Reviews

Brick

Coffee and pie oh my, indeed. I’ve looked forward to movies only to be let down numerous times. Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy was a huge disappointment. The look was there but it lacked the soul Douglas Adam’s breathed into the book. So with all the anticipation behind me I’m happy to say Brick surpassed every expectation.

Brick is the debut film for Rian Johnson but it will be far from his last. Johnson does something that sounds so simple and turns an entire genre of film sideways. Brick is straight crime noir, a caper involving a missing person and who dun’ it. The difference is Brick is set up in a California high school. All the roles are here just slightly eschewed. Brendan (Joseph Levitt) is a high school student and plays our detective who is tracking down an ex-girlfriend. You see, Brendan has a puzzling conversation with her on the phone… then she goes missing. Brendan, still lovesick, makes it his business to find her and pull her out of her unspecified troubles.

With the detective and dame established other characters are introduced. Brendan reports to his vice principal the way a detective would report to his sergeant. The Brain appears to be Brendan’s only friend. The Brain also processes information much like a lab tech while Brendan follows new leads. Instead of strippers or hookers there is a drama student who’s preparing for some sort of vaudeville show. Instead of people from old money we’re introduced to students who were born into money. The whole story flows so well, and is believable, because it shows how students have grown to mimic the behavior of adults.

Had Rian Johnson cast adults the film would not be as memorable. It probably would have still been good but with movies like LA Confidential and Narc it could have been easily lost in the mix. Maybe that’s why this film has the high school backdrop. Perhaps Johnson wanted to shock the audience by showing kids act like pushers and pimps. Regardless of the reason it works. But it’s not so much the story that makes Brick work rather the actors. This isn’t the cast of The OC where everyone has nice hair and expensive cars. This ensemble bleeds into the realm of believability. Ask the right kid and they’ll tell you where to get drugs or a gun. So why not take the growing hardboiled view of these kids and put it into an older genre of film?

Not once did I think these were children trying to act like adults. The actors in Brick are kids on the crest of adulthood and learning the ropes of the drug culture. Some are further along than others. There are parents but like real parents, turn a blind eye to what their children are really doing.

Is Brick good? It’s beyond good. Had this been a DVD review I would have watched it two or three times by now. Should you wait for the DVD? No, go to the Baxter and see it tonight. Brick manages to be original while not necessarily doing anything new. Believe me, that’s a compliment. Shut down your computer and catch the next showing of Brick at the Baxter Theater. Afterwards come back here and let me know what you think.
9/10
Andy