The geography of film noir is usually a neighborhood, a city, a region ... BRICK transposes this geography onto a high school with surprisingly successful results. Watching it brought to mind not only the black & white films of the 40s and 50s, but glimmers of Gus van Sant, David Lynch and River's Edge. What gives BRICK its filmic authenticity (much different from realism) is its language -- the language of Chandler and Hammett, but re-imagined from the lips of contemporary teens.

The effect is staggering. BRICK essentially re-creates a world we thought we knew. Suddenly there are forces at work that we recognize because we knew they were there. But to see them in this noir glow is to give them an exciting new life ... "to see them again for the first time." There are plot twists and surprises aplenty here, although familiar once you realize the inspirations for the film. But familiarity is more than compensated by a superb cast and (not generally noted in these comments) excellent music. Contemporizing the soundtrack keeps us on our toes and makes a significant contribution to the tension of BRICK.

A terrific debut!

Saw this at the Mill Valley Film Festival. It's essentially a film noir set in present-day San Clemente High School, reminiscent of "The Big Sleep," but with drug-dealing added to the mix of double-crossing. The characters may be teenagers, but the dialog channels Chandler and Hammett, and my only real complaint with the film is that Joseph Gordon-Leavitt (in an otherwise wonderful performance) sometimes mumbles; this is dialog you don't want to miss. Lukas Haas is wonderfully eccentric in what is essentially the Sidney Greenstreet role, Noah Fleiss as the dumb thug, and Nora Zehetner even LOOKs like Mary Astor. As with all the great American noir films, there are many sardonic laughs inserted into the dark story.

While a touch (maybe 5-10 minutes) overlong, its clever dialogue requires absolute attention and shows how well versed in the language of noir the screenwriter is. (Terms like "yegs" and "sap" are rarely used these days but offer a direct and crtitical link to Hammett and Chandler).

It's also quite humorous, mixing David Lynch, "River's Edge", "Heathers", and any high-noir reference you care to make quite freely. And Lukas Haas' turn as an oddball kingpin is reminiscent of William Hurt's spin on the same in "A History of Violence" in that they are both highly stylized.

However, because the dialogue is so utterly complicated, discerning all the plot elements and making eventual sense of the film would probably have to be done over a period of time. The film lends itself to multiple viewings, and some people might not like that.

I saw this film at a sneak preview the other night not knowing what to expect. To say the least I was pleasantly surprised. Film Noir being one of my favorite film genre's, "Brick" follows the same story structure, odd-ball characters, right down to the very smart and quick paced dialogue of a 30s/40s hard boiled detective thriller. The twist that lifts it above parody and even a mere homage is the presentation of these elements with high school kids in Southern California. The direction by Rian Johnson is very expert and confident in telling the story, giving the audience smooth and quick editing along with skewed and distorted camera angles. He manages to maintain suspense throughout the film, only in a couple of parts letting it drag (the scenes with the Drama Queen are some of the weakest). The actors are great, the most memorable being the "villains" Pen and Tugger. Rather than just being atypical baddies, their portrayals give them depth, sympathy, and at the same time a degree of likability. Kudos also goes to the actor who played Brain, the partner of Frye, who is nearly flawless in his somewhat small role. John Shaft himself, Richard Roundtree, shows up as the Vice Principal, but it is obvious they only had the budget to hire him for one day. I have to say this isn't a classic film by any means; I merely decided to give it such a high rating because it attempts something different and succeeds fairly successfully. I've been tired of the mundane films that get released every year, and for once this is something that is completely different; the use of archetypal characters in the setting and delivery not expected. It's a low budget film, but it is obvious to me that that this filmmaker will be heard from again. Keep an eye out.

Brick is a true achievement. Unlike many "Indies" funded by large studios or very rich individuals, with big name actors "lending" their talent because they 'liked the concept', Brick takes a talented cast (all experienced character, TV, B-movie and bit-part actors) attaches them to a fast-paced script ala Dashell Hammett, a plot which fuses Philip K. Dick, film noir and high-school camp comedy, music and photography which David Lynch would enjoy and an exceedingly clever presentation. I especially enjoyed the Richard Roundtree (Shaft) cameo!

