Film Reviews
By Nathaniel Bell

Private Dicks, Heavy Bricks

The central conceit of Rian Johnson's exhilarating film “Brick” might have easily backfired had a less committed filmmaker been at the helm. But Johnson's classy gimmick—hard-nosed Dashiell Hammett dialogue transplanted sans irony to the world of trash-talking high-schoolers—is played out with utter conviction. This “Brick” has some real weight behind it.

The story unfolds as a sullen outcast named Brendan (the hugely likable Joseph Gordon-Levitt, hands thrust into his jacket pockets) investigates his ex-girlfriend's disappearance and subsequent murder at the hands of persons unknown. His after-school detective work leads him to a group of assorted shady characters, including popular girl Laura (Nora Zehetner), thuggish muscleman Tugger (Noah Fleiss), strung-out flunky Dode (Noah Segan), and drama queen Kara (Meagan Good), all of whom eventually lead to a club-footed drug dealer known as The Pin (Lukas Haas) who operates out of his mother's basement.

Parody is one of the easiest cinematic tricks a director can resort to, but a true and individual homage requires confidence and a shrewd sense of balance, both of which Johnson has in abundance. “Brick” isn't a hollow film-school exercise but rather an honest teen drama with film noir trappings. The familiar adolescent emotions—loneliness, romantic yearning, an encroaching sense of betrayal—are all keenly felt. Brendan, unlike many noir protagonists, is too young to have made a complete wreck of his life, but he's only a few years removed from the likes of Sam Spade and Philip Marlowe.

Punctuated by moments of electrifying violence that emanate like sharp blows to the brain (the hero spends most of his free time getting the tar beaten out of him), “Brick” also pauses for reflection, as when Brendan crouches at the mouth of a drainage tunnel, staring pensively into the abyss. Though the film never fully adds up to more than the sum of its parts, its passionate style and moral urgency more than compensate.

Because the tangy dialogue is distributed largely among untrained teens, the line delivery is occasionally marble-mouthed, but there are beguiling performances by Matt O'Leary as Brendan's brainy peer (dabbling with a Rubik's Cube while dispensing inside information) and Richard Roundtree as the assistant vice principal (essentially playing the nosy cop to Brendan's loner detective). The film is also graced with a plaintive score by Nathan Johnson that provides each of the principal characters with a haunting theme.

“Brick” may not be everyone's cup of strychnine, but there's enough fervor in it for three movies—a rare quality these days.

Send me your opinions at nbell@netlistings.com