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'''''Brick''''' is a 2005 American [[neo-noir]] film written and directed by [[Rian Johnson]]. It was Johnson's directorial debut and won the Special Jury Prize for Originality of Vision at the 2005 [[Sundance Film Festival]].<ref name=telegraph/> ''Brick'' was distributed by [[Focus Features]], opening in the in New York and Los Angeles on April 7, 2006.
'''''Brick''''' is a 2005 American [[neo-noir]] film written and directed by [[Rian Johnson]]. It was Johnson's directorial debut and won the Special Jury Prize for Originality of Vision at the 2005 [[Sundance Film Festival]].<ref name=telegraph/> ''Brick'' was distributed by [[Focus Features]], opening in New York and Los Angeles on April 7, 2006.


The film's narrative centers on a [[hardboiled]] [[detective fiction|detective story]] that takes place in a Californian [[suburb]]. Most of the main characters are high school students. The film draws heavily in plot, characterization, and dialogue from hardboiled classics, especially from [[Dashiell Hammett]]. The title refers to a block of [[heroin]], compressed roughly to the size and shape of a brick.
The film's narrative centers on a [[hardboiled]] [[detective fiction|detective story]] that takes place in a Californian [[suburb]]. Most of the main characters are high school students. The film draws heavily in plot, characterization, and dialogue from hardboiled classics, especially from [[Dashiell Hammett]]. The title refers to a block of [[heroin]], compressed roughly to the size and shape of a brick.

Revision as of 19:05, 26 January 2012

Brick
Theatrical release poster
Directed byRian Johnson
Written byRian Johnson
Produced byRam Bergman
Mark G. Mathis
StarringJoseph Gordon-Levitt
Nora Zehetner
Noah Fleiss
Matt O'Leary
Richard Roundtree
Lukas Haas
CinematographySteve Yedlin
Edited byRian Johnson
Music byNathan Johnson
Production
company
Bergman Lustig Productions
Distributed byFocus Features
Release date
April 7, 2006
Running time
109 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$475,000
Box office$3,919,254

Brick is a 2005 American neo-noir film written and directed by Rian Johnson. It was Johnson's directorial debut and won the Special Jury Prize for Originality of Vision at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival.[1] Brick was distributed by Focus Features, opening in New York and Los Angeles on April 7, 2006.

The film's narrative centers on a hardboiled detective story that takes place in a Californian suburb. Most of the main characters are high school students. The film draws heavily in plot, characterization, and dialogue from hardboiled classics, especially from Dashiell Hammett. The title refers to a block of heroin, compressed roughly to the size and shape of a brick.

Plot

File:BrickScreenshot.jpg
Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Nora Zehetner

Brendan Frye (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), a student in an unnamed California high school, stares silently at the body of ex-girlfriend Emily Kostich (Emilie de Ravin) lying in a storm drain. Days earlier Brendan, who is in the know of the intricacies of the "upper crust" of drug-addicted socialites he is choosing to live outside of, receives a terrified phone call over a pay phone from Emily. She tearfully tells him, "I didn't know that the brick was bad," and that "the Pin's on it now." She begs him to help her before abruptly ending the conversation, when a black car quickly drives along the road close to the public phone booth where Brendan is talking.

Brendan realizes that Emily is hiding somewhere on the other side of the road and has been watching him throughout their conversation. Brendan inspects a cigarette thrown on the road by someone in the black car and notices a blue arrow above the filter. Brendan breaks into Emily's school locker and takes her notebook in search of clues of her location. The notebook leads him to Dode (Noah Segan); leader of a stoner clique that Emily joined after being unable to fit in with the upper crust. Dode tells Brendan that Emily does not want to see him, but Brendan says that he wants Emily to tell him this herself. Later that day, a pale and distant Emily finally meets Brendan and pleads for him to leave her alone during an emotional embrace. Brendan manages to steal her notepad during the encounter, where he finds the clue (a note Brendan saw Dode give her containing a symbol) that eventually leads him to her dead body.

