Brick (2006)

Great visuals, story delivers no surprises

Good concept, poorly executed.

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

This neo-noir detective story set in high-school and starring teenagers is as weird as you'd think but equally as awesome! True the characters are teens not hardened criminals and crooked cops, and it is high-school not the mean streets of New York, but everything is played straight, it's not a comedy! There are comedic elements, but all in all it's a gritty mystery. The characters are cool and feature characteristics you'd expect, there are no boy scouts here. Gordon Levitt's character is a charismatic lead that oozes style! There are almost too many twists and turns, but it works. A truly unique movie and definitely worth a watch!

Anyone who loves cinema and isn't full of themselves will love this movie. It manages to both satirize two genres while also being a well-constructed example of both. It does this by taking one classic vocabulary of sociopathic behavior (1930's gangster movies) and applies it to different set of sociopathic characters (self-absorbed, oh-so-serious teenagers).I have only two complaints. The first is that the dialog can be so stylized (in a beautifully realized combination of teen slang and gangster-speak) that you may want to use subtitles (or just watch the film again immediately). Yet, the dialog is often inventive (sometimes hilariously) and is definitely worth the time to watch.The other complaint is the number of one-star reviews I am seeing from people who, to be honest, cannot possibly meet the qualifications I mentioned at the beginning of this review. I can only guess that they came into this movie with a fixed idea of what it was going to be like and refused to change that expectation (or maybe they just needed those subtitles). But that is this movie's most obvious strength: It is simply not what you expect.

Brick is a movie that in some points follows the basic structure of a film noir; such as, the main story line of solving a mysterious murder. Most of the time, the film tries to use the classic film noir structure, but blending with punk and gang styles. What actually happens is a boring and static way to tell a possible interesting story ruined by some bad and confusing dialogues. The dialogue that the film tries to incorporate fails again despite the interesting vocabulary used. The film doesn't establish a connection between the characters and the public. Both aspects ruined the experience that I had with the movie. However, the acting of the main character is good and the interesting shots of the movie help to make it watchable.

Brick – Movie Review The film's narrative centers on a detective story set in a suburb in California. Most of the main characters go to high school. The movie begins that Brendan is finding the dead body of his onetime girlfriend in a drainage ditch. Brendan's feeling for her still exist, so much so, that he wants to find the murder of Emily. He plays with his own life after getting into the colliding social orbits of rich-girl Laura, intimidating Tugger, substance- abusing Dode, seductive Kara, jock Brad and non-student Pin. With this decision, he got in an inner circle of crime and punishment that Brendan will be able to uncover hard truths about himself, Emily and the suspects that he is getting closer to. The movie includes a lot of aspects who stand for a film noir: The whole atmosphere is created very dark and spooky, most of the scenes are urban scenes, such as an apartment blocks and black alleys. These urban scenes were filled with dark corners and shadows and little lightening which shows us that there could be more that meets the eye. Guns are a great part of the movie as they bring action to it. They give a sense of danger and excitement. All these aspects create the general mood of the movie, while watching you feel like being in another world, a weird and kind of mystical life. The actors create an aura of fun suspense and mystery that can only be found in black and white noir mysteries of a similar nature. From the intriguing story to the sensational dialogue and even to the amazing way in which is filmed, Brick has all the makings of a film that just about any true fan of cinema can appreciate. It is entertaining, startling and thought provoking all the same time. In conclusion, I just can recommend the movie. The characters were totally engaging, the high schoolers in this underground society who were involved with crimes and investigations and research, it gave the film a refreshing authenticity rarely found in films today. Maja Kuehne