Murder Monday-Brick Review

Okay, full disclosure: I love mysteries. I love who-dunnits, detective noir, police procedurals, every flavor. That's definitely one of the reasons I love Brick. Directed and written by Rian Johnson, the film centers on a Southern Californian high school. The protagonist, a teenager named Brendan, is largely disconnected from his social peers. After his ex-girlfriend goes missing, Brendan investigates and finds a larger web of drugs, sex, and death than he expected.

Ultimately, there are two things that really make Brick what it is. First of all, the script does not even attempt to make the cast, who are largely teenagers in high school, sound appropriate for their age. Many films about young adults tries to copy the speech of the day, to make them sound authentic. Instead, the dialogue in Brick comes out like the narration of an old detective noir.

For some people that can be difficult to deal with, as this means the characters talk quickly, talk often, and that their worlds are often veiled through metaphors and slang that is long past it's expiration date. The best comparison I can think of is a Shakespeare play: it's definitely the same language you're speaking, and you can mostly get the gist through the performance, but to really get everything being said you need to comb their the dialogue with a comb.

Personally, I savor watching this film in the same way I enjoy a good performance of The Tempest: it's just enjoyable to listen to. I like that style of dialogue, regardless of the fact that it's not realistic. It's a film: it doesn't always need to perfectly represent reality, especially in cases where it gains something, in this case entertainment and stylistic immersion, by choosing to disregard reality.

Secondly, the cinematography is incredible. Sadly, this aspect of filmmaking is one that is very difficult to describe using text alone, so I'll just say that even if you don't know a lot of the art of framing a shot or editing a scene together you will still notice how fascinating Brick is in it's visuals alone.

I've heard that some people don't like seeing high schoolers committing acts of violence, doing dangerous drugs, and committing murder in a film, but I don't see that as a big issue. There are many films that are mysteries in a high school setting, this one just went all the way and made it a classic noir story of betrayal, sex, and hedonism in a new setting.

I will say that the twists and turns the film takes, while mostly comprehensible, goes far enough in the third act that I'd have to wiki the plot again to remember exactly who did what and why. It gets explained, but it's so overshadowed by other, more character-centric revelations that it's a little lost of the audience.

Speaking of the characters, the cast is great. This is actually my favorite performance by Joseph Gordan-Levitt, and his ability to portray a stoic detective-like character who is also clearly thinking and feeling a lot under the surface works well for the character. The entire ensemble, while not full of very familiar faces, is nonetheless a good cast for this kind of story.

I also think this film has some of the most dynamic scenes I've ever seen. There's a scene in the parking lot where Brendan confronts Tug, a thug in the drug dealing scheme of the film, and if you've seen it once it's hard to forget it's mix of humor, tension, and fear.

My absolute favorite scene of the film might be my favorite scene in any film, though it'll have to fight the climax of Batman: Under the Red Hood for that honor. It's so basic: a guy comes after Brendan with a knife, and he tries to run away. The scene is well shot, well times, and has the funniest and most awesome resolution I've ever seen.

If you like mysteries in the slightest, I have to recommend seeing Brick immediately. If anything I've written about here piqued your interest, then I'd also suggest a viewing. Honestly, unless you're really turned off by the plot or the dialogue, I can't say that seeing this film is a bad idea.

#film #monday