Brick
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DVD details
Actor: Emilie De Ravin, Joseph Gordon-LevittBrand: GORDON-LEVITT,JOSEP
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1
Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.85:1
Running Time: 110 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2006-08-08
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: Universal Studios
Product features:
- Condition: New
- Format: DVD
- AC-3; Color; Dolby; DVD; Subtitled; Widescreen; NTSC
DVD Reviews of Brick
DVD Review: A high school noir just as tough as its adult counterparts
Summary: 5 Stars
Thinking about high school, it's odd that no "high school noir" films existed prior to the last few years. High school is such a perfect setting for a film noir, and though it may seem ridiculous at first, there's many parallels between the world of a teenager and a character in a 1940s noir, be it the battle between the police and the shamuses and the battle between the administrators and the students or the shady meetings under bridges and the shady meetings in the parking lot after school. In 2004, Rob Thomas' Chandler-esque take on high school hit UPN (and later the CW) as "Veronica Mars," and one year later, "Brick" premiered at Sundance.
While "Veronica Mars" is on the lighter side of noir, "Brick" is a pitch black, gritty piece which recalls Howard Hawks' "The Big Sleep," with Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall. The resemblance isn't in the style of director Rian Johnson (which bears a striking similarity to that used by David Lynch in one of his own neo-noir's, 1992's "Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me"), but in the convoluted script, the conspicuous characters, and particularly the rapidfire, hard-boiled dialogue, delivered at a startling pace by a talented young cast. This includes Joseph Gordon-Levitt, best known as the youngest alien explorer from "3rd Rock from the Sun," along with Emilie de Ravin of "Lost," Lukas Haas, Noah Fleiss, and Richard Roundtree, the original "Shaft." Gordon-Levitt's role is a far cry from his work on "Third Rock." He's cool, quick-witted, and tough, something of a much more contemptuous Sam Spade. Gordon-Levitt is truly excellent, and he shows real promise should he be cast in the right roles. Haas and Fleiss both play their roles quite well, but it's Meagan Good as a scheming drama queen (literally) who commands the most attention.
The film's plot, even at its barest, is quite clearly shaped in the noir mold: Gordon-Levitt's character, a high school student who keeps himself distanced from his classmates, thrusts himself into the cliques in an effort to find out who murdered his ex-girlfriend. His search leads him to the Pin (Haas), a 26-year-old drug kingpin. In one of the film's most memorable scenes, Gordon-Levitt meets with the Pin and his henchman in the kitchen, while the Pin's mother serves them breakfast and apple juice before kissing him goodbye. It's the one scene in "Brick" where writer/director Johnson acknowledges that all our characters are kids, and that the film itself revolves around high school, despite its utterly somber tone.
The rest of the movie is so relentlessly straight-faced and serious that you almost forget it's a film noir about high school. It's classic noir, though. The protagonist loner with a rocky exterior and a noble interior, looking to do the right thing; the suspicious, all-powerful, ominous villain, usually an obsese fifty-year-old businessman but in this case a twenty-something drug dealer living in his basement; the femme fatale, a beautiful seductress with a hidden agenda; even the flirtatious and manipulative female who usually is an actress or waitress or secretary, or something along those lines, but who here is the lead actress in the high school drama club. Much of the film's charm comes from consideration of its many allegories to "adult" noir tales.
The execution of this sort of idea matters so much, because, after all, what is a film noir if not cinema at its most stylish? Johnson is well aware of this, though. It shows not only in the maturity and seasoned approach of his directing, but also in the stimulating photography and, especially, in the stunning editing. It comes as no surprise that the editing, also by Johnson, is so good, since Johnson began his career editing his short film "Evil Demon Goofball from Hell!!!" and then Lucky McKee's popular "May." "Brick" would make an excellent sample film to show young editors, since Johnson - at 29, a young editor himself - has done such a spectacular job, fashioning a seamless flow of jump cuts, point-of-view shots, distorted lenses, and exposed film. Supporting this is an inventive, unorthodox score by Nathan Johnson, comprised of some sort of naiive bells and the woeful trumpet which Jerry Goldsmith used in his music for "Chinatown" and "L.A. Confidential."
It's a pity that "Brick" didn't get more notice. It was unquestionably one of the best films of 2005. I'd even go so far as to call it one of the top films I've ever seen. Viewed as a film from an experienced director, it's a stellar film, but when viewed as Johnson's debut, it's a fantastic achievement. Fortunately, Johnson seems to have received the attention he deserved from this film: his next project stars big-name actors like Rachel Weisz and Adrien Brody. I really hope Gordon-Levitt gets some decent roles, because he proves his acting prowess here. It's films with the originality and effort of "Brick" that keep the industry going, and if you haven't seen it, don't hesitate to leap up and hunt for it like Sam Spade for the maltese falcon.
Description of Brick
A high school loner determined to find out why his ex-girlfriend has turned up dead enters the disturbing world of high school cliques and sub-cultures.Genre: Feature Film-Drama
Rating: R
Release Date: 8-AUG-2006
Media Type: DVD
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