| Show Brick breaks the mold for teen films i Stacie Peart Movie Staff Writer Brick starts off running in inthis inthis inthis this teen drama Newcomer Rian Johnson must have channeled some old black and white noir films from the past as he wrote and andt t tjien in directed a i ct di this this' brilliantly Brick took home the Sundance Film Festival Special Jury Prize in 2005 Awards aside this film should be seen for its brilliant acting beautiful cinematography phy and unique dialogue Joseph Levitt Gordon-Levitt leads a young cast of up com ing talent as his character Brendan unravels the mystery surrounding the disappearance disappear disappear- ance of Emily Emilie deRaven deRaven de deRaven Raven Lost his girl ex friend Brendan skirts around the outside of the high school social scene as a loner yet his intelligence is evident as he maneuvers his classmates around like pawns to gain more information In order make progress in his investigation Brendan teams up with his only friend The Brain Matt OLeary O'Leary During his quest for the truth Brendan must find his way into the favor of the local drug lord The Pin Lukas Haas Witness by impressing his on-campus on link Noah Fleiss As Brendan continues his he immerses himi him- him quest i v j-v jJ J l 7 self deeper into the under under- w and violence olen-c olen to answer questions about Emily's life after their breakup break up up As Brendan moves his way through the high school hierarchy hierarchy hierarchy hier hier- archy and the suburban underworld underworld underworld under under- world the color pallet changes with each setting as Steve the cinematographer pher tastefully captures the story on film Brendans Brendan's world is loaded with muted gray tones that make his loner status even more pronounced This behind the scenes attention attention atten atten- attention tion to detail moves the story along while creating a subliminal subliminal subliminal inal Brick also displays Johnsons Johnson's unique style of filmmaking on the big screen Most of the film follows the mystery drama genre er there are small quirky bits of comedy that are surprisingly surprising surprising- ly refreshing among all the deep subject matter The film keeps the element of surprise by not following the normal rules for any genre It also brings a unique way of presenting a murder i h I i J HOJ mystery ry by y using a dialogue gJ J II riddled with 0 slang Its It's almost almost as if Johnson channeled Shakespeare as he wrote each line Johnsons Johnson's script doesn't sit down and explain the definition definition definition for each slang word While the dialogue is a selling point for why indie film fans will probably enjoy Brick the lines can be confusing and somewhat cumbersome to even the most gifted of slang- slang decipherers The style of dialogue is a good question ask ing movie goers to remain at home Brick might be an acquired taste but it certainly deserves a look Brick rick is playing at The Broadway Theatre and is rated R. R |