After her death, Brendan takes it upon himself to solve her murder. He enlists the aid of fellow loner, the Brain (Matt O'Leary), to track information. It is revealed through a flashback that in order to protect Emily from the world of drugs Brendan had previously "ratted out" a drug dealer named Jerr which led to her breaking up with Brendan. Brendan returns to the storm drain and hides the body to avoid police intrusion - assuming the cops would find the murderer and not the mastermind behind it. After meeting with Brain, Brendan discovers that "The Pin" mentioned by Emily during their phone conversation is a local drug baron. (Pin, as in kingpin) Brendan sets about catching The Pin's attention by beating up Brad Bramish (Brian J. White), an athlete from his school who is a very regular drug buyer. Brendan catches the eye of Brad's girlfriend Laura Dannon (Nora Zehetner), a popular socialite with connections to the Pin, but decides not to respond to her help offers because of her manipulative ways. After confirming with Brain that his plan was working Brendan is attacked by an unknown man. (Noah Fleiss) Brendan is taken to his assistant vice-principal (Richard Roundtree) whom he had helped in order to convict Jerr three months before which ends in a terse conversation attempting to enlist Brendan's help in the investigation over Emily.

While walking home, Brendan sees the black car that had frightened Emily during their phone conversation and finds out that it belongs to the man that had attacked him previously. When Brendan tells him he wants to see the Pin, the man proceeds to beat up Brendan and then drives away, but returns and pretends to try to run Brendan over. When Brendan doesn't flinch the man obliges to take him. When Brendan meets the Pin (Lukas Haas) in his home (he lives with his mother), it is revealed the unknown man was called the Tugger (Tug) and he was sent as a message for breaking Brad Bramish's nose. Brendan manages to convince the Pin to consider him for a spot in his operation (with help from Laura, who was also in the Pin's house) by telling him of his position as an informant of the vice principal and the possibility of using it to feed the VP bad information; the pin tells him he'd have an answer by the end of the next day and lets him know he'll have him killed if he's not accepted. Laura drives Brendan to school and tells him Emily tried to join the Pin, but was rejected, and in her state of addiction, stole a brick from him. After talking to Laura, Brendan searched for Dode to hear his side of the story and asks Kara (Meagan Good), an ex-girlfriend who was also Dode's connection to the upper crust, but gets no information and tells her to tell Dode he's looking for him.

The next day, Brendan finds a note that tells him to be in the same phone booth he talked to Emily to at 12:30. Immediately after he receives the letter, a large figure attacks him with a knife, landing a cut on Brendan's arm. Brendan subdues the assailant and ID's him, while finding various drug items and accessories on him. Later, the Pin picks Brendan up in a van and tells him he's been accepted and tells him to meet him at 6:00 to welcome him into the operation. When Brendan gets off the van, he realizes he's late for his meeting in the phone booth and rushes to it; when he reaches it, he answers the ringing phone and discovers Dode was calling. Dode tells him he saw him hide Emily's body and believes him to be the murderer, and threatens to tell people. Brendan meets with the Pin at 6:00 and he reveals that Tug's violent behavior had been getting out of control lately, and to thus be careful and not take orders from him.

That night, Brendan is awakened by a call from Brain, who tells him the VP has been looking for him, and that he should therefore avoid school; after meeting with him, Brain also reveals one of the people Emily had mentioned to Brendan (Frisco Farr) was a student who had been found in a coma three weeks before due to chemicals in some heroin he had consumed (a bad brick). It is also revealed Emily had been reported missing (the reason the VP was looking for him) which is why he was no longer safe at school. Brendan goes to the Pin's house and finds Tugger, and he uses the bad blood between Tug and the Pin to get him to open up and reveal a brick was stolen from them, but later returned bad (the brick that put Frisco in a coma). The Pin interrupts the two to tell Tug about a note he got to meet someone who knows what happened to Emily (Dode), and the Pin reveals to Brendan that Emily was Tug's ex-girlfriend and tells him to join the meeting later that day. Laura gives Brendan a ride and he collapses in a coughing fit due to internal bleeding from earlier beatings. A weakened Brendan meets Dode before the meeting and discovers Emily was pregnant when she died (Dode believed the child to be his). Brendan goes to the spot of the meeting, where Dode tries to tell Tug and the Pin that Brendan had killed Emily, but Tug, who was the real killer of Emily, shoots Dode in the head thinking he was about to be revealed as the true killer. Tug then threatens the Pin, who walks away, as a shocked Brendan faints due to his ill state.

