Genre Country Director Actor

Brick

Rian Johnson, 2005

Star Review

Films made by a sole Writer\Director often achieve a clarity of vision that more collaborative films seldom reach. Unfortunately, this lack of collaboration often result in the film being hugely flawed. But they usually have a certain something.
Happily, Brick, both written and directed by Rian Johnson, is one of the rare success stories. A witty, thrilling and savvy tale of drugs, femme fatales, gangs and murder. But played by high-school students unflinchingly as a straight-down-the-line hard-boiled Film Noir.
The sharp Raymond Chandler-esque dialogue is a joy - so dense in hither-to-unheard street-slang and jive-talk that (like Shakespeare) it often takes moments to comprehend but ultimately makes perfect sense.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays the Marlowe hero – smart, dogged, honourable and not afraid to take a beating. An ex-girlfriend has gone missing and he won’t stop at anything to find her. He’s again in superb form following his performance in last years' MovieMail Film of the Year, Mysterious Skin.

Dan Hunter on 11th August 2006

View all 34 of Dan Hunter’s reviews

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