Film Review - Brick

Release: 2005
Director: Rian Johnson
Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Lukas Haas, Emilie de Ravin

I think Joseph Gordon-Levitt is brilliant. He was great in Third Rock From The Sun all those years ago, but with several years of great films under his belt (Inception being the biggest and the new Batman on the horizon), he just goes from strength to strength.

I'd never heard of this film and just watched it on a whim, and it was a bit confusing. It's dialogue is very much in the same school as Clockwork Orange, where none of the characters seem to be speaking English, but instead some kind of slang. It's sharp, and you really have to be concentrating to follow everything

Brendan Frye: Your muscle seemed plenty cool putting his fist in my head. I want him out.
The Pin: Looky, soldier...
Brendan Frye: The ape blows or I clam.

This is a murder mystery. Gordon-Levitt's ex turns up dead after a mysterious phonecall where she seems in trouble. He takes it on himself to find out who was behind it and make them pay.

It's all set in a high school, and it's funny how it closely it resembles a mob club in a noir film. He is constantly getting into fights, but it's not a violent film. As the film poster above mentions, it's a detective drama.

It was cool, but I'd have a bit of trouble recommending it

6/10