In essence, Brick is the story of Joshua, investigating the disappearance of his ex girlfriend. There's conspiracy's and bad guys and mysteries. It's essentially an old school noir thriller set in and around the grounds of a Secondary School. Not a bad idea on the outset. Director Rian Johnson makes the most of his low budget and its clear there is a degree of talent at work but as the writer, his ego gets in the way. He takes it too far.
There are some well staged scenes, interesting tracking moves and snappy cutting. However, it is filled with unrealistic situations, some bordering on the ridiculous. It's main drawback is it's dialog. It's self consciously hip, to the point of being silly. People don't speak this way. Perhaps it might read OK in a pulp novel but not in a film. When the characters talk, they all sound the same. It's the writers voice, not a group of individuals. They are flip, glib and oh so cool, with witty repartee, even if being held off the ground by the throat (oh please!) but they're not people. You can get away with it in a over-the-top film like Sin City but not in the High School courtyards with all those brick walls (yes, got the metaphor, thanks Rian). The characters are too young and don't have the street wise experience of a Mickey Rourke or James Cagney. It's simply trite, mumbling through such examples as... "He's a pot-skulled reef worm with more hop in his head than blood. Why pay for dirt you can't believe?" and "The ape blows or I clam." Huh? Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Mysterious Skin) as Joshua does what he can. He's a young actor who deserves more. I found Australian Emile de Ravin (Lost) particularly annoying along with most of the cast. They were mere 3-D cutouts for Johnson's tiresome diatribes.
The music is about the best thing here, composed by the Director's cousin. Sometimes Nepotism actually works. The score does help to create an air of intrigue, when the dialog doesn't get in the way.
Some of the set ups are impressive and some scenes contain tension. Yet it's hard to care when the people aren't real. If the Director learns some humility and draws upon reality rather than trying so hard to impress, it might have been a better film. He got it better the second time around with another uneven Style over Substance work, The Brothers Bloom. This Brick is just too heavy...man.
There are some well staged scenes, interesting tracking moves and snappy cutting. However, it is filled with unrealistic situations, some bordering on the ridiculous. It's main drawback is it's dialog. It's self consciously hip, to the point of being silly. People don't speak this way. Perhaps it might read OK in a pulp novel but not in a film. When the characters talk, they all sound the same. It's the writers voice, not a group of individuals. They are flip, glib and oh so cool, with witty repartee, even if being held off the ground by the throat (oh please!) but they're not people. You can get away with it in a over-the-top film like Sin City but not in the High School courtyards with all those brick walls (yes, got the metaphor, thanks Rian). The characters are too young and don't have the street wise experience of a Mickey Rourke or James Cagney. It's simply trite, mumbling through such examples as... "He's a pot-skulled reef worm with more hop in his head than blood. Why pay for dirt you can't believe?" and "The ape blows or I clam." Huh? Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Mysterious Skin) as Joshua does what he can. He's a young actor who deserves more. I found Australian Emile de Ravin (Lost) particularly annoying along with most of the cast. They were mere 3-D cutouts for Johnson's tiresome diatribes.
The music is about the best thing here, composed by the Director's cousin. Sometimes Nepotism actually works. The score does help to create an air of intrigue, when the dialog doesn't get in the way.
Some of the set ups are impressive and some scenes contain tension. Yet it's hard to care when the people aren't real. If the Director learns some humility and draws upon reality rather than trying so hard to impress, it might have been a better film. He got it better the second time around with another uneven Style over Substance work, The Brothers Bloom. This Brick is just too heavy...man.