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A detective story set around a contemporary California high school, BRICK dares to combine the teen and film noir genres. In mixing these two disparate worlds, Director Rian J...Read more
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A Good Modern Noir
by:deistic1
If you took characters from old Bogart Film Noirs, set them in a modern high school and KEPT the lingo, you have Brick. Joeseph Gordon-Levitt (3rd Rock from the Sun, Jarhead) ...Read more
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Movie synopsis
A detective story set around a contemporary California high school, BRICK dares to combine the teen and film noir genres. In mixing these two disparate worlds, Director Rian Johnson creates many comically jarring and ironic moments. When loner Brendan Frye (a barely recognizable Joseph Gordon-Levitt of THIRD ROCK FROM THE SUN) gets a desperate-sounding call from his ex-love Emily (Emilie de Ravin), he feels compelled to help her, plunging himself into the seedy world of teenage crime that pulled her away from him in the first place. Throughout this journey, Brendan plays a hard-boiled type reminiscent of Humphrey Bogart's iconic Sam Spade character. Johnson's script invests heavily in the fiction of Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler, and is filled with other archetypical characters like the femme fatale (Nora Zehetner), the eccentric crime lord (a brilliant Lukas Haas), and the dame in distress (de Ravin). As teens trade in their cell phones for things as old-fashioned as pay phones and 1940s gangster vocabulary, occasional references to detention and first period provide a humorous contrast with the otherwise unbelievable complex, precocious, and largely parentless world that these teens inhabit.With its heavy reliance on references to old noir classics like THE MALTESE FALCON and THE BIG SLEEP, the film may risk alienating viewers not familiar with these older films. Seeing teenagers speaking in coded detective-movie-style lingo is entertaining, but mixed with the often overlapping, fast-paced but muttered dialogue, it also proves to be distracting at points. People eager to see a predictable teen drama may be confused by BRICK, as its goal is to turn the genre on its head, earning inevitable comparisons to films like 2001's surreal teen fantasy DONNIE DARKO. Because of the film's attention to detail and witty yet hard-to-follow dialogue, BRICK may be better appreciated on second viewing.
Product Details
- Number of Discs: 1
- Rating: R (MPAA)
- Film Country: USA
- UPC: 025192866326
| Additional Details | |
| Genre: | Action/Adventure |
| Format: | DVD |
| Region: | Region 1 |
Credits
| Director: | Rian Johnson |
| Leading Role: | Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Lukas Haas, Nora Zehetner |
eBay Product ID: EPID53866465
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Rolling Stone - Peter Travers (04/06/2006) Movieline's Hollywood Life - Stacey Farber (03/01/2006) Entertainment Weekly - Lisa Schwarzbaum (04/14/2006) Total Film - Jonathan Crocker (06/01/2006) USA Today - Claudia Puig (03/31/2006) Sight and Sound - Sight and Sound Critic (06/01/2006) Box Office - Tim Cogshell (07/01/2006) Uncut - Jonathan Romney (10/01/2006) Ultimate DVD - David Richardson (10/01/2006) |
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A Good Modern Noir
Created: 13/07/10
) If you took characters from old Bogart Film Noirs, set them in a modern high school and KEPT the lingo, you have Brick. Joeseph Gordon-Levitt (3rd Rock from the Sun, Jarhead) Plays the Bogart role. Tough but sensitive, he discovers the dead body of an ex-girlfriend in a train underpass. He heard from her the night before and her last words to him are: "...bad brick...". He sets-off to discover the murderer in his seedy high school world. Lucas Haas plays our Sydney Greenstreet, Nora Zehetner is Bacall, Noah Fleiss is a combination of a silent Edward G. Robinson and Peter Lorre. The rest of the class plays their noir role very well. The mystery is truly a good one, the suspense is masterful.
You may have a tough time seeing these characters in teenage form in the modern day. The language, if you can suspend your disbelief, is immersive.
I doubt very many directors or studios would attempt this kind of movie very often. With "Brick" as a guide, more should try it.
You may have a tough time seeing these characters in teenage form in the modern day. The language, if you can suspend your disbelief, is immersive.
I doubt very many directors or studios would attempt this kind of movie very often. With "Brick" as a guide, more should try it.