Brick takes place in the context of High School drug culture, following a young man, Brendan (Gordon-Levitt), who seems half narcotics agent and half narcotics addict as he is swept along in a series of manipulations connected to the murder of his ex-girlfriend and the operation of a drug dealer called "The Pin" (Haas). The only aspects of Brendan's personality which appear to be entirely consistent are his love and devotion to Laura (Zehetner) - a Laura Palmer-like victim of teen confusion; his relationship with "The Brain" (O'Leary) - the only person he truly trusts; and his desire to find out who is pulling the strings in the puppet show which lead to Laura's death - and to make sure that this individual or group of individuals pays a very heavy price.

PAY ATTENTION! Do not attempt to watch this film under the influence of any form of intoxicant or while in a state of mental exhaustion. The dense dialog invents its own language, and proceeds at a break-neck pace. Even experienced noir-ites will find some of it hard to follow.

I saw the DVD version, which is slightly modified from what appeared at Sundance. Johnson's method is damn close to flawless! He pays homage to David Lynch's Twin Peaks in several places, and even improvises on some of Lynch's visual and sound cues. The plot, its pace and presentation are extremely well thought out - much more so than in most truly independent films and studio sponsored "Indies". There are no unnecessary scenes, and the order of presentation draws your attention consistently. The musical cues are also very clever - never overbearing and setting mood for every scene in which music is used. I especially enjoyed the Lynch-like use of white noise in some of the more disoriented high-tension scenes.

The cast is very good, and though I recognized Haas immediately from his numerous small parts in major productions, it was very refreshing to see see an Indy cast which did not either involuntarily or intentionally exploit star power. Some of the cast members will undoubtedly improve their prospects through this film. Johnson has helped them open doors to art-film, independent cinema and even mainstream.

If you're interested in seeing the work of a rising directoral talent, I strongly recommend "Brick". Whether or not you enjoy disturbing and relentlessly dialog-driven detective stories, this film is worth seeing for the raw cinematographic brilliance it effuses. It is a remarkably well done low-medium budget film. Kudos!

OK...I have never actually commented on a movie on IMDb, but this movie was so great I really felt I had to let people know about it. When I first read the synopsis of Brick at Sundance I was immediately interested in seeing it. "Film Noir set in a high school." I started hearing really terrible reviews of it and almost did not go until the very last day I could. I am so glad I did. It is a very unique film, such a refreshing one for people who have seen it all. So if you want something new and different you will definitely enjoy this. Others may find it is too over-the top for them--it took me several minutes to understand what the characters were even saying at first, in their language that mixed old film noir slang with the new generation of slang. Its very dark and the sound design will even make a person feel uneasy. The director linked sound and image in ways I have never seen, completely enthralling me from beginning to end. This movie is not a relaxing ride. oh! but there are great comedic and ironic moments as well! I think a lot of the criticism I heard of this film was that it was too incomprehensible and unbelievable. I personally really got into the world of this film and it had me on the edge of my seat until the very end. It was so enjoyable to buy into the rules of the film noir/high school drama world and its characters. I did not even recognize the lead character as that kid from 3rd Rock until the end! I hated 3rd Rock, but I absolutely loved and believed in his character here. I loved it! One of my top picks at Sundance this year. sorry I have never written a review...I hope this reveals something about the movie. I really, really hope that it gets released soon! It is one of those interesting movies that could really be a cult classic.

The lonely teenager Brendan (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) finds his former girlfriend Emily (Emilie de Ravin) dead in the entrance of a tunnel of sewage and recalls her phone call two days ago, when she said to him that she was in trouble. Brendan, who still loved Emily, met bad elements of his high-school trying to contact her, and when he succeeded, she told him that she was OK. He hides her body in the tunnel and decides to investigate the meaning and connection of four words, including "brick" and "pin", that Emily told him to find who killed her. Using the support of his nerd friend Brain (Matt O'Leary), he successively meets the small time drug dealers Kara (Meagan Good), Dode (Noah Segan), Brad Bramish (Brian White), Laura (Nora Zehetner) and Tugger (Noah Fleiss), to reach the teenager powerful drug dealer The Pin (Lukas Haas). Slowly, Brendan unravels the motives why Emily was killed and plots a revenge.

