Brick
Directed by Rian Johnson, starring Joseph Gordon Levitt, Lukas Haas and Emilie De Ravin
Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler have given us so much. Not only did they pioneer and establish the genre of “Film Noir” detective fiction, but they brought it out of the seedy pulp publications of the time, soaked it in bourbon and cigarette smoke, and made it into something it was okay to talk about at a dinner party. They also spawned countless imitators and “disciples”, such as Lawrence Block and James Ellroy, who carried on the tradition long after they were gone.
We cannot ignore the indelible mark they left on cinema as well; The Maltese Falcon, The Big Sleep, The Long Goodbye, these films have stood the test of time, and showcased the talents of some of the greatest directors and actors of the “Golden Age” of cinema. Unfortunately, for a while after, the genre (at least in film) lapsed into inactivity. Well thank god for this movie.
It’s a film noir set in high school. Yeah, I’m not joking. And when I tell you it’s set in high school, I am not talking about some saccharine and cute version of a detective story about some school mascot that has gone missing. This film is packed with murder, violence, drugs, intrigue and pathos. All of your favorite archetypes are here, twisted and tweaked to fit into the most unlikely of settings. The sociopathic Vamp is the head of the drama department. The Kingpin is a 21 year old drug dealer who lives in his mother’s basement. The Femme Fatale is the most popular girl in school. These characters are larger than life, and somehow entirely familiar. This is high school, brought into the seedy world of adulthood and made tantalizingly real.
The cinematography is amazing and original, the soundtrack slinks and tinkers and the film is packed with some of the best young talent you’ve never heard of. The writing is top notch, and really showcases just how much of a fan Rian Johnson is of two of my favorite authors. He even went as far as to invent his own vernacular for the film, equal parts 1920’s and modern day high school slang, and when the film was first screened, it came with its own tiny dictionary. Don’t let that scare you away though, if you are a fan of noir fiction, or are just paying attention, you can easily figure it out in context.
This is one of my all time top-five favorite films, and I can guarantee you that you have never seen anything like it before. If you are in the mood for a classic tale about someone doing the right thing, not because he wants to, but simply because it has to be done, I cannot recommend this film enough.
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