A teenage loner pushes his way into the underworld of a high school crime ring to investigate the disappearance of his ex-girlfriend.
In 'Brick', his masterfully crafted first feature, Rian Johnson manages to capture the essence of film noir while at the same time producing a wholly original film.
Loner Brendan (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) experiences a whole new level of teen angst when a mysterious call for help from his ex-girlfriend, Emily (Emilie de Ravin), drags him into a plot as twisting and dangerous as anything thought up by Chandler or Hammett. Realising that Emily has disappeared, Brendan becomes obsessed with finding her and so begins an increasingly desperate investigation into the seedy underbelly of school life that pits him against glamorous rich-girl Laura (Nora Zehetner), drugged up Dode (Noah Segan), and local criminal mastermind the Pin (Lukas Haas). Only by immersing himself in the lives and crimes of the Pin's gang does Brendan finally learn the truth.
A mystery of the highest order, 'Brick' both thrills and entertains. The cast are universally excellent and, although it might take a while to tune into the neo-noir dialogue, the story grips from the very beginning and even Jessica Fletcher would have a hard time unravelling all the twists and turns before the final, emotional, reveal.
Inventive and entertaining high-school set homage to the 1940s film noir; Joseph Gordon-Levitt is the mini-Marlowe out to find his ex-girlfriend, decipher clues and break though the convoluted machinations of numerous thugs, femme fatales and authority figures. 'Brick' plays film noir like 'Bugsy Malone' did gangster pics, only does it with a straight-faced cynicism that"s straight out of the Dale Cooper School of detective work. May not stand up to repeated viewings, but a clever script, cracking dialogue and fine performances make it an excellent, must see picture.
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Please note this is a region 2 DVD and will require a region 2 (Europe) or region Free DVD Player in order to play. A prizewinner at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival for Originality of Vision, Brick is Rian Johnson's debut feature as writer and director and stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Mysterious Skin), Lukas Haas (Last Days) and Emilie de Ravin (Lost). Brendan Frye is a loner, someone who knows all the angles but has chosen to stay on the outside. When the girl he loves turns up dead, he is determined to find the "who" and "why" and plunges into the dark and dangerous social strata of rich girl Laura, intimidating Tug, drug-addled Dode, seductive Kara, and the ominous Pin. But who can he really trust? Brick turns the American high-school genre on its head, injecting hard boiled dialogue and a classic film noir style reminiscent of The Maltese Falcon and Chinatown. An original, absorbing mystery that will leave you spellbound. Actors Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Nora Zehetner, Lukas Haas, Noah Fleiss, Matt O'Leary, Emilie de Ravin, Richard Roundtree, Meagan Good & Noah Segan Director Rian Johnson Certificate 15 years and over Year 2005 Screen Widescreen 16:9 Anamorphic Languages English - Dolby Digital (5.1) Duration 1 hour 50 minutes (approx)
Off-beat drama from writer/director Rian Johnson, imitating the conventions of 1940s hardboiled film noir as a teenager investigates his ex-girlfriend's death in a small Southern Californian town. Brendan (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is an outsider at his high school, but when his ex-girlfriend Emily goes missing, he decides to investigate. Teaming up with The Brain (Matt O'Leary), Brendan gets close to Emily's group of eccentric and sinister friends. As he begins to suspect the figure known only as The Pin (Lukas Haas), Brendan insinuates himself into his inner circle. But will Brendan uncover truths about Emily, or more dangerous truths about himself?
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