Many credit Dashiell Hammett with the creation of the hard-boiled detective archetype in 1930 with the publication of "The Maltese Falcon." Ten years later, as the genre of film noir developed, the cynical private eye was transported from the novel to the silver screen, where he encountered femme fatales and corrupt policemen, all the while searching for truth in a seemingly endless cold and rainy night.
In 2005, Rian Johnson revitalized this genre and, in doing so, created a stunningly impressive directorial debut.
Johnson's inaugural project came in the form of "Brick," which premiered at last year's Sundance Film Festival, winning a Special Jury Prize for Originality of Vision. Johnson's idea of telling a classic film noir story in a high school setting truly is original and, thanks to distributor Focus Features, it is finally receiving the audience it deserves. Johnson stays true to Hammett's style but does so in a setting that is anything but noir: the suburbs of southern California.
The film quickly introduces the audience to the protagonist, Brendan Frye, played by a sharp and intense Joseph Gordon-Levitt of "3rd Rock from the Sun" fame. Brendan is an intelligent high school student, but he is withdrawn from his peers.
The opening shot finds him staring at the lifeless body of a blonde girl lying in a small pool of water. A flashback (a common film noir tool) shifts the audience to three days prior when Brendan receives a troubling phone call from the blonde, who turns out to be his ex-girlfriend, Emily (played by Emilie de Ravin). He reaches out to help her, but she vanishes as quickly as she appeared.
Desperate to find out what happened to Emily, Brendan enlists the help of a classmate known only as The Brain (Matt O'Leary), and they begin to "shake things up." In the vein of the traditional noir detective, Brendan delves into the various social circles of his high school, encountering an eclectic assortment of characters, including a seductive thespian, a belligerent bully, an intriguing rich girl, a troubled pothead and an infamous yet mysterious figure: The Pin.
As the investigation ensues, the director's idea begins to develop. He takes the standard vision of high school portrayed in teen movies, turns it on its head, and remolds it into something that is noir through and through.
For instance, there is not a single legitimate authority figure in the entire film. The only adults are The Pin's mother, who is completely oblivious to her son's shady activities, and Assistant Vice Principal Gary Trueman, played by a surprising but fitting Richard Roundtree. Trueman is more of a corrupt cop (another film noir staple) than a school administrator, and he becomes just one of many characters that push and pull Brendan throughout the film.
Since there is no real authority, the audience is forced to take the students extremely seriously, and the young actors in "Brick" certainly rise to the challenge. Gordon-Levitt captures the hard-nosed determination of the film noir hero. Nora Zehetner comes across as a perfectly convincing femme fatale in the role of Laura, that intriguing rich girl who piques Brendan's curiosity; she has an air of mystery around her, and she uses it - along with her lovely charm - to lure Brendan into a web of underground activities. Lukas Haas, perhaps best known as Harrison Ford's young co-star in 1985's "Witness," marvelously captures the character of The Pin, who is painstakingly deliberate in every action he takes.
This balance between the gravity of film noir and the frivolousness of high school is where "Brick" really shines. Although the screenplay is very compelling (also penned by Johnson), it takes advantage of a large vocabulary of slang that is unfamiliar to many in the audience. Characters quickly throw around words like "jake" (drugs) and "heel" (to walk away from), which makes the dialogue, at times, difficult to follow. This requires the audience to pay careful attention throughout the entire picture. However, Johnson does maintain constant command of the film, and nothing is left unexplained for very long.
The entire movie was shot on DV (digital video) film with a friend's digital camcorder in only twenty days. Given this short schedule, the movie certainly has an indie feel, lacking any Hollywood polish.
Nevertheless, Johnson carefully picked his shots, always staying true to the film noir genre. For instance, one of the main locations in the film, the large drainage pipe where Brendan finds Emily's body, is shot on a slightly diagonal axis. This results in an unsettling, off-balance shot, known as a Dutch angle shot, which is yet another trademark characteristic of noir films.
With its odd vocabulary and cinematography, "Brick" is definitely a film lover's film. In order to appreciate every nuance, a viewer will need to be knowledgeable and attentive.
That being said, "Brick" is also a groundbreaking independent movie in its own right. First-time director Rian Johnson successfully blends film noir with high school life, and the result is an innovative take on a classic genre.
