Brick (2005, Rian Johnson)

Every once and a while we get that directorial debut that just comes out of nowhere and reinvigorates a genre.  However for some reason, this film continues to slip through the cracks of popularity dispute being a critical success.

Right from the get-go, we're given a typical noir opening sequence, the damnation of a centre character, in this case a love interest. Our hero Brendan (played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is seen hovering over the lifeless body of his ex girlfriend Emily in front a gloomy tunnel. There forth Brendan is of course now hellbent on getting to the bottom of this brutal act. 

We're then sent back two days before Emily's departure, where Brendan (who seems to be acting as a live action version of Spike from Cowboy Beebop) receives a rather distressing phone-call from Emily at a phone-booth, using several words which don't yet make any sense to Brendan. Luckily, with the help of his nerdy astute "partner" known as the brain, he helps him slowly decipher these words and in his Sam Spade/Philip Marlow like approach, Brendan slowly gets deeper and deeper into the seedy world Emily had sunk into prior to her demise.  

The film may be set in a high school rather than say the gritty streets of the city, but don't be fooled, this is pure noir. As legendary film critic Roger Ebert had put it, this is "noir to its very bones". The usual suspects are all there, you've got the kingpin (of heroin), the muscle, the beautiful femme fetale Laura (a clear reference to Laura), the resourceful partner and even the corrupt politician (or in this case the school's V.P.) played by Richard Roundtree aka Shaft.  

Even dialogue plays a distinctive role in the film, as it did in the hard punching film noir of the 1940s. Of course with this being set in high school, it's believable as many schools have a certain lingo amongst the students. Asides from this, the setting of high school is even used to poke fun at. For instance, there's a scene at the kingpin's home, where prior to Brendan getting down to the gritty details, the kingpin's mother offers them treats and drinks and gives a kiss to the kingpin before leaving 'the kids' to their devises. It's hilarious.

Practical lighting also plays a major role in the ascetic of the film, adding a seance of realism, along with certain customary film noir camera angles. As is colour, black is ever recurrent in the film, representing doom. An example being a dream Brendan has, he's awaken with a black sheet withdrawing from the tunnel coming towards him. There's of course the black '71 Mustang which belongs to the kingpin's muscle man, and then there's the black sheet wrapped around a brick of heroin which the story revolves around. 

 

Director Rian Johnson had of course been highly influenced by the hard-boiled detective novels of the 1930s and 1940s, like those of Raymond Chandler and Dashiell Hammett along with neo noir films such as Chinatown and Blood Simple, which is clearly evident. He had written this script after graduating from Art school but spent seven years pitching it but no interest was met. No studio wanted take a chance on a first time director with an unusual noir-esque style script, set in high school, the very same high school he attended. Somehow, he managed to raise $450k through family and friends and production began in 2003, in his hometown San Clemente, California on 35 mm film stock.

The film went on to become a critical success, winning the Special Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival. Rian had later gone on to direct the terrific Looper, a few episodes of Breaking Bad, Star Wars: The Last Jedi and most recently Knives Out. Joseph Gordon-Levitt's career had also skyrocketing from this. An actor I remember as a kid from watching Angels in the Outfield, and prior to Brick, the under-rated Mysterious Skin.

Since 2005, the film has gone on to warrant a well deserved cult status and is revered as one of the great directorial debut of the 21st century. 

Rating: B+

Click here for the trailer