Brick, 2005

Brick is, in all honesty, a well made movie. The cinematography is icy cool and paints the world in desaturated open-shade blue; the acting is competent, especially from Joseph Gordon-Levitt who is steadily becoming one of my favorite actors, and the idea of taking a film-noir and setting it inside of the high school social system is a nifty idea. So, why the low score? The movie thinks it is a lot cooler than it actually is, the characters speak in some sort of 30s-inspired hipster slang that is mostly unintelligible, and, worst of all, the film tries so hard to be in reference to classic film-noir that it ends up feeling like a poor imitation rather than a contemporary classic. The movie is a big throw-back to classic detective fiction, I get it, its a neat idea, but there comes a point where you are so referential that you become a wannabe. The bird motif, the femme fatale, self punishment, I get it, and it works up to a point, but do we really need to lift entire sequences of dialogue from The Maltese Falcon? An entire scene from The Maltese Falcon? I dont think so. Brick is ultimately a lesson in an idea carried too far. Instead of being original and daring, it ends up being derivative and so look at me Im cool, that its embarrassing to watch.

What did you think about this review?

Thank you for voting.

Like Dislike

Abuse report sent

Report abuse