Brendan awakes in the bedroom of Tug, who reveals that he believes he's now at war with the Pin. He also reveals that he believed Emily's baby to be his, but that Laura told him not to trust her. Brendan acts as a go-between for Tug and the Pin, who also is preparing for war, and arranges a meeting between the two. That night Brendan sleeps with Laura in Tug's bedroom and discovers that her cigarettes have the same blue arrow over the filter as the one he saw dropped from Tug's car at the beginning of the film. Brendan convinces Tug to let him take his car to the meeting in case the Pin has an ambush ready. Brendan talks to Brain and tells him to call the cops during the meeting and to tell them that there are drugs in Tug's car outside the Pin's house. During the meeting while Brendan is acting as a mediator between Tug and the Pin, fighting breaks out between the two factions when it is discovered that another brick is missing. Brendan barely manages to escape, getting out of the house just as police arrive, and as he walks away, passes the trunk of Tug's car, where Emily's body is visible inside the trunk (presumably Brendan put it there while he had Tug's car).

The next day, Brendan meets with Laura and reveals that he knows that she was the mastermind behind Emily's murder. Brendan figured out that Laura made Emily take the fall for the bad brick which Laura had stolen, sold half of, and tried to refill with detergent (causing Frisco's coma). Laura manipulated Emily into meeting Tug, who had intentions of killing her after learning of her pregnancy, and later stole the brick that was missing from the meeting in order to start a war which would wind up with both the Pin and Tug either dead or in jail. Brendan tells Laura that he has already revealed all this in a note to the Vice Principal, and told the VP to look for the brick in Laura's locker (where Brain had seen her hide it after receiving instructions to follow her after the meeting). When Brendan starts leaving, Laura stops him and tells him Emily was three months pregnant when she died, implying that her baby was his. The movie ends with Brendan, after staring at Laura as she walks away, turning around to leave as well.

Cast

Production

Development

The origins of Brick were Rian Johnson's obsession with the writing of Dashiell Hammett (1894–1961),[1] an author known for hardboiled detective novels, and his desire to make a straightforward American detective story.[2] He had discovered Hammett's work through an interview the Coen brothers did around the time of the release of their 1990 gangster film, Miller's Crossing. He read Red Harvest (1929) and then moved on to The Maltese Falcon (1930) and The Glass Key (1931), the latter of which had been the main influence for the Coen's Miller's Crossing.[3] Johnson had grown up watching detective films and film noir, and reading Hammett's novels inspired him to make a film that created the same kind of world.[3] He realized that this would result in a mere imitation and came up with high school as the setting to keep things fresh. Of the initial writing process he remarked "it was really amazing how all the archetypes from that detective world slid perfectly over the high school types".[2] He also wanted to disrupt the visual preconceptions that came from the film noir genre but once he started making Brick, he found it "very much about the experience of being a teenager to me".[3] Despite this admission, Johnson maintained that the film was not autobiographical.[1]

Johnson wrote the first draft of Brick in 1997 after graduating from USC School of Cinematic Arts a year earlier.[3] He spent the next seven years pitching his script but none of the Hollywood studios or production companies were interested because the material was too unusual to make with a first-time director. Johnson estimated the minimal amount of money for which he could make the film, and asked friends and family for backing.[3] His family were in the construction industry, and came into a significant amount of money which they devoted to the project, thereby encouraging others to contribute funds.[1] After Johnson had acquired about $450,000 for the film's budget,[1] Brick finally began production in 2003.

