Matt takes a BRICK to the face

"it's true - you have to see it!"


"stranger and stranger... this is one very cool mystery"

Brick (15)
Dir. Rian Johnson

Reviewed by Matt Adcock

“Ask any dope rat where the junk's spraying and they'll say they scraped it off that, who scored it off this, who bought it off someone; after four or five connections, the list always ends with the Pin. But I betcha you got every rat in town together and said show your hands if any of 'em actually seen the Pin, we'd get a crowd of full pockets.”

Welcome to the world of BRICK new director on the block Rian Johnson's strange and wonderful fusion of teen angst, neo noir and detective mystery – all wrapped up in an ultra stylish coating of David Lynchian unease.

Emily (Emile de Ravin) is a girl in trouble – too many lovers, too much of a drug problem, in with the wrong crowd – so far so Twin Peaks… So it’s not the biggest surprise when she turns up dead and is found by her brooding ex-boyfriend Brendan (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) outside an iconic drainage tunnel…
From then on Brendan his geeko pal ‘The Brain’ (Matt O'Leary) get to work cracking the Da Vinci deep conspiracy behind her death and cross paths with drug lord ‘The Pin’ (Lukas Haas). Mix this up with Nora Zehetner as a surprisingly believable femme fatale and Noah Fleiss as a heavy with attitude and you have an absolute winner. You have got to love the dialogue, it’s a mix of hard boiled detective speak and pure poetry:

“The sun, whose rays are all ablaze With ever-living glory, Does not deny his majesty He scorns to tell a story. He don't exclaim, "I blush for shame, So kindly be indulgent." But, fierce and bold, In a fiery gold, His glories all effulgent. I mean to rule the earth, As he the sky We really know our worth, The sun and I. Observe his flame, That placid dame, The moon's celestial highness There's not a trace Upon her face Of diffidence or shyness She borrows light That, through the night, Mankind may all acclaim her And, truth to tell, She lights up well, So I, for one, don't blame her. Ah, pray make no mistake, we are not shy we're very wide awake.”

Darkmatters rating system (out of 5):

Action öööö – cool, tense and satisfying short bursts
Laughs öö – this ain’t no comedy but has a couple of moments
Horror ööö – some grimness but nothing over the top
Babes öööö – hot women both dead and alive

Overall ööööö (One of my ‘films of the year’ for sure)

"In true 'Laura Palmer' fashion... girlfriend dead, let the investigation begin"

Darkmatters: H O M E