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Brick
R1 - America - Universal Pictures Review written by and copyright: Noor Razzak and Shahir Daud (24th August 2006). |
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The Film
 Undoubtedly cool and incomprehensibly complex, "Brick" treads the murky kidult waters of Southern California and gives it a sincere noir makeover. This isn't homage as much as it is simulacrum, transposing the gritty world of Raymond Chandler and Philip Marlowe into the asphalt jungle that is high school. The danger with this kind of outward genre-love is relying on too many in-jokes, alienating even the most cine-literate of audiences. To be fair, "Brick" is an elaborate in-joke, but one where the punch line has enough weight to transcend its intended audience. Like all 'the dame strolled into my office' stories, the hard man detective filled with well-earned angst finds his small investigation turn into a study of corruption of the highest order. Brendan (a young but weather worn Joseph Gordon-Levitt) receives a hysterical phone call from former girlfriend and damsel in distress Emily (Emile de Ravin). She rambles about a 'brick' and 'the pin' and 'tug' before summarily hanging up with a shrieking scream. Navigating through the social networks of American high school, Brendan uncovers an elaborate stratum of low-lifes, drug dealers, schoolgirl femme fatales and the absentee parents that overlook them all. While the conclusion of "Brick" may come dangerously close to be indecipherable, the journey there is so inventive and fresh that its worth taking a blind leap of faith in the hands of first time writer/director Rian Johnson. Johnson's image making skills and command of lexicon are excellent, but his enthusiasm for twisting and turning the corkscrew of a plot could leave you lost without a roadmap back. But then, the best noir films were almost always indecipherable without a second viewing, and if anything, "Brick" successfully uses the structure without ever resorting to parody (there are occasional moments of self-aware humour, but these are welcome breaks in tension). What "Brick" captures is the effortless cool and existential angst that film noir oozed. It's one thing to make a period noir film (as "L.A. Confidential" (1997) successfully did), but its quite another to recreate the genre entirely. If "Brick" isn't as successful as it should have been, it's so close you can forgive its flaws.
Video
Presented in the film's original theatrical ratio of 1.85:1, this anamorphic transfer is very good. Colors are accurate and natural, especially skin tones, black levels are bold and deep, shadow detail remains consistent throughout. I could not spot any major flaws such as compression artefacts or edge-enhancement, considering this is a recent film the transfer reflects that and is basically near perfect.
Audio
Only one audio track is included, an English Dolby Digital 5.1 surround track. The dialogue is clean and distortion free, while the surrounds are active some of the times I wasn't entirely immersed in the sound. I felt some opportunities were lost, however this track is still very good and serves the film very well. Optional subtitles are included in English for the hearing impaired, French and Spanish.
Extras
First up we have a feature-length audio commentary by writer/director Rian Johnson, actors Nora Zehetner and Noah Segan, producer Ram Bergman, production designer Jodie Lynn Tillen and costume designer Michele Posch. The director discusses the origins of the film and the genesis of the story, he comments on his influences and the writing process as well as the film noir genre and how that reflects here in the film. He sheds light on the visual choices he’s made and also on setting this film in a high school among other things. The actors talk about their introduction to the material and how they got involved as well as share stories from the set. They also discuss their characters and motivations. The other crew involved in this track focus on doing their jobs on a limited budget and how they managed to get away with a lot on this production. Overall it’s not an entirely screen-specific track but is informative and provides the viewer with an insight into the making of this film. Next up we have a collection of 8 deleted and extended scenes all of which include an audio introduction by the director, this intro plays over some production photos and b-roll footage. These scenes can be viewed individually or with the Play All function. The scenes included are: - "The Moon and I" runs for 2 minutes 45 seconds and is the complete version of Laura playing The Sun Whose Rays Are All Ablaze at the party that Brendan crashes. - "Pie House Rat" runs for 1 minute 42 seconds and is an extended scene in which Brendan confronts Dode outside the Coffee and Pie, Oh My shop. - "Economics" runs for 1 minute 17 seconds, this is also an extended scene between Brendan and the Brain while on the phone. Brendan talks about getting the Pin's attention. - "You Trust Me Now?" runs for 2 minutes 19 seconds, this is the original version of the scene between Laura and Brendan when she asks him whether he trusts her as she explains her situation to him. - "Heaven" runs for 1 minute 47 seconds, in this scene Brendan passes out on the field after talking with Dode and has a fantasy of Emily ascending from heaven. - "New Orleans" runs for 3 minutes 17 seconds, in this scene Laura and Brendan entertain the idea of running away to New Orleans. - "Kara Plays Her Hand" runs for 1 minute 30 seconds, in this extended scene she tries to blackmail Brendan. - "A Dirty Word" runs for 7 minutes 54 seconds, this is the original version of the scene where Brendan finds out about Laura's involvement and confronts her about it on the field, this scene was originally shot in one long take. Following that is the featurette entitled "The Inside Track: Casting The Roles of Laura and Dode" which runs for 3 minutes 12 seconds, this is basically the audition and rehearsal footage shot of the two actors, aside from a curiosity this feature is a total waste of time, had Universal included some sort of commentary or introduction by the director telling us why he though they were perfect then this would have made for an interesting piece. On its own it hardly warrants any repeat viewing. Rounding out the extras are a series fo bonus trailers, these all play before the menu and can be skipped. They include: - "Dave Chappelle's Block Party" which runs for 38 seconds. - "Slither" which runs for 31 seconds. - "Inside Man" which runs for 34 seconds.
Overall
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