Brick (2005)

Director:

Rian Johnson

Writer (WGA):

Rian Johnson (written by)

Release Date:

7 April 2006 (Canada)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery

Tagline:

A detective story.

Plot:

A teenage loner pushes his way into the underworld of a high school crime ring to investigate the disappearance of his ex-girlfriend.

Plot Keywords:

High School | Drugs | Drug Dealer | Shot In The Forehead | Shot In The Chest

Awards:

9 wins & 11 nominations

Cast

Joseph Gordon-Levitt	...	Brendan
Nora Zehetner	...	Laura
Lukas Haas	...	The Pin
Noah Fleiss	...	Tugger
Matt O'Leary	...	The Brain
Emilie de Ravin	...	Emily (as Emilie De Ravin)
Noah Segan	...	Dode
Richard Roundtree	...	Assistant V.P. Trueman
Meagan Good	...	Kara
Brian J. White	...	Brad Bramish (as Brian White)
Jonathan Cauff	...	Biff
Reedy Gibbs	...	Pin's Mom
Lucas Babin	...	Big Stoner
Tracy Wilcoxen	...	Straggler
Ari Welkom	...	Tangles (as Ari Velkom)

MPAA:

Rated R for violent and drug content.

Runtime:

110 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Colour:

Colour

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

UK:15 | Canada:PG (Ontario) | Singapore:PG | Australia:M | Ireland:15A | Canada:14A (Canadian Home Video rating) | Netherlands:12 | USA:R (certificate #41781) | Germany:12 | Finland:K-15 | Portugal:M/16 | Japan:R-15 | South Korea:15 | Argentina:13

Filming Locations:

San Clemente, California, USA

Company:

Bergman Lustig Productions

Trivia:

As Brendan enters the Halloween in January party, a girl with long hair passes by with a cooler on wheels. This is the main character from the movie "May", which director Rian Johnson edited.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Pin enters his house while Tug and Brendan are talking at the kitchen table, we can see that he is wearing what appears to be white sneakers. Later on in that scene, there is a shot from under the table and we can see he is wearing the big black orthopedic shoe he usually wears.

Quotes:

[first lines]
[Brendan answers the pay phone]
Emily: Brendan.
Brendan Frye: Emily.
Emily: Yeah-h... How's things?
Brendan Frye: Status quo.

Movie Connections:

References May (2002)

Soundtrack:

Brain Hammer

Brilliant modern day Film Noir with color, drugs and a twist

That's the story, right? Going back to the days of "China Town" with Jack Nicholson chasing lead after lead, turning corners left and right, only to find more corners. Who's duping who? We don't know until the very end in this fast-paced, hipster lingo drenched wild revival of the classic Black and White Film Noir. Joseph Gordon-Levitt (yes, the kid from Third Rock) is a brilliant hero/foil as Brendan, the bitingly dry, quick-witted, scrappy and yet reluctant detective trying to walk his way through a web of lies, more lies, murder and lots of missing drugs. His character is bright, he can read a situation like a psychic on crack, turn things to his favor in seconds and play people as deftly as he is ultimately played himself. ...And he can take a punch. The plot turns this way, then that, keeping you constantly guessing as to where it will take you next. As soon as you think you know what's going on, you don't. Nora Zehetner is a beautiful and beguiling femme fatale. "The Brian" (Matt O'Leary), who is constantly feeding Brendan his facts and keeping him on track, knows his stuff but never let's you know how. Rian Johnson has written an amazing script and directed it into a whirlwind experience of near misses, painful betrayal and love/love lost. The lingo takes a second to catch. I'm reminded of Swingers, had it been as thrilling as it was funny. The words fall into place and give the film a slick, quick delivery like the best exchanges between Bogart and Bergman, Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake. Take all that and drop it into a dark, starkly brutal modern world... In a high school, of all places. There's even some quirky humor thrown in, though most of the laughs from the audience were really nervous release from all the tension built into the story. A must see.