"You are Dangerous"

Everything I like about independent cinema can be summed up in Rian Johnsons Brick (2005). It is a stylish, noir thriller set in a modern day high school. If that sounds like a formula for disaster, well it could have been but Johnsons sure handed direction saved it from making a joke of itself.

I saw Brick in theaters when it first came out and couldn't bring myself to appreciate the sharp dialogue being laid out because it was being delivered by high-schoolers. If you can get over that aspect (because hell it wouldn't make sense for adults to speak this way) then you will thoroughly enjoy all the slang and banter that harkens back to the great noir films of the 30's and 40's.

Johnson had a great script and made it work because he knew exactly what he wanted. There is nothing fancy about any of these shots but they are cinema at its finest, they simply tell the story and show us everything we need to know. We aren't trying to solve the murder along with Brendan but we are enjoying watching him put the pieces together. Anyone with a small budget and a good script should watch Brick and study how he puts his shots together.

Johnson also had a great score provided by his cousin Nathan Johnson. The melodies along with the dialogue remind us of just how great film noir is. I hope other filmmakers take a page out of Johnsons book and make a fun self conscious movie using the basics of filmmaking. Brick is a film I can watch over and over again and never get sick of. I hope people seek it out and watch it.

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