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ASSIGNMENT: Uncover a lost gem of a movie and write a short review in Movie Gal’s trademark snarky, conversational voice.
BLOG HEADLINE: Movie Gal’s Gem of the Week: “Brick” Knocked ‘Em Toothless Before “Knives Out”
Looking to get thrown headlong into an odd yet stylish and spellbinder this weekend?
By now you’ve heard the buzz around the star-studded “whodunit” “Knives Out,” which recently began streaming for free to Amazon Prime members. If you’re a fan of film, chances are you’ve already seen the critical and commercial hit, that featured Daniel Craig as a private dick hired to solve the murder of a renowned crime novelist whose immediate family all had motives to kill him.
But long before “Knives Out” director Rian Johnson became an in demand, big budget director on projects such as “Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” his shoestring budget noir — set in a high school of all places — was the flick that launched his career.
Johnson’s 2006 indie, “Brick,” stars Joseph-Gorden Levitt as Brendan, a lonely teen outsider whose ex-girlfriend Emily reaches out for help before disappearing without a trace. If Brendan is going to tease out Emily’s whereabouts, he’s going to have to use every bit of his cunning and moxy to push his way through his school’s seamy underbelly of losers, jocks, drug dealers and femme fatale popular girls to get to the bottom of what really happened to his long lost love.
“Brick” is Johnson’s dark, fists-clenched, wet-pavement love letter to the hardboiled, noir detective films of old Hollywood. While its setting and mostly bright-eyed and bushy-tailed cast could’ve been ripe for a shticky, goofy, comedy detective story, Johnson instead has his cast play it straight-faced to splendid effect.
While it’s not as easily swallowed as “Knives Out” due to its briskly delivered dialogue, “Brick” is arguably even more rewarding. Once you get used to 17-year-old kids spitting zingers back and forth, the half teen lingo/half noir slang code words become part of the excitement of trying to crack the case as you ride along with the constantly beaten to a pulp Brendan. Occasionally the film is even able to wink at itself along the way without losing the build-up of the jeopardy Brendan is under. A particular standout scene sees him finally work his way to the home of a creepy kingpin only to be offered milk and cookies by the kingpin’s mother.
Not only did the film catapult Johnson to new Hollywood heights, it also helped a never-better Gordon-Levitt on the treacherous transition from child actor to A-list star. It’s easy to forget now, but Gordon-Levitt was then best known as the lovably dumb alien-turned teen heartthrob Tommy on the hit sitcom “3rd Rock From the Sun.” If JGL never got to showcase his grit and chops on “Brick,” he may never have made it out of being typecast in comedy. Heck, he may never have turned into the star he is today.
It wasn’t easy. Johnson himself had to fight every bit as hard as his protagonist for the better part of his 20’s, eventually hitting up his friends and family to get “Brick” into production at the very high school he attended nearly a full decade earlier. But shooting independently offered him the chance to keep meddling studio producers away from his vision. Though it was shot for just $450,000, “Brick” would later go on to win the Special Jury Prize for Originality of Vision at the Sundance Film Festival and become a cult classic.
For fans of “Knives Out,” it’s not to be missed.
“Brick” is available to rent for $3.99 on all streaming platforms, including Amazon Prime Video, Google Play, iTunes, and Vudu.