Filming

Although the film was shot in 20 days, Johnson spent a great deal of time beforehand refining the script and three months to rehearse with the cast.[1][2] He had seen Joseph Gordon-Levitt in a film called Manic, met with him and knew that he wanted the young actor to be in his film.[3] He encouraged the cast to read Hammett but not to watch any noir films because he did not want them influencing their performances.[2] Instead, he had them watch Billy Wilder comedies like The Apartment and other comedies like His Girl Friday. He was initially nervous working with a professional cast and crew for the first time but as soon as he started filming, this feeling went away and he had a good experience.[3]

Johnson shot the film in his hometown of San Clemente, California on 35 mm film stock.[2] Much of the film takes place at San Clemente High School, which he attended. He enlisted current students to work on the film, shooting on weekends so as not to disrupt classes. The cinematographer was Steve Yedlin, a friend Johnson had met in film school who had been involved with the project since the script was written.[1]

Johnson had difficulty finding a run-down house for the Pin's base of operations.[2] The production found an appropriate house but only had a week before it was destroyed for a more upscale house. Johnson also had difficulty finding a mansion for the party scene until, with one day left to find the location, a former Telecom executive allowed them to shoot in his place which was still under construction.[2]

Johnson cited Sergio Leone Spaghetti Westerns and Cowboy Bebop as influences on his visualization of the movie.[4][5] He used shoes as a design element for his characters and saw them as an "instant snapshot of the essence" of the characters.[6] He has also stated that many of the film's visual cues were taken from the neo-noir Chinatown (1974) with its wide-open flat spaces.[2]

Special effects

The majority of the film's special effects were cheaply and efficiently produced using practical and in-camera effects.[7] Early in the film, for example, Emilie de Ravin walks toward the camera out of a tunnel as a garbage bag floats downstream and engulfs the camera, transitioning over to Joseph Gordon-Levitt back in his character's bedroom. To achieve this, the desired effect was filmed in reverse order. The garbage bag began over the camera and was pulled away during filming, as de Ravin walked backwards into the tunnel. This footage was then cut to a scene in which a garbage bag was simply pulled over Gordon-Levitt's head.[7]

Slowly filming a car driving in reverse, then playing the footage backwards at a higher speed gives the illusion of a car quickly approaching as the camera darts in front of it stylishly.[7] Clever fades give the impression of time changes while quick jump cuts add tension to a scene in which the protagonist wakes up after passing out. Certain edits were also introduced to the film to time footage to different dialogue, adding certain information and leaving other information out completely. These edits are noticeable, as the actors' mouths are not always moving in sync with their dialogue. One particular scene, in which de Ravin's character floated toward the camera, used a green screen, but it was edited out of the film far before its completion.[7]

Post production

The original cut of the film was over two hours long, although it was edited down to 117 minutes for the Sundance Film Festival. An additional 7 minutes were cut before the theatrical release, including a shot of Zehetner's naked back as she put her shirt back on after her and Gordon-Levitt's characters had sex. According to a post by Johnson on his own forums, he felt that the shot with nudity felt wrong in the context of the film, and that he preferred to leave the degree of intimacy ambiguous, although he occasionally finds himself second-guessing that decision.[8][9]

Score and soundtrack

Main article: Brick (soundtrack)

The score to Brick was composed by Rian Johnson's cousin, Nathan Johnson, with additional support and music from The Cinematic Underground. The score harks back to the style, feel and overall texture of noir films. It features traditional instruments such as the piano, trumpet and violin, and also contains unique and invented instruments such as the wine-o-phone, metallophone, tack pianos, filing cabinets, and kitchen utensils, all recorded with one microphone on an Apple PowerBook. Since Nathan Johnson was in England during most of the production process, the score was composed almost entirely over Apple iChat, with Rian Johnson playing clips of the movie to Nathan Johnson, who would then score them. The two later met in New York to mix the soundtrack. The soundtrack CD of the movie was released on March 12, 2006 by Lakeshore Records. In addition to Johnson's score, it contains songs by The Velvet Underground, Anton Karas and Kay Armen as well as the big band version of "Frankie and Johnny" performed by Bunny Berigan and a full unedited performance of "The sun whose rays are all ablaze" by Nora Zehetner. Johnson has confirmed that various elements in the film are influenced by Twin Peaks creator David Lynch.[8]

Home media

The Region 1 DVD release of Brick was released on August 8, 2006 as part of the Focus Features Spotlight Series. Special features include: selection of deleted and extended scenes with introductions by director Rian Johnson; audition footage featuring Nora Zehetner and Noah Segan; and feature audio commentary with Rian Johnson, Nora Zehetner, Noah Segen, producer Ram Bergman, production designer Jodie Tillen, and costume designer Michele Posch.

