Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #7913 in DVD
• Released on: 2007-01-01
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Formats: Anamorphic, PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 105 minutes

Synopsis
A detective story set around a California high school, BRICK dares to combine the teen and film noir genres. In mixing these two disparate worlds, Director Rian Johnson creates many comically jarring and ironic moments. When loner Brendan Frye (a barely recognizable Joseph Gordon-Levitt of THIRD ROCK FROM THE SUN) gets a desperate-sounding call from his ex-love Emily (Emilie de Ravin), he feels compelled to help her, plunging himself into the seedy world of teenage crime that pulled her away from him in the first place. Throughout this journey, Brendan plays a hard-boiled type reminiscent of Humphrey Bogart's iconic Sam Spade character. Johnson's script invests heavily in the fiction of Dashiell Hammett and Raymond Chandler, and is filled with other archetypical characters like the femme fatale (Nora Zehetner), the eccentric crime lord (a brilliant Lukas Haas), and the dame in distress. As teens trade in their cell phones for things as old-fashioned as pay phones and 1940s gangster vocabulary, occasional references to detention and first period provide a humorous contrast with the otherwise unbelievably complex, precocious, and largely parentless world that these teens inhabit. With its heavy reliance on references to old noir classics like THE MALTESE FALCON and THE BIG SLEEP, the film may risk alienating viewers not familiar with these older films. Seeing teenagers speaking in coded detective-movie-style lingo is entertaining, but mixed with the often overlapping, fast-paced but muttered dialogue, it also proves to be distracting at points. People eager to see a predictable teen drama may be confused by BRICK, as its goal is to turn the genre on its head, earning inevitable comparisons to films like 2001's surreal teen fantasy DONNIE DARKO. Because of the film's attention to detail and witty yet hard-to-follow dialogue, BRICK may be better appreciated on second viewing.

Customer Reviews

Twin Peaks meets Shenmue meets Cow Boy BeBop
A high school teen flick mixed with film noir could have been a laughable mess and while Brick does draw a few laughs from its audience as it runs its twisty course through its slightly complex and interesting, character-driven plot, that's only because it manages to balance the juxtaposition between the teen/detective genres so damn well that you can't resist a smile. With clever dialogue, nice direction and photography and cool characters, Brick is an excellent example of a text mixing and playing around with new and old generic conventions, giving it it's own innovative feel while retaining what makes both genres so good. More from this director/writer please.

Seedy High School Noir. Excellent!
While it may be a little surreal to mix Humphrey Bogart with High School it is certainly entertaining. Its nice when a film dares to be a little unrealistic, with a teen mafia, drug dealers and a whole social system that simply shouldnt exist in an American high school. Joseph Gordon-Levitt is delightful as Brendon, who seems to be a forty-year-old cynical private investigator trapped inside the body of a young Paul McGann and carries himself with a manner that no teenager on earth would.
Its really cool to see these film noir elements bloom in their unlikely environment, and while the plot is a little patchy, the camera work is spot on for film noir, the music is great and every aspect of it production is a delight. But what really shines is the acting. Every character is as well performed as they are written, and the best part is they carry themselves like adults. It really is very cool.
If you dont like film noir, maybe give it a miss, and if you like American teen movies the same goes, but mixing genres like this is never going to appeal to everyone, so I urge you to gve it a try, it really is a joy to watch.

This sunny little noir film gives us a sense of darkness with a touch of urgency
This movie was surprisingly good. It's not a movie I envision people running out to see in the theaters. It's the type of film that you'd catch on cable. The movie brings to life a genre which has all but disappeared from mainstream cinema, but also brings a refreshing feeling of originality through its use of unconventional characters. Joseph G.Leavitt was great in this film he has taken a lot of risks in the roles he plays -- from troubled teen in MANIC, to the gay hustler in MYSTERIOUS SKIN).

The movie unfolds slowly, and it nearly makes you want to give up on it because the script employs verbiage in the vein of a 1940's James Cagney film. Snappy dialogue, delivered at a rapid fire pace and flowery turn of phrases that you have to pay attention to decipher. As a 1940's noir type film, it has the standard archetypes: the hero who is seeking justice, his brainy sidekick, the femme fatale, the gal with the heart of gold, the larger than life villain (played by Lukas Haas) and his dunderhead henchman.

While very inventive, it could easily turn a person off, but as the movie progresses, you learn to appreciate the tone and the simple fact that the film doesn't talk down to you.

Another thing I liked about the movie is that it's not trying to pull the wool over your eyes. At first, hearing these young-ish actors speaking this type of dialogue feels as if they're playing grown-up, it threatens to be campy, but by alluding to rides from parents and trips to the Vice-Principal's office, you realize that these are teens and they are not trying to be anything other than teens. My only gripe is the sound. Editing must've been tough and several times lines were garbled or mumbled, making it necessary to rewind and find out what was said. Despite it's flaws, this Brick doesn't sink.

This film is daring, brutal and at times actually fun. If this was shoot in black and white then it would've been a cult classic authenticity. It should be seen for the simple fact that it's unlike anything coming out of Hollywood.