Rarely does a film come along that I haven’t heard of in a genre that I enjoy. There are also certain genres that I love but thought had been totally lost to history. My favorite among these is Film Noir. Nothing compares to the short lived days of Film Noir during the fifties. Humphrey Bogart is the highest and best example of an actor made for Film Noir. Sure, filmmakers have tried to reproduce the look and feel of these movies, but really haven’t succeeded.
So, along comes “Brick”. This movie is modern Film Noir at its finest. I cannot say enough good about this movie. The acting is superb. The writing and direction by Rian Johnson is excellent. Even the cinematography has a noticeable appeal to it for Film Noir fans.
Brendan Frye (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is a high school student turned sleuth when his ex-girlfriend calls on him for help. What he finds and does during his journey to discover what has happened to her can be described as fun and dark at the same time. Lukas Haas is wonderful as the eccentric “Pin”, modern day Film Noir crime boss. The rest of the actors are very well cast in their roles. The stylized language plays natural to them and is well spoken. The scenes have tons of chemistry. I know this movie hasn’t received the kind of praise upon that I am showing here, but I just loved it. I can’t wait to see the next Rian Johnson movie. I hope it’s once again a modern Film Noir.
Acting – A
Director – A
Writing – A
Cinematography – A
Overall, this is a must see for all film lovers and especially for those Film Noir fans, a first night movie, this is an A.
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