Brick (2006)
Moderate Violence,Moderate Drug Rferences
While taking its cues and its verbal style from the novels of Dashiell Hammett, Brick also honours the rich cinematic tradition of the hard-boiled noir mystery, here wittily and bracingly immersed in fresh territory – a modern-day Southern California neighbourhood and high school. There, student Brendan Frye’s (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) piercing intelligence spares no one. Brendan is not afraid to back up his words with actions and knows all the angles; yet he prefers to stay an outsider, and does – until the day that his ex-girlfriend, Emily (Emilie de Ravin) reaches out to him unexpectedly and then vanishes. Brendan’s feelings for her still run deep, so much so that he becomes consumed with finding his troubled inamorata. To find her, Brendan enlists the aid of his only true peer, The Brain (Matt O’Leary), while keeping the assistant vice principal (Richard Roundtree) only occasionally informed of what quickly becomes a dangerous investigation. Brendan’s single-minded unearthing of students’ secrets thrusts him headlong into the colliding social orbits of rich girl sophisticate, Laura (Nora Zehetner), intimidating Tugger (Noah Fleiss), substance-abusing Dode (Noah Segan), seductive Kara (Meagan Good), jock Brad (Brian White) and – most ominously – non-student, The Pin (Lukas Haas). It is only by gaining acceptance into The Pin’s closely guarded inner circle of crime and punishment that Brendan will be able to uncover hard truths about himself, Emily and the suspects that he is getting closer to.
| Status: | Normal |
|---|---|
| Run time: | 105mins |
| Origin: | UNITED STATES |
| Aspect Ratio: |
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Member Reviews (47)
47 Member
Reviews
SAB
says
Writter/director Rian Johnson and cinematographer Steve Yeddlin prove to be a great inspiration to young film makers with 'Brick' apparently being their first feature out of film school. It was great to have watched 'Looper' and then this to see what a fantastic team they have become!
CL-D
says
Playschool version of teens trying to do a Tarantino, Coen bros et al and it just doesn't work. The acting is atrocious and kids trying to pull off tough guy impressions just looked, and sounded, well ridiculous. An object lesson in how not to make a noir movie. I got a lot of laughs, all for the wrong reasons, hence 1 star. Back to school kiddies.
Henry
says
If you've read any classic American detective novels you owe it to yourself to see this film.
Jen
says
I thought this film would be different. It's a stylised film for young adults. It replaces content with stylised speech and actions. I think the main character was supposed to be "too cool for school". I wouldn't recommend it to a friend. I did however enjoy it, but I think you have to be in the mood for a film like this, if you're over 25.
Jenny
says
High school noir is not a genre that I thought could possibly work, but work it did. This film is beautifully shot and acted and quite blackly funny. The main character is a terrific antihero whose "come and get me, I don't care" attitude reminded me a little of Fight Club.
Mukiwa
says
Great movie. Different take on what could have been a predictable movie. The setting adds another dimension. Main actor was great and the supportin acts were strong. The story takes a while to get into and it can be a bit confusing. Overall a decent movie.
Kieren
says
Do you like 'Film Noir'? How about 'High School' films?
If you answered "hell yeah" to both of these questions, then Rian Johnson's 2005 debut feature 'Brick' may be up your alley because it is essentially a mash up of the two.
Me, for some reason I've never been crazy about film noir as a whole, although I do love the genre's visual style and sometimes unique scores, I just kinda find the mysterys eventual pay off always leaves me feeling a little, meh.
High school films are way hit and miss for me too, so to say I was apprehensive about checking this out would be a understatement.
It took about twenty minutes to adjust to the rapid fire, detective styled dialogue but once I got used to it I was intrigued for the middle part of the film with some of the the camera work, scene staging and editing making for an interesting experience.
Towards the end as the house of cards begins to tumble, I lost interest a bit. Not due to a drop in quality, but as I stated before I just find the mystery element more intriguing than the subsequent answer in these types of films.
Overall, it's worth checking out. The acting is good and I the director made some interesting choices that help elevate the film.
Jemma
says
Not even worth it. struggled to watch the first hour then skipped to the end just to see what happened. Had the potential but high school kids acting like underworld figures with slang that no one understands = disaster
Janette M.
says
10 mins into it this movie, I knew it was going to be absolute rubbish - but I kept watching in case it improved... It didn't!! Delete it from your 'queue' while you still have the chance!
