Brick opens with our hero, high school loner Brendan (3rd Rock’s Joseph Gordon-Levitt), looking on to the lifeless body of former girlfriend Emily (Lost’s Emilie de Ravin). From there we’re taken back to the events that lead to her demise; a panicked phone call to Brendan starts him on the path for failed salvation to revenge as he roughs up and/or infiltrates the high school cliques which lead Emily down the road to her eventual demise with only the school nerd as his back-up.

Brick takes high school clichés – The jocks, the stoners, the popular, the geeks and loners – and create and Raymond Chandler-esque world around them based on the drug culture they live in. You won’t hear the valley speak that can be heard from the likes of The OC or even Clueless coming from these kids mouths but rather a complicated double speak the likes of which you’d expect from Bogart or Cagney or any other tough guy noir private eye.

Brendan talks fast and takes his punches as good as he gets them and there is no doubt that Gordon-Levitt(right) is the most accomplished of the young cast. As the would be gumshoe he is able to carry the dialog convincingly and bring the normally shadow filled noir mystery world into the sun drenched streets of America.


VERDICT
Empire Magazine called this film neo-noir – a whole new genre is born of this smart, interesting and intriguing film which places the style, attitude and smart dialogue of the 30’s and 40’s PI Mysteries into a modern day American high school whodunit.

It won’t be for everyone and even those who follow the goings on may not know what the hell these kids are talking about half the time but take my word for it; this film is destined to be a cult hit and you would be missing out something special if you didn’t give it a chance. My favourite film in a long while (aside from Superman Returns).