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'Brick': Noir formula gets a savvy teenage twist
by Steve Murray

Film noir gets a makeover in "Brick," a movie with a high-concept gimmick that works better than you'd expect. Writer-director Rian Johnson's big idea? To transpose the tough-guy posturing, bad-girl vamping and stylized language of classic black-and-white films like "Out of the Past" and "The Maltese Falcon" to the present day. And shoot it in color. And set it in high school. What sounds like a stunt, or a genre-mashup oddity like "Bugsy Malone," proves to be a sharp, tongue-in-cheek exercise, balancing deadpan menace with well-timed comedy. Read the full review

TO SUM UP
Brendan Frye prefers to stay an outsider in his Southern California high school, until the day that his ex-girlfriend, Emily, reaches out to him unexpectedly and then vanishes. Brendan enlists the aid of his only true peer, The Brain, in what quickly becomes a dangerous investigation.

FILM FACTS ...

Focus Features

'Brick'

Director: Rian Johnson
Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Lukas Haas, Nora Zehetner, Emilie De Ravin, Noah Fleiss
Run time: 110 minutes
Release date: March 31, 2006
Rating: R for violent and drug content.

On the web
Official movie site
View the trailer
Trailers require Quicktime

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READ THE REVIEW

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: B+
"... gives loving new life to a great, nearly forgotten genre."