The Region 2 DVD was released on September 18, 2006.

Reception

Brick premiered in the United States on April 7, 2006 in two theaters. It opened to United Kingdom audiences on May 12, 2006 on a limited number of screens. According to the DVD commentary track, the film was made for just under $500,000. The film grossed USD $2.07 million in North America and a total of $3.9 million worldwide.[10]

Brick was released to positive reviews. It currently has a 79% "Fresh" rating on Rotten Tomatoes, derived from 134 reviews,[11] and ranked #35 on Entertainment Weekly's list of the "50 Best High School Movies".[12] Based on 34 reviews, Metacritic gave it an average score of 72 out of 100 ("Generally positive reviews").[13]

Brick ranks 489th on Empire magazine's 2008 list of the 500 greatest movies of all time.[14]

Awards

Year Award Category Recipient Result
2005 Sundance Film Festival Special Jury Prize: Dramatic, for Originality of Vision[2] Won
Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic Nominated
2005 Deauville Film Festival Grand Special Prize Won
2006 Chicago Film Critics Association Awards Most Promising Director Rian Johnson Won
2006 Independent Spirit Awards John Cassavetes Award
(best film production with a budget under $500,000 USD)[2]		 Nominated
2006 British Independent Film Awards Best Foreign Independent Film Nominated
2006 San Francisco Film Critics Circle Awards[15] Best Screenplay - Original Rian Johnson Nominated
2006 Satellite Awards Best Original Score Nathan Johnson Nominated
2006 Festival de Cine de Sitges Citizen Kane Award for Best Directorial Revelation Rian Johnson Won
2007 Central Ohio Film Critics Association Awards Best Overlooked Film Won
Best Screenplay - Original Rian Johnson Won
2007 Online Film Critics Society Awards Best Breakthrough Filmmaker Rian Johnson Nominated
Empire Awards Best Male Newcomer Rian Johnson Nominated

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Garnett, Daisy (April 30, 2006). "Drugsy Malone". telegraph.co.uk. Telegraph Media Group. Retrieved January 4, 2010.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Grady, Pam (August 4, 2006). "Bringing Noir to Nixonland". FilmStew. Retrieved 2008-02-20.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Tobias, Scott (April 19, 2006). "Rian Johnson". The A.V. Club. The Onion. Retrieved 2008-02-20. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  4. ^ "Brick Production Notes". Focus Features. 2006. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  5. ^ Johnson, Rian (April 19, 2006). "The Visuals of Brick". Rian's Forum. rcjohnso.com. Retrieved 2007-03-09.
  6. ^ "Seattlest Interview: Rian Johnson". Seattlest. April 11, 2006. Retrieved 2008-02-20.
  7. ^ a b c d Johnson, Rian (2006). "Brick DVD Commentary track". Focus Features.
  8. ^ a b Johnson, Rian (May, 2006). "Deleted Scenes and related questions". Rian's Forum. rcjohnso.com. Retrieved 2007-03-09. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  9. ^ Johnson, Rian (April 3, 2006). "Naked Laura". Rian's Forum. rcjohnso.com. Retrieved 2007-03-09.
  10. ^ "Brick". Box Office Mojo. Internet Movie Database. Retrieved 2008-02-20.
  11. ^ Brick, Rotten Tomatoes, accessed May 8, 2011.
  12. ^ "The 50 Best High School Movies". Entertainment Weekly. September 7, 2006. Retrieved 2007-03-09.
  13. ^ "Brick (2006): Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved 2008-04-02.
  14. ^ "489: Brick (2005)". Empire. Bauer Consumer Media. Retrieved 2010-01-01.
  15. ^ Moore, Miles David (2007). "The Most Serious Time of Your Life". Scene4 Magazine. Aviar Media. Retrieved 2008-02-20. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
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