Noir November: Brick
Written by Cameron Geiser
Every day for the month of November, Cameron Geiser is reviewing a noir film (classic or neo) for Noir November. Today covers Rian Johnson’s breakthrough film Brick.
Love him or hate him, Rian Johnson makes bold decisions in his films. This dates all the way back to this film, his directorial debut. Brick has a few tricks up its sleeves, but chief among them is that while the setting and characters may be modern day high schoolers going about their lives in Southern California, they speak and act strictly as Noir character archetypes. Yes indeed, the lead may be a young Joseph Gordon-Levitt only a few years removed from his days on Third Rock From The Sun, but make no mistake, his character here is every bit a hard nosed Private Eye who can go toe-to-toe with the best of 'em. The thing that truly seals the deal on this film being one of quality is that the students never question the burly attitudes or snappy dialogue of themselves or their peers. They play it straight, and that's what makes it work.
Rian Johnson reportedly steeped himself in Raymond Chandler's novels in preparation for the production, and it shows. This is a film with lines like “Throw one at me if you want, hash head. I've got all five senses and I slept last night, that puts me six up on the lot of you.” You get the picture. Brick isn't a reference making machine though, it's just a film that has a very intimate knowledge of the source material that inspired it. It's a clever little film that fully embraces its Neo-Noir tendencies. The film begins with Brendan, in shock, as he discovers the dead body of his ex-girlfriend, Emily (Emilie de Ravin), in a drainage runoff. Then it's a rewind until we get to the beginning of it all a few days earlier when Emily calls Brendan in a frantic rush mentioning a “bad brick”, “the Pin”, and “Tug” before the line cuts out. Brendan, very much a loner in his high school, then begins his investigation with, let's say– a passionate approach.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt in Brick.
Brendan utilizes all of his connections, skills, and moxie as he pounds the pavement looking for clues, interrogating suspects, and generally cracking wise. The film is always focused on the next new reveal, the next bit of information that recontextualizes things for Brendan as he moves from ally, to suspect, to threat. Like the best Noirs, the secret sauce of it all is in a series of well executed scenes and style over the nonsensical and breakneck speed of the plot. Everything does eventually fit into place though, and right when you think Brendan's discovered the truth and put the real villain behind bars, the film has one last reveal to throw at you. As I'd like to prod more people into seeing these films, I'll leave the exact details under wraps, however this body blow of an ending has revelations designed to pack the biggest punch to the gut right before cutting to credits. And to that I say “kudos”. Existential dread with heavy endings are some of the most memorable Noirs of all time, I know this one will stick with me for a while. If you haven't seen it, Brick is certainly worth a watch!
Cameron Geiser is an avid consumer of films and books about filmmakers. He'll watch any film at least once, and can usually be spotted at the annual Traverse City Film Festival in Northern Michigan. He also writes about film over at www.spacecortezwrites.com.