Brick

Director: Rian Johnson
Screenwriter: Rian Johnson
Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Lukas Haas, Nora Zehetner, Emilie de Ravin, Matt O'Leary
Running time: 110 mins

When high school loner Brendan Fry (Gordon Levitt) receives a mysterious panicked phone call from his ex-girlfriend (de Ravin) he sets off on a quest to discover what has happened to her with the help of equally enigmatic characters such as The Brain (O'Leary) and femme fatale Laura (Zehetner).

Brick utilises an original genre-bending idea which will go down a storm with many and come across as a failed experiment with the rest. Taking as his setting a school in Southern California, first-timer Rian Johnson turns expectations of this scene on their heads as from their mouths flows dialogue more reminiscent of Humphrey Bogart than Seann WIlliam Scott. A new spin on the genre, the stylised dialogue soon fades into the background as this noir mystery takes hold.

This film is more interesting and intellectually engaging than emotionally involving. The lead character, played by a promising Joseph Gordon Levitt (Third Rock from the Sun) is stoic throughout and although the entire plot comes about due to the death of a girl we are never really invited to care about her. The focus is squarely on tension, a unique style and an enthralling well-developed mystery.

If there's one drawback of the faithful adherence to the genre to which Brick pays homage it's the rapid-fire monotone delivery of some of the slang-filled lines which, if your ears fail to adapt to it, might leave you confused and not enjoy what this complex film has to offer. This is particularly pivotal in a scene where everything gets explained towards the climax.

A dark and stylish mystery thriller which is sure to attract a cult following, Brick is undoubtedly nothing like anything else around at the moment and would definitely benefit from multiple viewings (especially with subtitles).

























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