"Brick" is a weird, overrated by many and unbelievable, but original tale of revenge. This teen low-budget movie has a terrible development of characters, totally unbelievable situations and an authentic anti-hero, Brendan, who was a former smalltime drug dealer and rat and is spanked everywhere. Further, a powerful criminal like The Pin would never be so naive and silly like the character of this flick. It is hilarious to see that some people is giving the categorization of "film-noir' to this detective teen story. I expect that one day they see a couple of film-noir to understand the meaning and components of this genre. I noted that there are many reviews apparently "planted" of users with only one review in IMDb to promote this film since 26 January 2005. In spite of that, the story is intriguing and the movie is not bad. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "A Ponta de um Crime" ("The Tip of a Crime")

This is a film I have been highly anticipating for over a year. After first hitting the festival circuit in January of 2005 it went through the cycles, finally getting a stateside limited release at the end of March 2006. Buffalo, I ask you now to open your eyes to a masterpiece of cinema as Brick finally debuts at the Amherst Dipson.

Brick is a not a film as much as a symphony where each instrument is tuned to the beat of the conductor. Each frame is carefully orchestrated and composed to perfection. The dialogue is metered and spoken with a contemporary Shakespearean beat. Writer/Director Rian Johnson has created poetry with his first feature length film. It may be tough to understand the lingo and overall speech used, but as the film advances you begin to know the characters and the words just make complete sense.

We open with the stare of our protagonist—hard and piercing, yet on the verge of tears—eyes slowly welling up as he peers down on a motionless body, facedown in a tunnel's steady, flowing stream. This is film noir at its best: wrong men and notorious women. Our leader into this underbelly of society has recently rolled on his boss to skate clean of a drug deal he was involved with. The cops allow this plea and decide to keep him in their pocket, with what happened as leverage. He stays low, nose clean, until an old love brings him into her world as it's spiraling out of control. Using all his resources around the city, he begins his search to find her and make sure she is OK. He does this for his own means, with a stoicism that hearkens back to Bogart's Sam Spade.

Wait…Did I tell you that the city this is set in is a suburban high school? Johnson has flipped the genre on its head to brilliant effect. Brendan, our medium into the story, is played to perfection by Joseph Gordon-Levitt as a senior at the school who has alienated himself by ratting on his drug supplier. The vice-principal is using him to gain intel on the dealings around school, but Brendan will have none of it. He needs to find out what happened to his old flame Emily and see what she got involved in. Enlisting the help of a colleague, Brendan plays his enemies off each other to gain access to the mob boss and dope runner The Pin ("I hear he's supposed to be old, like 26"), whom Emily has wronged. The truth must be found at all costs, either to assuage some personal guilt, to rescue love, to do what's right, to get the bad guys, or maybe all the above. The search for answers leads to betrayal and secrets uncovered and I was there for the entire ride.

Brick is not the 21st century's answer to Alan Parker's Bugsy Malone. This isn't a satire on mob life with children playing men. This is a reawakening of the genre, a subversion of what you expect of it, but played straight as a razor. None of these actors break character and lines like this, echoing a hardened criminal telling off an over-zealous officer, "No more of these informal chats! If you have a disciplinary issue with me, write me up or suspend me and I'll see you at the Parent-Teacher conference," are delivered with straight faces and a piercing confidence. The wit is there and you will laugh to the seeming absurdity, but the weight of the story holds strong. Well-placed humor helps you realize the gravity of everything even more.

Levitt shines in the role and proves to be the best up-and-coming actor of his generation. Following pitch-perfect turns as a violent teen in the wonderful Manic and as a teenage hustler, vagrant in Gregg Araki's disturbing yet unforgettable Mysterious Skin, Levitt is making bold choices and continues a great run with Brick. He is flanked with solid support from "Lost's" Emilie de Ravin as his lost love; Lukas Hass as The Pin, with loyalty straying muscle Noah Fleiss; Matt O'Leary's The Brain, Brendan's life-line to what's happening as he sinks deeper; and Nora Zehetner flawlessly playing the femme fatale which one can never be sure whether to trust. Also, the accompanying score of piano and brass jazz fits perfectly to the atmosphere, especially on a late scene close-up shot of Levitt and Zehetner—faces close- up, lips with an atom of air between them, and a single tear slowly following down the contours of her face—uncannily mimicking the infamous shot of Bogart and Bergman in Casablanca.

