Brick

Film noir reinvented in the most unlikely of places.

Please, if you’re going to remember Joseph Gordon-Levitt for anything, let it be Brick and not Tommy in the long-running sitcom 3rd Rock from the Sun or Cameron in 10 Things I Hate About You. Not that there was anything wrong with these roles – just that Brick is by far his best performance.

Brick, an independent film by first time director Rian Johnson, perfectly showcases Gordon-Levitt’s ability to seamlessly slip into unconventional roles and genres. For Brick, the role is of an anti-hero, the genre film noir.

Gordon-Levitt plays Brendan Frye, a streetwise high school student familiar with the ins and outs of the drug-running business – specifically heroin. ‘Familiar’ really doesn’t do Frye’s knowledge justice – he can play the game like a one-note song on a single key piano. He just chooses not to for personal reasons.

That’s until he gets a disturbing call from his ex, Emily (Emilie de Ravin). Emily has run into trouble with ‘the Pin’ (Luke Haas) and a ‘bad brick’ of heroin. The call forces Frye back into the narcotics biz to help Emily out of her desperate situation.

All your typical noir archetypes are there, from Gordon-Levitt’s private eye/anti-hero, to dual femme fatales Laura (Nora Zehetner) and Kara (Meagan Good), and Luke Haas’ ‘the Pin’ filling in as the villain. We certainly have no complaints about the cast – no one feels out of place. Even side characters like Matt O’Leary’s ‘Brain’, who acts as Frye’s sounding board, and Tug (Noah Fleiss), the Pin’s somewhat uncontrollable muscle, add immeasurably to the film and it would suffer from their absence.

Director Johnson makes it clear through the use of the modern setting, characters and instruments that not everyone will get the noir references that so strongly drive the film. These contemporary elements help the film to stand on its feet as a typical thriller, rather than a homage to the likes of The Maltese Falcon and The Blue Lady. Johnson also manages to squeeze in just the right amount of humour – as well as one of the best wince-inducing scenes of recent times.

The film loses a few points for its obtuse start and slow finish (and some might say complete lack of planes and snakes), but patience inevitably allows the story to unfold. It would be a lie to say viewers unfamiliar with the film noir will get as much from Brick as those who are, so if in doubt, head down to your local video store (or raid your grandparents’ VHS collection), rent out a few of the aforementioned classics, and enjoy the antics of Sam Spade first.