BRICK

US, 2005, 110 minutes, Colour.
Joseph Gordon- Leavit, Norah Zehetner, Lucas Haas, Noah Fleiss, Matt O’ Leary, Emilie de Ravin, Noah Segan, Richard Roundtree.
Directed by Rian Johnson.

When a film is advertised as having won a Sundance Festival award for ‘Originality of Vision’, one wonders what that could actually mean. This time it refers to the ingenuity of the writer-director, Rian Johnson, to combine the style and contents of traditional film noir thrillers with a high school setting where audiences tend to expect silly shenanigans.

Brick is certainly a clever film and very well-crafted. This is even more of an achievement when one hears how difficult it was to raise the money, how it was a six year task, how family and friends helped out with finances and with technical expertise. It is filmed in San Clemente, California, the director’s home town and even uses the local high school.

Audiences don’t expect to be mentally challenged by your average high school comedy, so they may find this narrative difficult to get to grips with. It shifts in time, often uses high school slang in the dialogue, makes it difficult to work out sometimes who is who (and why is why!). But, for devotees of the noir tradition, it is well worthwhile.

Brick refers to a solid cake of drugs – in this case, one of a consignment that is stolen, contaminated, returned and has deadly effects on those who try it.

The private eye equivalent is a student called Brendan whose girlfriend mysteriously gets in touch with him, is afraid, and turns up dead in a stormwater channel. Brendan uses his wits and his connections to try to unravel what has gone on. He has a slacker friend called Brain who leads him to various addicts amongst the young people. It also leads him to some dealers and thugs, including a lug called Tugger and a rich girl called Laura. This in turn leads to a late 20s dealer, crippled, with a cane (like Sidney Greenstreet in The Maltese Falcon), called Pin who deals from his basement office in his fussing mother’s home.

But, this is all deadly serious. Pin (Lukas Haas) has a violent entourage. Finally, this all gets out of hand and there is a shootout. Meanwhile the vice principal of the school (Richard Roundtree) is trying to investigate the drug dealings.

Brendan is played by Joseph Gordon Leavit (Three Rocks from the Sun, Mysterious Skin). He is the strong, silent type but with a way with words. He is cool, even when he is being bashed. He is fearless and independent. And, confronting the villains at the end, he walks away after giving a helpful summary of what has gone on.

At times tantalising, at times obscure, but always interestingly cinematic.

1.Acclaim for the film? The Sundance award: “Originality of Vision”?

2.The contribution of the writer-director? His age and experience? The very small budget, the family collaboration? Achieving his intentions?

3.The homage to the film noir, the noir structure and style? Adapted to the 21st century? In a high school context? A particular world, the detective work, the range of characters, the symbols used, the femme fatale? A youth version of the film noir?

4.The locations? San Clemente, familiar to the director, his school, the homes, roads, the tunnel, the stormwater channel, the ocean? The use of lightness and dark? Light for outside sequences? Dark interiors? The screenplay and the action of night and of day?

5.The range of the musical score, its atmosphere and moods, the range of instruments? In the background, suggestive?

6.The complexity of the screenplay, the amount of talk, the particular teenage slang, the in-world of the students and the drugs? The structure, the time, the flashback, the time shifts and intercuts?

7.Brendan as cool, tough, humane, caring? His stances? Unafraid? His confrontation of Brad and Tugger? His being bashed? His going into danger, standing his ground? Standing in front of the oncoming car and its swerving? The mystery of Emilie’s death? The interrogations, the authorities and the vice-principal, his independence? His collaboration with Tugger and the others? His mixed past? Love for Emilie, discovery of her pregnancy? The interactions with Laura? The deals and the twists? The clues – and the cigarette butt? His speech in resolving the mystery? The lack of resolution for his own future, his calling the police, interaction with the vice-principal, denunciation of Laura?

8.The title, drugs, the drug bricks? Pin, Tug, Laura and their involvement? The student dying after trying the contaminated brick? The stealing of the brick, the changing? Deaths?

9.The range of characters, their particular names? The young cast bringing them to life?

10.The absence of parents – Pin’s fussing mother, getting something to eat, the students in the house at 4.00am? The lack of the presence of teachers except for the vice-principal? Very few students seen? The drama section, the range of performances, Kara and her make-up, Sally Bowles, the clown etc?

11.Joseph Gordon-Levitt? as Brendan? Sustaining the film? In himself, his story, the drugs, the range of friends, his reliance on Brain? The interactions with Dode? With Brad in the yard, the attack? Laura’s presence? His confronting Tugger in the parking lot, bashing, withstanding his ground? The interactions with Emilie? Her phone call, the note in his locker, the corner phone? Her appeal? The speeding car and the cigarette butt? Finding Emilie’s body, taking it? His pursuing the case, the spaced-out students, the drug gangs? Emilie’s pregnancy?

12.The fight with Brad, the attack on Tugger? The interactions with Laura? The drifters and their information? Dode?

13.The discussions with the vice-principal, giving information, his surly attitude, wanting to be independent?

14.The days passing, Brendan and getting sleep or not? The gradual interactions with Tugger, his reliance on Tugger, going to visit Pin, in the boot of the car, blindfolded yet knowing where he was? The discussions with Pin (and his mother fussing)? The brutality of Tugger, making peace with him?

15.Laura and her presence with Brad, with Pin? Rich, depending on this lifestyle, interacting with Brendan, the sexual attraction, setting him up, giving him information? Asking whether he was at Pin’s house during the shoot-out?

16.Pin and the echoes of Sidney Greenstreet in The Maltese Falcon, his cane? His mother? His darkened room, his office, his desk? The coat and his manner? In the dark? His clients, his thugs? The issue of the bricks? His testing Brendan, the knife? Walking along the beach and accepting him?

17.The build-up the set-up, the interaction with Dode, Dode’s death? Pin and Brad and Laura’s connections? The confrontation? The violence, the calling of the police, the shootings and the deaths? Pin dying?

18.The appeal to the vice-principal, his friendship with Brain and Brain giving him information, explaining the situation to him? The meeting with Laura on the grass, her defiance, his explanation of what had happened?

19.The noir mood, the vision of a young director, his interpretation of film noir, his skills? A satisfying drama – even if elliptical and enigmatic?