Any cinephile with $8 to spend will regret missing an opportunity to see this film. If you love film noir of the 50's, 60's, and 70's check Brick out while you can. Doubtful that it will stay up more than 2 or 3 weeks, it will be coming to DVD on August 8th, however go out and see this gem. It will not be everyone's cup of tea, but whether you love it or not, it holds a place on the timeline of cinema as an experiment in stripping down the essence of noir and showing it in a new and no longer angelic world of children on the cusp of adulthood. "Here's looking at you kid."

Well this was one of the movies I was really looking forward to see this year, not only because the whole concept of the film sounded exciting(for instance, on the DVD-box it said that it was the smartest indie flick since Donnie Darko!), but also because it came highly recommended by my brother, whom I consider(AND STILL DO)someone who truly knows what he is talking about...

And I also consider myself one of the more experienced,open-minded movie-lovers...

But this film? Come on... I thought it was extremely boring, confusing, and full of really badly articulated and impossibly hard to understand(not only because of the language that was used, but mainly because they did not speak but mumble throughout),right from the start.

I wanted to give the film a chance though, convinced the genius aspect that I had missed so far, was still coming up, and that right then and there I would fully understand the greatness of the film.

Only that didn't happen...

I found myself not caring what happened to any of the characters in the movie, and it touched me in no way whatsoever...

Why?Why?Why? Why do people love this movie? What have I missed? You now I am typing these questions, but don't answer them,please. I really don't care...

Just a little advice...Don't waste your time on this piece of you know what...

Just saw this at the Chi. International Film Festival, and must say it was the best feature film that I have seen all year. Excellent tribute to the noir genre, with sort of a Raymond Chandler-esquire slant to the dialog, a sort of hard-boiled type protagonist, and the typical twists, turns and double crosses that come with the territory. All this while taking place within the confines of a modern California high-school social scene. Somehow manages to walk the line of homage, send-up, and original film incredibly well. Parts were edge-of-your seat, parts had me cringing with pain or shock, and parts had me in stitches. Well worth seeing.

The best way for me to describe this film would be a high school neo-noir mystery. The story is interesting enough and the acting is decent. However, the dialog seems strange. It's as if the characters all talk like they're straight out of a 1940's gangster movie. But they're not; they're a bunch of high school students.

It sort of ruined the experience for me. It takes you out of the moments and ruins the realism. There are some movies that make it work, using strange stylized dialog without interfering with the realism, but it did not work for me here. Also, the story drags a bit at points and I wanted to turn it off. For those reasons I did not like this movie a lot, but it's not quite terrible. Do not recommend.

This film is nothing more than an example of someone trying to be clever and seriously failing, ending up being smothered by their own pretentiousness. I watched (endured, suffered, was tortured by) this film at the Deauville Film Festival in Sebtember 2005 and I can safely say that this was, without any doubt and by a very big margin, the worst offering that I saw all week and I have to say I've struggled to find anything worse since then, even when I leave the DVD choice to my 10 year old son. The film is dull, turgid, lifeless and shambolic, it provides no interest or excitement and was viewed by myself as a waste of 110 minutes of my existence. If you want to spend some money and waste a few hours, got to a bar, have a few drinks, believe me you'll enjoy yourself more. If looking at glowing images on a faraway wall that offer you no intellectual stimulation whatsoever without any hint or promise of enjoyment then this is the film for you. For myself, it was too much like group voluntary euthanasia and not an enjoyable experience.

