Review of Brick (2006) by Paul V — 21 Aug 2010

Brick follows a young man named Brendan Frye (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) as he navigates the local socialite and drug dealing crowds in an attempt to unravel the mystery behind the murder of his old girlfriend, Emily (Emilie de Ravin). Late-night rendezvous, handwritten notes in secret codes, telephone booths, fast-paced slang-filled dialogue, nihilistic antiheroes and more make Brick a fantastic homage to classic noir. Of course, all of this takes place in a contemporary SoCal high school.

This film was quite a ride. Film noir through and through, the tone, plot and characters all play counter to the filmâ??s setting, yet fit perfectly, making for a singularly unique experience. A superb cast, led by the incredibly talented Gordon-Levitt as the gumshoe with all the know-how of the best hardboiled detective, makes even the most unlikely hipster dialogue sound not only feasible, but natural, and in many cases brings a sense of grim reality to the epic tale of love, loss and revenge.

The music in the film was also pretty refreshing, featuring both traditional instrumental compositions and funky, atmospheric bits created with â??instrumentsâ?? like kitchen utensils and filing cabinets. It served well in each scene to compliment the films brooding characters and dark story.

Briskly paced, entirely engrossing, wonderfully scored, perfectly cast, and in case I havenâ??t gotten the point across yet, completely noir at heart, Brick is a total original; a film that Iâ??ll be telling everyone about, and one that Iâ??ll definitely be watching again.