A triumph for Indiewood

Director: Rian Johnson
Starring: Joseph Gordon-Lewitt, Noah Fleiss, Emile de Ravin
Classification:15

As with all the darkest tales of intrigue, it starts with the death of a woman. Yet this is no run-of-the-mill detective story, and the construction of each frame has as much to do with Brick’s startling brilliance as any of the twisting plot lines.

The story opens with our protagonist Brendan (a razor-sharp and at times astounding Joseph Gordon-Lewitt) hunched over aside his lifeless ex-girlfriend Emily (Emilie de Ravin) who lies before a gaping underpass. And so begins Brendan’s quest to locate the culprit, and from here on in, Rian Johnson’s slickly edited shots never become any more welcoming. You might be forgiven for assuming this was just going to be a simple reincarnation of the murder-mystery genre (which in a sense, it is) but there is so much more besides the plot that proves the art of filmmaking is very much alive. Set in the high school of a lonely suburb, Brick is the witty dialogue and subtle menace of film noir moulded around teenage desolation.

As expected, Brendan’s mission gets him into no end of trouble, including parking lot brawls, run ins with psuedo-drug barons and a chase sequence that blows all of those tired old nineties action movie car chases out of the water. However, being that Brick never even touches its post-modern toes to the ocean of average filmmaking, its clear that things do not begin and end with a bunch of action scenes. Punches are not just punches; the entire frame is disrupted in a beautiful juxtaposition of fragmented sound and image. Every shot is imbued with a mournful elegance; the electric blue sky, the deserted corridors of the school and the pale forest leaf behind add up to a new movement in neo-noir, one that is not afraid to suture together troubled elegance and black humour with violent passion.

The traditions of forties noir are all here. The femme fatale is back, donned in French hats and sexual tension that is cleverly concealed behind Brendan’s bitter indifference. But Brick, as the canon film in what can best be described as teen-noir, is no just a gimmick. As his debut feature, Johnson already displays an impressive mastery of his craft and with this film he creates a tone and style truly unique.

All the performances are faultless, but the biggest achievement has to be on the part of Joseph Gordon-Lewitt who is quite simply, Bogart for the modern age. He has come along way since his sitcom days in 3rd Rock from the Sun. Lewitt’s performance never drops below the bar, and he manages to perform with a mature intensity that never feels forced or artificial.

No doubt we will see Brick continue in the Donnie Darko vein – it is already playing its run at Sundance – and it will be yet another strike for Indiewood. But the fact is, Donnie Darko was a whole lot better as a cult film nobody had heard of, and so is this. Go see it now before it gets snatched up by the loving arms of popularity. 
 

4/5 beautifully shot; witty dialogue; go and see it now.

Brick is available to rent or pre-order from Amazon.co.uk