That's the story, right? Going back to the days of "China Town" with Jack Nicholson chasing lead after lead, turning corners left and right, only to find more corners. Who's duping who? We don't know until the very end in this fast-paced, hipster lingo drenched wild revival of the classic Black and White Film Noir. Joseph Gordon-Levitt (yes, the kid from Third Rock) is a brilliant hero/foil as Brendan, the bitingly dry, quick-witted, scrappy and yet reluctant detective trying to walk his way through a web of lies, more lies, murder and lots of missing drugs. His character is bright, he can read a situation like a psychic on crack, turn things to his favor in seconds and play people as deftly as he is ultimately played himself. ...And he can take a punch. The plot turns this way, then that, keeping you constantly guessing as to where it will take you next. As soon as you think you know what's going on, you don't. Nora Zehetner is a beautiful and beguiling femme fatale. "The Brian" (Matt O'Leary), who is constantly feeding Brendan his facts and keeping him on track, knows his stuff but never let's you know how. Rian Johnson has written an amazing script and directed it into a whirlwind experience of near misses, painful betrayal and love/love lost. The lingo takes a second to catch. I'm reminded of Swingers, had it been as thrilling as it was funny. The words fall into place and give the film a slick, quick delivery like the best exchanges between Bogart and Bergman, Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake. Take all that and drop it into a dark, starkly brutal modern world... In a high school, of all places. There's even some quirky humor thrown in, though most of the laughs from the audience were really nervous release from all the tension built into the story. A must see.

'Brick' is a film noir murder mystery featuring contemporary high school students who talk and behave like 1940's-style gangsters.

I hastily bought a ticket to 'Brick' at the Sundance Film Festival, knowing nothing about it but what was written in the Sundance catalog. I almost didn't go to the 9:15am screening but I am so glad I did. 'Brick' was by far the best of the eight films I'd seen up until then. It's one of those rare movies that keeps me grinning throughout, delighted by every turn of the grim plot.

The slang is thick but contextual. Watch closely for little camera tricks like a clock that reads 5:45 until it comes into focus and suddenly reads 8:30.

In essence, Brick is the story of Joshua, investigating the disappearance of his ex girlfriend. There's conspiracy's and bad guys and mysteries. It's essentially an old school noir thriller set in and around the grounds of a Secondary School. Not a bad idea on the outset. Director Rian Johnson makes the most of his low budget and its clear there is a degree of talent at work but as the writer, his ego gets in the way. He takes it too far.

There are some well staged scenes, interesting tracking moves and snappy cutting. However, it is filled with unrealistic situations, some bordering on the ridiculous. It's main drawback is it's dialog. It's self consciously hip, to the point of being silly. People don't speak this way. Perhaps it might read OK in a pulp novel but not in a film. When the characters talk, they all sound the same. It's the writers voice, not a group of individuals. They are flip, glib and oh so cool, with witty repartee, even if being held off the ground by the throat (oh please!) but they're not people. You can get away with it in a over-the-top film like Sin City but not in the High School courtyards with all those brick walls (yes, got the metaphor, thanks Rian). The characters are too young and don't have the street wise experience of a Mickey Rourke or James Cagney. It's simply trite, mumbling through such examples as... "He's a pot-skulled reef worm with more hop in his head than blood. Why pay for dirt you can't believe?" and "The ape blows or I clam." Huh? Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Mysterious Skin) as Joshua does what he can. He's a young actor who deserves more. I found Australian Emile de Ravin (Lost) particularly annoying along with most of the cast. They were mere 3-D cutouts for Johnson's tiresome diatribes.

The music is about the best thing here, composed by the Director's cousin. Sometimes Nepotism actually works. The score does help to create an air of intrigue, when the dialog doesn't get in the way.

Some of the set ups are impressive and some scenes contain tension. Yet it's hard to care when the people aren't real. If the Director learns some humility and draws upon reality rather than trying so hard to impress, it might have been a better film. He got it better the second time around with another uneven Style over Substance work, The Brothers Bloom. This Brick is just too heavy...man.

"Brick" (2005) written/directed by Rian Johnson is a film made as a noir of the 40s which takes place in a modern day LA's high school. It is stylish, very dark, and even funny sometimes. Watching all the young actors playing noir archetypes "talking the talk and walking the walk" was amusing. I liked a lot Joseph Gordon-Levitt (after "Mysterious Skin" I promised myself to watch his new movies - he is very talented) as a loner private eye with a broken heart who set to find out the circumstances of his ex-girlfriend's murder. Grown-up Lucas Haas stars as a powerful drug lord who still lives with his mom. I had to watch the movie with the subtitles on - I had no idea what was told quite often. Not, like it prevented me from figuring out where the story was heading to way before the movie was over. Interesting - yes. Great - not so sure but it was fun to watch.

