Review of Brick (2006) by Evan C — 18 Jul 2011

The problem with many noir or neo-noir films is that the payoff is almost always leaves less of an impact than the rest of the film. This is one of those genres where the journey is far more important and interesting than the destination. The best films still allow for the final reveal to be a large revelation, while still having the path to get there be a lot of fun. Brick is not one of these best films, but it's still very good. It just suffers from the same problem as the vast majority of neo-noir films.

This is unfortunate, because for almost all of the film coming before the ending, I was engaged, entertained and enthralled. Then, the film concluded, and I wondered if it was all worth it. I decided that the time I dedicated was worth it, but that the mystery wasn't something that I needed to care about. A lot of the time, a character will explain everything that happened in one long scene, so that the audience comes away with some sort of feeling of closure. That is exactly what happens here, although I had stopped caring about the main mystery long before this.

The plot revolves around a murder of a young woman named Emily (Emilie de Ravin). We see her dead body in the film's opening scene, but then the film backs up on us two days, where she is still alive. She phones our lead, Brendan (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) and tells him that she needs help -- and then she hangs up and he has trouble locating her. It already seems sketchy. He has to spend a great deal of time trying to find her, which is a separate story, although not completely disconnected, from this murder mystery.

The main gimmick of Brick is that everyone acts and talks like they are from a 1940's crime drama, except that they're bodies are of high school students. These are fast-talking, highly intelligent students, all of whom are unaware that they are all in their late teens. This makes Brick fascinating, because it shows us something that you do not see very often. These "kids" don't act like kids, and it's nice to see teenagers who act dignified and are respectful to anyone they meet. Well, for the most part, anyway.

Brendan is a character that has been described as a "loner", and I can see why. He has one true friend, Brain (Matt O'Leary), who digs for dirt on people who might know something about his ex-girlfriend Emily. The people he encounters throughout his journey react in one of two ways. They either respond kindly to his presence, treating him like an accomplice, or they react violently, either threatening violence or enacting it. But Brendan is tough and violence rarely works on him, even if it's hinted that this ability might be his undoing. (Apparently being beaten on, not sleeping or eating much and bleeding internally is bad for you. Who knew?).

Brick, as with many neo-noirs, is a film that is built upon its characters and situations. Each of our characters is flawed, and has real depth. Even ones that we see very few times or even once -- they're all multi-dimensional characters. Their dialogue reinforces this, always having us guess and question their motives. Brendan ends up finding his way deep into the local drug trade, and even the characters involved there aren't what you'd expect.

Ultimately though, the story doesn't matter. We're mostly here just to see Brendan go from location to location, person to person, trying to figure things out. When a revelation happens, it's eye-opening, but not life-changing. It's kind of neat when you figure something out before the film tells you, or having a major twist occur right under your nose, but it eventually becomes cumbersome to keep track of.

Something to make note of is how few true adults there are in the film. By my count, there were three, although some of the teenagers may well have been over 18. The Pin (Lukas Haas) is one, The Pin's mother is the second, while the school vice-principal is another. That's it. We don't see Brendan's parents or even much of his house outside of his bedroom. Not having many real adults makes these characters seem even more mature and grown-up, and it's a wonderful way to do this. They're all independent and take responsibility for their actions. It's like their bodies are inhabited by old souls from the 40's. It's a gimmick that works really well, and is something you won't see often, if ever again.

There are times when Brick comes across as trying to hard. Some of the dialogue doesn't quite work, a couple of the characters don't stay consistent, and there are times when first-time director Rian Johnson falls into the trap of telling us things instead of showing them to us. But these are nitpicks that don't hold much weight when compared to the finished product, and since they are minor parts to a great whole, take them as very minor criticisms.

Brick ended up keeping me entertained. The dialogue alone could keep me interested for an hour and a half, but when you mix that with an intriguing story and rich characters, you have a great film. That's what Brick is: A great film. You are unlikely to see anything like it any time soon, as a neo-noir film set in a high school setting is a unique combination. The payoff might not be all you could hope for, but that doesn't take away anything from the journey you take to get there. Definitely give it a look.