Dolan Cummings
posted 21 May 2006

In a nutshell, Brick is The Big Sleep meets Bugsy Malone, probably the first ever 'teen noir'. The most striking thing about it is the atmosphere, accomplished through a combination of sun-bleached Southern California exterior shots that recall the silver screen, and terse, jive-inflected dialogue. This is a very cool movie.

The idea of the American high school as society in microcosm, with hierarchies of class and coolness, is not new, but it is well used here, with the hero Brendan (Joseph Gordon Levitt) using his outsider status to strike up strategic alliances with everyone from the assistant vice principal to the local drugs kingpin. He is responding to a mysterious cry for help from his ex-girlfriend Emily (Emilie de Ravin), who has now disappeared, and his investigation leads him into dangerous territory.

What's clever about this is the recognition that le monde noir is already essentially adolescent, a world thick with intrigue, where every interaction and conversation is of supreme importance, and the authorities (grown-ups) are not to be trusted. When Brendan is being chased across the school campus by a knife-wielding assailant (leading up to the funniest moment in the film), it is tempting to ask why he doesn't simply take refuge in a classroom and ask for help. But this is far too sensible a question: Brendan is a noir hero in his own mind, and he can't afford to let the bulls screw up his investigation.

The key to establishing a hero like this is violence, which is done very well in Brick. He has to be able to handle himself and beat up losers and loudmouths, but he also has to be able to take a beating when faced with a proper thug. That's what distinguishes an imperfect human being from a superhero, and also allows him to accept the sympathy of a good woman, or femme fatale as the case may be. Joseph Gordon Levitt as Brendan does 'beaten up' with all the dishevelled style of Harrison Ford. Both smart and tough; a loner but attractive to women - I'm not sure a teenage character should be allowed to be so cool.

The plot is not totally satisfactory, but that's true to the noir tradition. Brendan has to go back and forth between a variety of untrustworthy characters to uncover the layers of deception and reveal the truth about Emily's disappearance. Most noirishly, this leads him into an ambiguous alliance with society girl Laura (Nora Zehetner), whose enthrallment by him is no reason for him to stop watching his back. Again, Zehetner makes the connection between high school and classic crime drama seem disturbingly natural. The sexual tension between the two is both knowing and innocent. In contrast to most contemporary teen flicks, Brick is witty without being cynical.

The film conjures a world that is not quite realistic, but highly compelling nonetheless. By drawing on two very different film genres that are perhaps both in themselves 'over', Brick shows that films about young people don't have to be either depressingly 'gritty' or dumbly comical. Instead it is richly cinematic; a refreshing take on contemporary adolescence that is no less rewarding for grown-ups.