Timothy R.
says
Extremely well done and highly entertaining. However, it's not the sort of movie you put on and turn your mind off while you watch. This is very engaging cinema and if you've ever enjoyed a crime novel or tv show, you'll love this with its original setting.
Jamie C.
says
I'd been meaning to see this for a while now and I'm glad I did. I loved the idea of the noir genre stereotypes applied to a high school setting. I could picture this movie as another run of the mill teen drama, but due to it's noir leanings it's a very original feeling production. The acting is great and yes, some of the language or slang they use is a little hard to follow at times, but if you are someone who likes to have your brain engaged occasionally by what you are watching rather than being force-fed the information you should enjoy this.
Elspeth N.
says
Very interesting movie - surprisingly good, some unexpected twists and turns and something of a morality tale in the style of Requiem for a Dream. Definitely recommended.
Arun D.
says
Very interesting little film! I would say analogous to Baz Luhrman's Romeo and Juliet - transplanting a style (almost completely) into a totally different environment - high school. It sounds like a recipe for disaster or some 'too cool' experiment, but it's done so well it really worked for me. Looking forward to Brothers Bloom...
Kevin D.
says
Hard to follow - in the tradition of film noir! Pity about the absence of subtitles, hardly understood a word. One star for the brittle music.
Ash
says
This is a fantastic movie. Very clever and different to the normal crime stuff churning out of Hollywood.
Anne M.
says
Avoid this movie it's totally ridiculous and unbelievable. When I could hear the mumbled dialogue most of the time I couldn't understand it - some sort of drug/US slang speak I suppose. I kept waiting for some explanation or satisfactory conclusion because other viewers apparently enjoyed it. Waste of time for me.
Scott A.
says
Might be good if you are 16 years old, otherwise pass.
Charlie P.
says
Jess L.
says
Clever and convincing. The performances are stellar and the dialogue is wonderful; a very different kind of crime movie.
Linus
says
a neo-noir classic. if you think veronica mars is corny but kinda cool, this movie takes it to a darker, smarter level.
Neal B.
says
Peter H.
says
Clever idea out of making a generic private eye movie with college students as its characters suffers from inaudible and confusing dialogue, which makes it hard to follow the plot.
Wayne W.
says
Only barely worth watching. This is essentially the "maverick detective" who does the investigation his way and gets his man in the end. Except that it's in a high school setting, the victims are schoolgirls and boys, Mr big a teen dealer and some of the thugs have only just got off their "L" plates. Ticks along and is sort of interesting for its approach to an old formula.
yulz
says
Loved it! Very good movie
Yogesh P.
says
Gary H.
says
A hard boiled noir teen drama that takes some watching, but is ultimately rewarding if you can except the premise and just go with it.
Louie Z.
says
Billie M.
says
Maybe over my head, or just plain crap, I dont know.
I found it hard to follow, half the time I had no clue as to what they were talking about. Got bored after 20 mins then put it back in the post.
willow
says
This is a very interesting film with a lot to like but also rather unfathomable. This film noir set in an American high school is completely nuts but still very watchable. The young actors are terrific but I definitely wish i had subtitles to follow the plot, but I also wished that about ' The Big Sleep'. It's intense and involving but a little dense. Young Levitt Gordon and Lukas Haas are very good and the film maker one to watch I think.
Jodi M.
says
strawb
says
Whoever produced, wrote, portrayed a part or directed this one had had a sample of the brick that they were trying to pedal.Best kept in the box this one.
Alfred S.
says
An attempt at a silly idea that doesn't quite work. Perhaps a few bricks short of a complete school?
High school kids simply don't work in this genre.
Dan
says
Couldn't stand this 'noir'-style frantic pace and manic, staccato dialogue. Hard to follow, difficult to understand and impossible to sit through. Sorry - maybe it's just over my head.
Doug R.
says
David H.
says
Weird
Congxing Y.
says
It should not be offered on the list.
says
Linnea O.
says
good movie, a bit hard to follow sometimes
Phill D.
says
Daryl J.
says
I had trouble with the dialog first viewing but I think a second viewing will change my rating
Julie G.
says
Mel C.
says
Jenn
says
Very clever movie! Great acting... very entertaining.
Jodie C.
says
very slow in the beginning and hard to follow, however kept you in till the end and was worth watching
Jason P.
says
Rachel L.
says
Marcelo
says
Very cool thriller/detective story told in 'noir' fashion, with more then subtle hints to the Maltese Falcon ... very, very interesting!