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Brendan Frye: So now we've shaken the tree. Let's wait and see what falls on our heads.
Brendan is a loner and keeps to himself, until one day he gets a phone call from his ex girlfriend Emily saying that she needs his help and she cannot trust anyone but him. Brendan drops everything to help this girl who he still loves with all his heart. Emily denies that she needs help and tells Brendan that he would be better off to drop things and go on with his life. Brendan does not follow her advice and the next morning he finds her dead at the entrance to a tunnel. Brendan then decides the best way to get information is to pressure her new friends with questions and show The Pin ( a local drug runner) that he can be trusted. With the help of his loyal friend The Brain, Brendan looks for the truth but he may not like what he finds.
The Brain: When the "Upper-Crust" does shady deeds, they do them all over town, and the pitch is, they got these little symbols so they can tell each without word getting around
Brick is a tale of drugs, murder but most of all it is a story of undying love. Brendan has these strong feelings for Emily and she has moved on to a new group of friends and an unhealthy lifestyle. Brendan still cannot help but have feelings for her. Even though they are in high school and young he seems to have this heartfelt real connection to the one girl who wants nothing to do with him. Even though circumstances have made it difficult for him to be with her when she calls him for help he has no hesitations, he immediately starts asking questions and taking names. He gets the info he needs to try and bail her out, but unfortunately he is to late to do so and he is left investigating her murder and not knowing for certain which of her "upper class" friends can be trusted or not. Brendan is just an average guy who had his heart stomped on by a girl he really cared about. Whether or not you believe in high school romance at some point everyone feels what Brendan feels, but sadly unlike Brendan many people would not go the extra mile to help protect the ones they care about.
There is so much going on this film, it is easy to forget that the main setting is a California high school. There is never a shot of a classroom and there is no real evidence other then one chat with A Vice Principal that this film is set in a high school. There are so many times when you look at the situation Brendan is in you think that discipline would go way beyond a V.P. Brendan had played lead detective before and this is mentioned in his intensified chat with the V.P. All though Brendan had played detective in a case that involved high school students, but this time around it is clearly stated The Pin is a 26 year old non high school student. This simply just means unless Brendan can catch someone in the act of drug running directly on school ground there could be no punishment handed down by school administration.
Brick is a smart mystery film, it is careful with the amount of information it divulges at one time setting itself up for an ending that you did not see coming. People may try and claim the ending was predictable, but really there was no clues through out the entire film and the lead you in the complete other direction. You cannot just claim you could see it coming because you were blindsided by the outcome and you do not want to admit they had you fooled. It is okay to be fooled by a mystery, if you can call every little thing that is going to happen it makes for a boring movie with no suspense or intensity. The intensity built in Brick because Brendan had no idea which of Emily's friends he could trust and believe. He was getting bits of information and could never really know if it was the actual story or just another lie to take attention off of the real killer. When the film is all over it becomes clear how smart the mystery of Brick really is. Try being the one who wants all the answers and you are asking sketchy people the questions, very few people would risk their lives like Brendan did.
Brick had its own form of high school lingo. There are some times when they just get going in the slang words and you cannot help but remember some of the ones that your social circle used. There are words like bulls instead of cops. There are many more and the entire cast looks and sounds like high school students. Joseph Gordon Levitt looks younger then he actually is with the Harry Potter glasses and the long curly hair. However despite looking younger, Levitt shows a maturity in the role of Brendan that he has not shown in any of his other works. Levitt is able to capture the darkness that surrounds Brendan, and he is able to make Brendan real. He gives Brendan real emotions and real issues. Joseph Gordon Levitt gives the character of Brendan life, he gives him morals and beliefs and makes Brendan one of those characters we can hope for. Finally a character comes to life that only has good intentions and does not lose site of these intentions along the way.
Brendan Frye: No, bulls would gum it. They'd flash their dusty standards at the wide-eyes and probably find some yegg to pin, probably even the right one. But they'd trample the real tracks and scare the real players back into their holes, and if we're doing this I want the whole story. No cops, not for a bit.
Brick is a solid mystery, a film that makes you think. You will be blown away by the incredible acting, the hard hitting suspense and the twisted outcome will hopefully make you think twice about who you can trust in life.
Brendan Frye: I can't trust you! Brad was a sap. You weren't. You were with him, and so you were playing him. So you're a player. With you behind me I'd have to tie one eye up watching both your hands, and I can't spare it.
10/10
