Review of Brick (2006) by Snigdh J — 09 May 2011
What a pleasant surprise!....To take a high school set up and turn it on it's head by infusing it with the noirish elements of cinema in 40's & 50's must require some imagination. You always run in the danger of creating an incongruous mixture that looks more like an attempt to satirize the noirs. And that's where the atmosphere comes in. Brick has sm excellent camera work and a beautiful lingering background score that creates the heavy claustrophobic atmosphere which is such an indispensable part of noirs. Add to that the quirky lingo and suddenly "where are u eating" becomes a question filled with innuendos and the pin, the brick & the bulls..every word has an edge.Before you know the crime world created draws you in in spite of knowing it may not connect that well to reality. But who cares?...Art is not supposed to follow reality.
There are many scenes that would look like a homage to early noirs and even neo noirs like Miller's Crossing!!...Joseph Gordon-Levitt is no Humphrey Bogart but he is a superb mixture of vulnerability of youth and tenacity of a man, a sort of detective, who knows his ways around.Lukas Haas, though has a small role, is absolutely brilliant.
Watch it for the imaginative & brave film making!!..Watch it just for that unusual experience it's able to provide.
This review of Brick (2006) was written by Snigdh J on 09 May 2011.
Brick has generally received positive reviews.
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