Brick
After receiving a panic-stricken phone call from his ex-girlfriend Emily (de Ravin) - just before she turns up dead - high-school loner Brendan (Gordon-Levitt, after his brilliant turn in last year's 'Mysterious Skin') sets out to infiltrate the illicit cliques she left him for. Brendan becomes embroiled in the web of vice & deceit that surrounds Emily's murder.
LA Weekly: "A fusion of teenage confidential and hard-boiled film noir set in the mean corridors and power cliques of high school. The existentialist vibe of film noir becomes a perfect metaphor for the twin evils of malice and alienation at high school." Or, as the NY Times put it: "the milieu of 'Beverly Hills 90210' and 'The OC' goes noir".
- Director:
- Rian Johnson (feature debut)
- Writer:
- Rian Johnson
- Cast:
- Joseph Gordon-LevittNora ZehetnerLukas HaasNoah FleissEmilie de Ravin
Reviews & comments
A tribute to the Maltese Falcon
I really enjoyed this film. Loved the fast-paced and clever dialogue. Loved Joseph Gordon-Levitt as the anti-hero and thought the supporting actors were just as good. The story kept me engaged and I recommend it. Definitely saw it as a tribute to the Maltese Falcon which is how it has been described.
Worst Film of the Year
The so-called patois was just lame and after a while I began to wonder if the plot was incoherent or that I just didn't care. Both. Nothing to empathise with in the characters and the "plot" stuttered from one dead end to the next. Then the protagonists stopped at the end to explain the whole mess to us. Not that I cared. Your movie ticket could be 3 pints....
Village Voice
pressThe hair may thin considerably under Brick's hat after a while, and Hammett redone remains Hammett half done, but while the plates are in the air, it's a spectacle of nerve...
The New York Times
pressA flashy cinematic stunt perpetrated by Rian Johnson, dispenses with the adolescent gibberish of the here and now to graft the hard-boiled art of Dashiell Hammett onto an upscale Southern California high school: the milieu of "Beverly Hills 90210" and "The O.C." goes noir...
Rolling Stone
press"Sensational" is the word for Joseph rdon-Levitt (equally striking in Mysterious Skin), who stars as Brendan, the teen outsider who becomes a budding Bogart...
New Zealand Herald
pressBrick keeps its hip wits about it long enough to show that high school noir is the new black...
Film Threat
pressWith brilliant dialogue out of the 1940s and graceful visuals that add depth to the dark comedy, Johnson debuts with a smart, self-assured feature that portrays adolescence like no other film has...
Empire Magazine
pressWith a superb lead turn by rising star Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Johnson's debut is a smart, original neo-noir that works as an ingenious mindgame as well as a slick Hollywood calling card...
BBC
pressWith his low-budget debut Brick, director Rian Johnson deconstructs traditional film noir and rebuilds it in a modern landscape. Gone are the trilby-donning tough guys in dark alleys in favour of grungy teens sloping through the halls of a California high school. Thankfully though this isn't just another teen movie with Joseph Gordon-Levitt playing it straight as the amateur private dick. The story lacks a memorable sucker punch at the end, but it's tough not to like for sheer guts...
Village Voice
pressThe hair may thin considerably under Brick's hat after a while, and Hammett redone remains Hammett half done, but while the plates are in the air, it's a spectacle of nerve...
The New York Times
pressA flashy cinematic stunt perpetrated by Rian Johnson, dispenses with the adolescent gibberish of the here and now to graft the hard-boiled art of Dashiell Hammett onto an upscale Southern California high school: the milieu of "Beverly Hills 90210" and "The O.C." goes noir...
Rolling Stone
press"Sensational" is the word for Joseph rdon-Levitt (equally striking in Mysterious Skin), who stars as Brendan, the teen outsider who becomes a budding Bogart...
New Zealand Herald
pressBrick keeps its hip wits about it long enough to show that high school noir is the new black...
Film Threat
pressWith brilliant dialogue out of the 1940s and graceful visuals that add depth to the dark comedy, Johnson debuts with a smart, self-assured feature that portrays adolescence like no other film has...
Empire Magazine
pressWith a superb lead turn by rising star Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Johnson's debut is a smart, original neo-noir that works as an ingenious mindgame as well as a slick Hollywood calling card...
BBC
pressWith his low-budget debut Brick, director Rian Johnson deconstructs traditional film noir and rebuilds it in a modern landscape. Gone are the trilby-donning tough guys in dark alleys in favour of grungy teens sloping through the halls of a California high school. Thankfully though this isn't just another teen movie with Joseph Gordon-Levitt playing it straight as the amateur private dick. The story lacks a memorable sucker punch at the end, but it's tough not to like for sheer guts...
A tribute to the Maltese Falcon
I really enjoyed this film. Loved the fast-paced and clever dialogue. Loved Joseph Gordon-Levitt as the anti-hero and thought the supporting actors were just as good. The story kept me engaged and I recommend it. Definitely saw it as a tribute to the Maltese Falcon which is how it has been described.
Worst Film of the Year
The so-called patois was just lame and after a while I began to wonder if the plot was incoherent or that I just didn't care. Both. Nothing to empathise with in the characters and the "plot" stuttered from one dead end to the next. Then the protagonists stopped at the end to explain the whole mess to us. Not that I cared. Your movie ticket could be 3...
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