I read Brian Orndorf's DVD review of Brick at http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/read.php?ID=20895 and... 180-degree turn here. I thought BRICK transposed the familiar film noir geography onto a completely different setting (high school, in this case). For me, the results were revelatory.

A familiar setting I thought I knew took on a whole other dimension and opened a window into a secret world. While not "realistic" that world still had an "authentic" feel to it. A terrific cast -- and great music -- were big pluses, too. BRICK is a terrific debut by a talented newcomer.

a second comment shouldn't be a but... nah, I wont. This movie is waaaaaay overrated.

With these threads.

Golly, another "Brick" topic.

Rushed out to see Brick this afternoon after friends who saw it at festival screenings raved about it, and was totally ready to have it not live up to the hype, but I was honestly floored by this film. If I could, I'd go see it again, right now. Brilliant at taking the conventional noir and juxtaposing it with maybe not what high school is like, but the way high school feels (or at least how I remember it). Joseph Gordon-Levitt deserves to be a star after this insanely strong performance in which we not only buy him spouting with all seriousness "She knows where I eat lunch" but made me remember what it was like to be 16, think you're in love, and be willing to do anything for a girl. I can not recommend this film any more highly, and have seriously been disappointed by the sort of lukewarm reception this is getting from critics.
In response to the dvdtalk review: I think it would be impossible to make the high school any larger a character. The film is about the outsiders, alienated from the school and on the fringes of suburban drug culture. It doesn't require any more time with jocks and faculty then it already spends.
And not feeling like we know what makes Brendan tick. The sole motivation of Emily is what makes Brendan tick. A young man who first lost his love to social clicks, and has thus turned against them, and then has to face the fact that he has truly lost her (not even taking into consideration the revelation at the end that seems to point to the true seriousness of their relationship and why Brendan would be so emotional and intent on his mission).

And Giles can't let it go by without reminding us how waaaaaaay overrated it is by the 10 people who saw it Sundance.

Can't rave about this thing highly enough - it's one of the best filmed (seriously, the cinematography is a wonder to behold), best written and best acted movies in ages. (okay, to be fair, it IS pretty low-budget. a high school film where they couldn't get permits to shoot inside a school and has no extras (other kids) requires a lot of special pleading, but it's worth it)

It's hard not to see this as 'Veronica Mars', but with a male protagonist. Or like 'Kiss Kiss Bang Bang' without the ironic detachment. Or the funny. Or, sadly, the sex (I know, a high school film without sex; what WERE they thinking?).

There's not much, plot-wise, I can talk about without giving away major spoilers (and half the fun is discovering the revelations along with the lead character) but I can say that the journey is the point, not the destination and that the filmmakers use the lack of budget to their advantage. And also that dames are no damn good. But everyone going into a film noir knows that already, right?

I already posted in response to the DVDtalk review, but I definitely look forward to hearing more discussion of this phenomenal film. It's only out on under 30 screens, but if it's playing in your city, go see it, now!

I think this film is worth seeing. It's well made, well thought out, good acting and production value. I'm a huge fan of Raymond Chandler, and this mimics that genre very well.

With that being said, I also found it pretty damn uneven. It went on too long. It had bad sound recording, I didn't think a lot of the dialog worked - it was no Miller's Crossing.

I wanted to like it more, and yet I felt let down while watching it.

Gotta say, A for effort - But I feel pretty mixed.

I remember watching Miller's Crossing (which is now one of my favorite movies) in the theater for the first time knowing it was riff off my hero Hammett, and crossing my arms grumpily and having the exact same mixed feelings, in fact I believe my exact thoughts were "this is no Red Harvest." I remembered that experience when I went to see Brick, and I just let myself flow with it. The movie flew by for me, didn't feel long at all, and the dialogue worked 99% of the time. Maybe 95, but still. Can't recommend it highly enough. This is one of those movies you'll be bragging 10 years from now that you saw in the theater.

I thought it was good but a bit pretentious.. I loved some of the cinematography and the overall feel though.

Finally got a chance to see it...unfortunately it was at a local "art house" cinema with a very shitty sound system, so was really straining to hear the dialogue, probably only could catch every other line...the sound system really is THAT bad... but I enjoyed the shit out of it.

Great directing style, some really whip smart dialogue and very noir. I loved The Pin and just about every touch they added to his character (the house, the van etc.) Was surprised to see Joseph Gordon-Levitt turn in a really solid performance and he carried the movie pretty well. I'm definitely getting the DVD (I can finally hear it all!) and would easily recommend it to mystery/noir fans. A nice debut for Johnson.

MATT

I'm glad to see that it's getting positive word of mouth. I saw the trailer for this thing last year, and have been wanting to see it ever since. Can't wait for the dvd.

just saw it last night and it had all the pinnings of a noir. characters, mystery, femme fatale. I thought the dialogue was good and interesting but it the actors failed a bit in the delivery. It didn't feel to have a natural flow. I really enjoyed it and will definately buy the dvd. I also agree with the post above regarding the pin. What a character, the van, the house, the boot. great character.

What a flick...what a flick.

Great stuff.

= J

I saw this the other night, best film I've seen in quite a while.

This movie would have been great if not for the twat lead actor. And if it didn't have a guy named "The Pin".

I just watched this last night, and I really liked it. I got it from Netflix based on the review here at DVDTalk, and I wasn't disappointed. It took awhile for me to get into the flow, since the way they were talking wasn't altogether natural. It was like watching Deadwood (without all the swearing), they're all speaking English but you have to really concentrate to figure out what the f+$# they're talking about. Once I was hooked in though, I really enjoyed it.

DVDTalk Review of Brick

I recently saw this as well and liked it quite a bit. Loved the concept.

I really liked this film and I'm glad the word is spreading.

It was like a film noir crossed with "A Clockwork Orange" and then filtered through David Lynch.

I just watched it and I loved it. It's like Chinatown in a modern day high school. I loved the dialogue. I wished they made more films like this. It reminded me of the tv series Veronica Mars, but with a male lead.

not to be rude, but i mostly disagree.
this kind of film requires a certain audience to enjoy it (I am not included in this audience)- it was just TOO out there. I enjoyed it to a point, but I can't see many non-film buffs enjoying it at all.

Veronica Mars, on the other hand, is easy to pick up and enjoy/relate to. The dialogue is also much lighter, while still being smart.

glad you loved the film though. J. Gordon Levitt is great (Mysterious Skin is wonderful)

It reminded me of Veronica Mars plotwise. A teen entering the seedy underbelly of their high school/town to solve a crime. Brendan was trying to find out who murdered his girlfriend. Veronica was trying to find out who murdered her best friend. They both "worked" with their school's Vice Prinicipal. Brick certainly had a darker tone although Veronica could be pretty dark too. All I'm saying is there are noticeable similarities between the two.

I just watched Brick last night. I thought it was fantastic. Glad to see others liked it too.

good points- i can see where you're coming from.

ps: loved the principal stuff in Brick.