no clue movie review: Brick

I saw this movie a few weeks back and I must say that I was pleasantly surprised and confounded at the same time. It's a different type of movie to watch and it's worth seeing for its original vision. Hats off to the filmmakers, because I would never have thought of this one.

Directed by Rian Johnson, the movie is essentially a detective story. It's told in that detective style "i met this dame..." sort of way, but it's set in modern times in a high school setting. I think setting it in a high school actually helps to get this story going and bring you into this world of drugs, underworld dealings and the like. It's a familiar setting and high school has its share of clicks. It's also what throws you off, because the language doesn't seem to fit the characters at all. I thought it would be more of a creepy movie, but it's not. It's really just a guy, Brendan, played by Joseph-Gordon Levitt ("3rd Rock from the Sun", Mysterious Skin), looking for this girl who he found was killed. He had cared for her and they had dated previously before the film started. What's really kind of clever though, is that the kids in this world, really function almost without any adults and they are acting like the old time adults like a Humphrey Bogart kind of character.

The movie looks fantastic and was shot really well. The camera work is inventive and serves the story in a great way. I was truly impressed since in a lot of independent films, the camera work or sound isn't that great. This movie really stands out in this respect. The camera work helps to create the aura of the movie and I think complements the movie as a whole. It almost acts as a character at times.

The actors are all respectable and do a fine job. The cast is quite large for an independent movie and Gordon-Levitt has a ton of screen time which must of been demanding. He really carries the movie. Other actors that you may know are Lukas Haas, Emilie De Ravin ("Lost") and Richard Roundtree. A stand out among the newcomers for me was Nora Zehetner. She's a real find and plays the femme fatale character really well. She's sexy, dangerous and also a girl next door at times.

All in all, I found the movie to be uneven. At times, it seemed to drag and just got a bit weird when we found out more about "the pin" and "the brick". But it was entertaining and I feel for the inventiveness alone, it's worth checking out. I'm curious to see what the filmmaker does next.

For more information, visit the official site

Got comments or suggestions? email me

Come back soon for more, until then I'll probably be at a movie....