6.5/10

In sunny Southern California, love-spurned loner Joseph Gordon-Levitt (as Brendan Frye) discovers his former girlfriend's dead body in a watery tunnel. In flashback, Mr. Gordon-Levitt recalls a strung-out Emilie de Ravin (as Emily Kostich) reaching out for help, explaining, "I screwed up real bad." Unfortunately, the soon-to-be-dead blonde speaks in riddles. So, Gordon-Levitt is left with word clues - like "Brick", "Tug", "Frisco", and "Pin". Cross-legged genius Matt O'Leary (as Brain) provides assistance; fortunately, he remembers everyone's locker number.

Realizing the authorities are clueless, Gordon-Levitt decides to carry on his own investigation, beginning with doped-up rival Noah Segan (as Dode). Gordon-Levitt infiltrates the drug ring managed by creepy Tolkien reader Lukas Haas (as The Pin), after mixing with femme fatale Nora Zehetner (as Laura) and bodyguard Noah Fleiss (as Tug). Alas, the closer Gordon-Levitt gets to solving the mystery of his ex's death, the more he gets smacked down.

"Brick" shimmers with potential. Most obviously, debuting director/writer/editor Rian Johnson makes a great impression; there is always something interesting happening on Mr. Johnson's screen. Steve Yedlin's crisp photography, and Nathan Johnson's peaking music, are great mood enhancers. Lead actor Gordon-Levitt continues to work wonders with interesting, offbeat roles; and, importantly, shows he can "carry" a film, with his singular characterization.

The story updates 1940s "film noir" quite effectively. The high school setting may have been a mistake; other than the high-school grounded Mr. O'Leary, the "Brick" cast seem more like post-high school deadbeats. Gordon-Levitt visits his Assistant Vice Principal (Richard Roundtree), but, nobody ever goes to class; and, there are no scenes in the cafeteria or gym, either. The settings used, instead, are a real treat. Paintings, posters, birds, vehicles, and water add stillness and movement to backgrounds; but, the movie is never gimmickry or busy.

Perhaps the best inside joke (and a great visual to boot) was dressing up Mr. Haas as Jonathan Frid from "Dark Shadows", with his Inverness-styled cape, and cane; in silhouette, and behind a screen door, Haas even looks like "Barnabas Collins". As a former "Dark Shadows" star, Gordon-Levitt would have been familiar with the figure; he played "David Collins" and "Daniel Collins" during the series' 1991 incarnation.

"Brick" is a film to watch with focus and concentration; if you can't bring those, wait for the right frame of mind.

******** Brick (2005) Rian Johnson ~ Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Nora Zehetner, Lukas Haas, Noah Fleiss

I watched this on DVD last night with my wife. I had selected it based almost solely on the high IMDb rating. Within 5 minutes I had to turn on the DVD sub-titles just to have a chance at following the dialog.

Almost everyone in the movie delivers extremely pretentious lines, about as fast as humanly possible, throwing in jargon that I've never heard before at least once per scene. In several cases, I had to pause the DVD and read the sub-titles just to know what words were being spoken. Reading it 2 or 3 times would sometimes make the meaning clear, but often not. (I still don't know what a "yegg" is.)

If there's one high school kid in a city that talks like this it might be believable. This movie has about 10 of them. I can only think of a couple characters (the Pin and the jock) who had even remotely believable dialog. There are some very clever lines that actually work, but in most scenes it seems like everyone's just trying way too hard to be clever, and it ends up sounding ridiculous.

If you're thinking of watching this, read through the "Memorable Quotes" section here in IMDb. If you love the dialog, you'll probably love this movie (and vice versa). My wife thought this was the worst movie she'd ever seen. I actually enjoyed the story and the characters, but the bizarre dialog was a huge detraction for me.

This is a very irritating film. It's like Bugsy Malone without the songs. It all comes across as kids doing Film Noir for their school project - badly. It is an unengaging story about an unlikable girl who goes missing, and her miserable ex-boyfriend who tries to solve the big mystery. Yawn. The dialogue is perhaps the most annoying part of Brick. Clearly the writer has mistaken 'incomprehensible' for 'clever'. It's all gabbled nonsense like "Jimmy C got goosed by the bulls and now I'm half-galloned to Milwaukee. Find out where Eddie Cheerio hides his cake and then meet me behind the Flapjack shop at a quarter past lunch." Or something.

