Brick (***1/2)
review by Jon
Waterman
High school student Brendan stands next to the body of his
ex-girlfriend Emily and immediately knows she was murdered.
Haunted by her last phone call in which she seemed to reach
out for help, and by residual feelings of love as well as remorse
about how the relationship ended, Brendan takes it upon himself
to not only find Emily’s killer, but also hopefully dismantle
the teenage drug ring she fell into. Before he purposefully
made himself an outcast, but now he must introduce himself
to old contacts and make new friendships with anyone that could
help him along his way. There’s only one person he can
trust, a fellow student known as The Brain. Armed with that
research and intelligence, Brendan takes his determination
to the streets just hoping the path he’s forcing himself
to go down doesn’t get him killed. And you thought your
high school days were tough.
I’ll tell you what, if the studio system still worked
like it used to, I’d have to say that Joseph Gordon-Levitt
(Brendan) made a strong case for himself to be type-cast in
a slew of sleuth flicks. He may not have anything close to
the rugged appearance or name (or hat) of say a Humphrey Bogart,
but the character put forth on the screen is no “Angel
in the Outfield.” And sixty years ago, this character
would be ideal for a great series of films. JGL surprises us
with his toughness as well as his ability to take what appears
to be a monotone, dry delivery and mold it ever so slightly
to fit whatever situation he’s facing. His character
is a powerful one that you quickly learn not to underestimate,
even though his confidence always exudes the tiniest bit of “I
hope this works the way I think it will.”
The only thing I had a tough time believing was the high school
setting. Maybe it’s because I went to public school (where
there were most likly much less sophisticated drug rings),
or maybe just because I see how the general population seems
to be getting stupider by the second, but it’s hard to
swallow that such young kids can be so organized, so maniacally
clever, so quick witted, and so resourceful. But if it’s
hard to swallow, they can find other ways to get it in your
system, and it really is an easy thing to get over. The story
is so strong and captivating, the dialogue so unnatural and
fast that it doesn’t matter how old the person is that’s
telling it. It’s just fun to watch the mystery unfold
before your eyes. This could have been an all-toddler cast
and I still would have felt immersed. Do I smell “Baby
Geniuses 3?”
With all the crap that’s been released in theaters lately,
both from major studios and independents, we need more movies
like this. I’m not just talking about more noir or more
mystery. I mean films that are not only fun, but intelligent
while not being completely off-putting or inaccessible. It’s
a rare mix, and much easier said than done, but it used to
happen a lot more frequently just a couple years ago. Maybe
Brendan’s next case should be finding who or what killed
the good independent filmmakers.
respond to jon@filmbrats.com
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