Thank you for voting. If your vote meets our BRICK starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Created: 11/08/09
) The lead, played wonderfully as a Spade-Bogartesque high-school-aged character of "Brendan" is portrayed by the most promising actor to make the transition from child-actor (1990's TV - 3RD ROCK FROM THE SUN) to one who has the promise of becoming a true star as he grows from young adult to adult. Joseph Gordon-Levitt is absolutely great in this movie (and in Mysterious Skin) and will be a male lead and box-office draw on par with an earlier generation's Leo DiCaprio and Johnny Depp. Joseph Gordon-Levitt can do it all, i.e., play a variety of characters, whether they be heroic, pathetic, clownish, romantic, etc.
Lukas Haas(ET fame) is really wierd as the crippled gang leader "The Pin" ... but he is more limited as far as the variety of roles which he can pull off.
The movie itself is something for laughs on its first viewing, but not at the expense of the 1930's detective stories ... the details of the "contemporary" high school setting are ludicrous ... the farcical representaion of adults, i.e., the school's disciplinarian and the Pin's mother ... the incongruity of the mid-20th century phone booths, and when convenient, the use of the modern cellphone ... the consistent beatings that Brendan takes, the slaps he gives, the instant healing of what should be life-threatening injuries ... the white Thunderbird, the black Mustang ... no reality home life of the characters ... the Pin's house ... the twists and turns, and the surprise ending, but always the dead-pan delivery of the mumbled gumshoe lingo. The entire movie is a delight and you can watch it over and over to spot more and more ironies, incongruities, and satiric stabs at both nostalgia and . That's why I bought this copy on ebay as a gift for the collection of my college-freshman nephew who is studying film.
Lukas Haas(ET fame) is really wierd as the crippled gang leader "The Pin" ... but he is more limited as far as the variety of roles which he can pull off.
The movie itself is something for laughs on its first viewing, but not at the expense of the 1930's detective stories ... the details of the "contemporary" high school setting are ludicrous ... the farcical representaion of adults, i.e., the school's disciplinarian and the Pin's mother ... the incongruity of the mid-20th century phone booths, and when convenient, the use of the modern cellphone ... the consistent beatings that Brendan takes, the slaps he gives, the instant healing of what should be life-threatening injuries ... the white Thunderbird, the black Mustang ... no reality home life of the characters ... the Pin's house ... the twists and turns, and the surprise ending, but always the dead-pan delivery of the mumbled gumshoe lingo. The entire movie is a delight and you can watch it over and over to spot more and more ironies, incongruities, and satiric stabs at both nostalgia and . That's why I bought this copy on ebay as a gift for the collection of my college-freshman nephew who is studying film.
Original and Entertaining
Created: 09/08/06
I wasn't sure what to expect with this film. After seeing the previews, I knew it would be full of invented slang and pithy dialogue, but it was not the trite half-hearted attempt you come to expect in movies starring up-and-coming tween actors. I would, I think, compare it to a David Mamet script, where the dialogue is both real and other-worldly at the same time.
But enough about that. The movie itself is a very entertaining thriller, with excellent performances by mainly unknown or little known young actors. The whodunnit? aspect of the film is easy enough to figure out, but the why? and how? are elusive until the end.
The movie is very aware of motivation, and all of the characters are wonderfully 3-dimensional in that they all want different things, know different pieces of the puzzle, and have very real human emotions.
There is quite a bit of morbid, jaded, or jarring humor (something like Garden State meets Reservoir Dogs), and the film gives nods to the darker, undiscussed desires of humanity, without going overboard on sex, gore, or f-bombs. In fact, there's no nudity, only one scene of extreme violence, and just a few episodes of noticable cursing, which is pretty tame for this type of intense murder-suspense film.
I highly recommend this movie. If nothing else, it is a must-rent DVD, but anyone interested in film will appreciate this screenplay's originality, as well as some of the choices the director and cinematographer made that add to the overall dark and quiet tone.
But enough about that. The movie itself is a very entertaining thriller, with excellent performances by mainly unknown or little known young actors. The whodunnit? aspect of the film is easy enough to figure out, but the why? and how? are elusive until the end.