In truth the film is slightly better than a 1, but is just so irritating in how smart it thinks it is that it needs bringing down a peg or two.

Alone, the title of this movie gets to your head, proving that curiosity truly does "Blow." It is agreed by many movie-goers who love indie films that this movie, isn't necessarily all of what it's hyped up to be(Meaning, Indie). It's a Noir (Dark) story of a teenage loner who investigates his ex-girlfriend's cry for help from a local payphone. Chosen through exile, Brenden Frye (Levitt) tracks info by his high school credentials. The students. Finding more and more clues to Emily's call, Brenden eventually finds out that there is more to Emily's life, than just school, the students, and Their relationship. As much as one would think that Brenden might need help on his investigation, all he really needs is for everyone to get off his tail, meaning the cops. Eerie progress is made as the story unravels and people he meets, but the true lesson learned from the story, IMO, is "KNOW WHO YOU TRUST." This Movie is definitely ranked as my OWN top five in cinema, and is respected by a lot of people due to the ranking of the comments and Boards.

This film is unique and special, in a sinister way, especially how all the teens are involved, but Every once in a while, we all truly need a reality check on what is happening in the world. Like us teens.

10/10 Stars

The story rolls out very slowly firstly, all trying to be artsy with all those intricate play of zooms and camera angles. At first I thought this would be just another teen movie of heartbroken love and exes and stuff. But it turns out to be quite a great investigation movie. The best thing I noticed about this movie is that it has a very good use of plot twists for a movie with such strong indie vibe on it. The twists are multiple, well placed, and should be predictable, although it would be very hard to do so. I appreciate the success done in keeping all the artsy feel by having less detail compared to other investigation or detective movies. That thing combined with the constant darker blue dominant coloration, the lonesome less people scenes, and the straight out minimalistic sets helped holding out all the artsy feeling. I really liked how Joseph Gordon Levitt acted here. This may be one of his defining works to get into the bigger budget productions.

'A blast from the past' can best be attributed to Rian Johnson's "Brick" for it is set in present day California but heavily coated in a neo-noir atmosphere. It features postmodern, esoteric lingo that sounds like it belongs in 1930's hard-boiled crime stories. It invests the film is a decadent noir feel and a great literary flow throughout the dialogue. It becomes apparent that Johnson has done something exceptional here; he has created a modern world filled with lonely detectives, drug-lords, wiseguys and femme fatales.

And yet, the experience is frightfully listless. All style and no substance. Joseph Gordon Lewitt well inhabits the role of loner detective Brendan, whom, upon suspecting foul-play, sets out to investigate the death of his ex-girlfriend Em and gets absorbed in the underbelly of society but – as is the style of noir – he feels distant and is difficult to identify with. The same can be applied to the other characters who all lack that vital emotional transparency about them – instead they are largely uninteresting, flat and stereotypical persons that exist for the role purpose of propelling the plot. What's worse is that everything feels unforgivably staged and fake. Taking modern high school kids and plugging in metaphorical, mysterious noir jargon in their everyday life has bad idea written all over it and it becomes a hassle to weed through their dialogue especially when it snaps and crackles like kindling in a fireplace.

But a lot of thought has been put into Brick and, in truth, I would feel bad to criticize it too harshly. There is an admirable symmetry in the shots; it is introspective and largely experimental. Although it lacks a satisfying revelation in the end, Johnson builds up to this point with meticulous, deft strokes. It's all in the details, in other words. The markings on a cigarette butt, close-ups of people's shoes, mysterious notes. Its goldmine is not in the details however, but in its femme fatale played by Nora Zehetner. Although she is largely unexplored and flat, she carries herself in a decadent, alluring way that at least gives the illusion of a dimensional character and something beneath the surface. In one scene she is wearing a red Chinese dress and talks to Brendan in rich sexy voice while the lounge music sings in the background. This scene is a perfect melting of noir, so well done Johnson.

Aside from a vibrant chase scene and a parking lot brawl, nothing particularly jumps out and grabs you in Brick. It's high school kids playing grown-ups playing noir characters and it is endlessly tiring and plays on slowly for far longer than it should. A little more substance and a little less style next time, please.

5 out of 10