...And I like almost everything about it: the casting, the pacing, the music, the feel. I only had a problem with the dialog. Brick is clearly an homage to detective noir, but I wanted the dialog to sound like high school kids talking, not 40s slicksters.
Maybe the point is that outsiders don't understand kidspeak. I can accept that. I especially liked the scene wherein The Pin's mother serves Brendan apple juice. She is so far from and oblivious to the world right under her feet.
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Exactly my problem. But I sure do think Joseph Gordon- Levitt is a terrific actor after his and Mysterious Skin.
I definitely don't think the conceit of the movie was to accurately re-create modern high school kids' slang, or to just insert 40s noir-speak into a modern setting ("Bugsy Malone" anyone?).
Rather, it was an exercise in creating a new variation on classic noir-style dialogue--which was probably pretty obscure to most 'straight johns' at one time, itself.
Actually, it was not so much an homage to it as it was meant simply to be an old school P.I. film
The reason it was set in High School was to step away from the men in trench coats and fedoras.
From Rian Johnson (the writer/director)
"The reason it’s set in high school is, we did that to get away from the imagery of men in hats and what we typically think of for detectives. That’s all been done so well so many times over the years that the instant you see the imagery, it becomes pastiche when you’re doing a detective movie. I love film noir, but the thought of imitating it was not appealing. Brick is not set in high school for any postmodern twist or to make a comment on the genre; it was meant to free us up to take a more straightforward approach to the genre. We wrestled with the question of “How do you ‘do’ the genre today?” This was the weird approach that we decided on."
Now I admit I am biased in that I chose Brick as my film of the year for 2006. It was made in 20 days for $500k.
I thought it was a breath of fresh air.
I agree it was a breath of fresh air. I understood Johnson's intent and I thought the high school setting served him well, but if the film wasn't an homage, that's one more reason not to have the slick dialog.
I rented Brick, like you said. One of my favorites now. Might even buy the DVD when it's out. Armond White hated it. But he hates everything. This is just to say thanks.
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