Review of The Brave One (2007) by Al O — 02 Jul 2010

Jodie Foster's terrific performance of nuance and subtlety, and Neil Jordan's inventive direction are pretty much the only things The Brave One has going for it. The script is appalling, the plot has huge lapses in logic, giant holes and is anti-intellectual in tone and takes incredibly lazy shortcuts.

All the characters (Foster's Erica Bain accepted) are dull. Detective Mercer is nothing less than hugely incompetent given all that happens (yet it is inferred he is a role model for the police force) and is also, frankly, quite stupid, and Terrence Howard's performance is gobsmackingly awful.

But, but, but... Foster is so good that whenever she is on screen it's impossible to tear your eyes away. She finds depth in material that is teaspoon shallow. I can only imagine that the script Jodie Foster and Neil Jordan signed on to underwent studio interference; they certainly deserve better than they had to work with.