Movie Notes: Brick

March 10th, 2010

= 5 stars

Starring Joeseph Gordon-Levitt, Nora Zehetner
Directed by Rian Johnston

Synopsis

High school loner Brendan (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) investigates the murder of his ex-girlfriend.

The Good

• Interesting combination of film noir and teen movie, that works a lot better than it should. Belonging to particular clique, Brendan proves a capable detective, able to traverse many different social scenes looking for clues. Familiar school archetypes translate reasonably well to stock crime characters (jocks as heavies, theater girls as molls, a popular girl the femme fatale, and a nerd character sporting James Dean spectacles). But the analogy has an underlying, psychological reason: teenagers tend to be self-absorbed, as if they’re starring in their own personal movie. Perhaps the whole movie is filtered through Brendan’s eyes.
• Solid directing — simple film techniques in support of the story — space for actors, quick cuts for action, and interesting visual composition bringing a new perspective on every day settings (one scene with a ray of light and a mirror struck me as fairly brilliant). Even more amazing: this is director Rian Johnston’s first movie, created with a budget of half a million, and filmed around the his home town of San Clemente, CA.
• Two notable performances: Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Nora Zehener as the femme fatale. The mystery’s worthwhile payoff plays out quite magically between two actors on a football field between a mountain of dialogue.
• Some grim humor in all these shady proceedings happening under the noses of parents and other clueless adults (Twin Peaks, River’s Edge.

The Bad

• Early scenes feel rather disjointed; it takes a while to realize where things are headed.
• Other than the two leads, the cast of largely unknown, inexperienced actors occasionally sink things to drama club rendition of Chinatown.

Conclusion

Could have easily gone wrong in so many places: a small budget, new writer / director, a risky premise, no known actors — but it all works out quite magically, due to capable, inventive direction supporting a solid film noir story. By the final scene, I was invested in the characters and the film earned that final star. Director Johnston is on my watch list.

IMDB: Brick
Wikipedia: Brick
Rotten Tomatoes: Brick