise of the film intriqued me. "A detective story," the poster tagline read. And "Brick" is exactly that; a film-noir detective story set in a modern day Southern California high school.
Brendan (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is a teenage loner who, after the mysterious disappearance of his ex-girlfriend, begins investigating an underground drug ring that she is suspiciously linked to. He enlists the help of The Brain (Matt O'Leary), a local whiz-kid who sees and hears everything, to aid him in uncovering the truth. But as Brendan delves too deep into the unknown, he finds himself embroiled in something bigger than him or his missing girlfriend.
With "Brick," first-time director Rian Johnson re-invents film-noir with the uptmost respect for the genre. The dialogue is fantastic -- quick, smart and slick. It just screams "1940's private eye flick." The characters are all film-noir archetypes, the camerawork is right out of "The Maltese Falcon" (look at the shot above ... just breathtaking cinematography). The film is such a beautiful homage, it's almost too tough to put it into words.
Needless to say ... I enjoyed "Brick" with every living fiber of my being. It was such a rich, enoyable theater experience. I only hope that the DVD won't take too long. I can't wait to watch "Brick" again ... and again ... and again ...
Anyway, I think my first video blog (yes, it's official -- expect to see the first episode of Mattinee in the next couple of weeks) will focus on "Brick" and how much I enjoyed it. Because, honestly, it's so hard to write about a movie that affected me so much as a film enthusiast.
2 comments:
For me, "Brick" is a small milestone in modern filmmaking, because it went back to a genre that hasn't been captured properly in over two decades (the last good film-noir was probably "Blade Runner").
And yes, your lack of enthusiasm could be because you've never seen a movie like "The Maltese Falcon" (the standard in quality film-noir). But you have to appreciate the movie for bringing something new and unique to the table, if nothing else.
Anyway, thanks for commenting! I appreciate the feedback and the discussion (now if everyone else could do the same ...).
Great review. The movie sounds interesting. I had asumed it was just an experiment in genre-blending, but it sounds like there's more to it than that.
I'd recommend L.A. Confidential as another example of excellent modern noir. Have you seen it?
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