The movie is very aware of motivation, and all of the characters are wonderfully 3-dimensional in that they all want different things, know different pieces of the puzzle, and have very real human emotions.
There is quite a bit of morbid, jaded, or jarring humor (something like Garden State meets Reservoir Dogs), and the film gives nods to the darker, undiscussed desires of humanity, without going overboard on sex, gore, or f-bombs. In fact, there's no nudity, only one scene of extreme violence, and just a few episodes of noticable cursing, which is pretty tame for this type of intense murder-suspense film.
I highly recommend this movie. If nothing else, it is a must-rent DVD, but anyone interested in film will appreciate this screenplay's originality, as well as some of the choices the director and cinematographer made that add to the overall dark and quiet tone.
2 of 6 people found this review helpful.
BRICK IT BABY
Created: 12/04/07
) 
Over-acted? Yup. Melodramatic? Sure! Clichéd? You betcha! But that's the point! Take a classic film noir from the early era of the genre and set it in a modern-day high school and what do you get? Anachronistic dialogue that is nevertheless is profusely injected with hipster slang. An angry, emo boy as the hard-edged, flawed hero. A seemingly innocent and very confused blonde who plays the role of the girl who broke the hero's heart, and who gets herself in over her head and turns back to him for help only to be too late. And a host of other interesting characters. There's also the great camera work, a complex and intriguing plot, and the sometimes amusing melodramatic tone as reminiscent of the source material as it is of the modern emo scene. This is probably how emo teens imagine their world. In short, this was a great movie, with lots of texture and style.
0 of 2 people found this review helpful.
A Thought-Provoking and Entertaining Film
Created: 04/03/08
I chose to purchase this product because I'd seen it before and thoroughly enjoyed it. Here are my quick thoughts on it:
Cinematography: 4/5
There aren't any explosions (which is a good thing, in my opinion), but the lighting and angles of some of the shots are beautiful. It takes place in common places, but they are still made to evoke emotion. The settings are important for the story development, and they do this well.
Plot: 4/5
Taking place in some sort of hyper-serious public high school, the plot is a little unrealistic, but that's the norm for movies these days. The viewer follows one character throughout a few exciting days of his life, so the plot lacks the ADHD trend that Hollywood likes to follow, but it ties everything together very well at the end of the film.
Character Development: 5/5
Without ruining anything about the movie's mystery aspect, this film involves lots of twists and turns based around a handful of dynamic characters. Everyone plays a pivotal role in the story, so you don't waste any interest in non-vital characters. The story is based on how these characters interact with each other more than the environment, which leads to a more interesting film.
Script: 5/5
The writer of this screenplay had clearly taken "A Clockwork Orange" to heart when writing this. The vocabulary is very interesting. It may be hard to follow at times, but with a bit of attention given, it becomes far more fun than any normal pattern of speech. One of my favorite aspects of this film.
Get this movie, then enjoy it. It's not that expensive, and it's far more valuable than it's (lack of) reputation would lead you to believe.
Cinematography: 4/5
There aren't any explosions (which is a good thing, in my opinion), but the lighting and angles of some of the shots are beautiful. It takes place in common places, but they are still made to evoke emotion. The settings are important for the story development, and they do this well.
Plot: 4/5
Taking place in some sort of hyper-serious public high school, the plot is a little unrealistic, but that's the norm for movies these days. The viewer follows one character throughout a few exciting days of his life, so the plot lacks the ADHD trend that Hollywood likes to follow, but it ties everything together very well at the end of the film.
Character Development: 5/5
Without ruining anything about the movie's mystery aspect, this film involves lots of twists and turns based around a handful of dynamic characters. Everyone plays a pivotal role in the story, so you don't waste any interest in non-vital characters. The story is based on how these characters interact with each other more than the environment, which leads to a more interesting film.
Script: 5/5
The writer of this screenplay had clearly taken "A Clockwork Orange" to heart when writing this. The vocabulary is very interesting. It may be hard to follow at times, but with a bit of attention given, it becomes far more fun than any normal pattern of speech. One of my favorite aspects of this film.
Get this movie, then enjoy it. It's not that expensive, and it's far more valuable than it's (lack of) reputation would lead you to believe.
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