By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 2.5 cats
Director: Rian Johnson
Starring: Joseph Gordon-Leavitt | Lukas Haas | Nora Zehetner
Country: united_states
Year: 2006
Running time: 110
IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0393109/
Michael says: “Before seeing BRICK, Rian Johnson’s debut feature that combines lays the Noir genre over a high school setting, Beth said, ‘it’s sounding from reviews that you either buy into the conceit and enjoy the film, or you don’t buy it and you don’t like the film.’ Unfortunately, and surprisingly (to me anyway) I didn’t buy it, and true to Beth’s comments, I didn’t like BRICK. It’s too bad really, since there was a lot going for it. It starred Joseph Gordon Leavitt, following up his strong leading performance in MYSTERIOUS SKIN. It’s well-shot, with some deft lighting and camera work. It has some nice, surprisingly creepy Lynchian touches that really worked well for me. Unfortunately, the hard-boiled dialogue and classic Noir detective characteristics that Gordon-Leavitt employed just felt silly and put-on to me.
“The plot is convoluted, involving Brendan’s (Gordon-Leavitt) ex-girlfriend, some drugs, an old (about 26) kingpin (played with geeky ferocity by Lukas Haas) some muscle-gone-bad, not one, but two femme fatales and a braniac sidekick. People die, bluffs are called, double-crosses are plentiful, but the overarching point, that high school is fraught withthe dangers and overblown emotion of hard-boiled detective stories justdidn’t work for me. I think if this had been a bit more of a traditional noir, with adults in the roles, and more of those Lynchian elements (there were several parallels to BLUE VELVET) I would have enjoyed BRICK more Unfortunately, that wasn’t the point of the film, hence I must only award it 2 ½ cats”
Hilary says: “Fair concept – teen-o noir – but poor execution; the conceit is just too great. Joseph Gordon-Leavitt (MYSTERIOUS SKIN) is capable of so much more. Some comic relief in the form of Lukas Haas as Pin, the dramatically-garbed local drug dealer, who holds court in his parents’ basement and over cookies and juice served from a rooster-shaped pitcher at the kitchen table by mom. 2 ½ cats”