Brick as Neo-Noir

Brick, written and directed by Rian Johnson, debuted at the Sundance Film Festival in 2005. Inspired by the writings of Dashiell Hammett, Brick establishes itself as classic film noir set in a modern day high school. Unlike film noir of the ’30’s, ’40’s, and ’50’s, Brick utilizes natural light and uses color to draw emphasis. Johnson maintains the strong camera angles but positions them in a manner as if we, the viewer, are quietly watching, unnoticed by the characters. We are either sitting in a chair at the assistant vice principal’s office or looking

through an opening in the library stacks. On the other hand, the sound, characters and dialog remain true to style; the femme fatale, the heavy, the bad guy and of coarse, the dashing detective that will stop at nothing to find the truth.

Scene two “Fearless Flyer”, opens with an extreme close up of Brendan’s alarm clock, it’s red numbers ticking down to the time of the party at 9:00 pm. With a long shot, we see a huge house that fills the frame as Brendan enters the from the lower right, indicating his vulnerability as he walks towards the unknown. Once inside, specs of red appear and leave the frame but there is once constant, Laura, the femme fatale, with a red dress and red flowers in her hair. She sits at the piano and from the subjective perspective she remains in the center of the screen and we move forward. Johnson dissolves between Laura and Brendan who stands in a corner on the other side of the room. Despite there physical distance Johnson relays a closeness between the two characters. Brendan quietly saunters into the next room where the jocks are gathered. He remains towards the bottom corner of the frame, shrouded in darkness as he tries to watch, learn and not be noticed. Yet his antagonist (and Laura’s boyfriend), Brad, stands in the middle of the frame, holding the viewers’ as well as the party guests’ attention. With the use of jump cuts, Johnson establishes a triangle with Laura in the middle. To confirm this, Johnson returns to a long shot encompassing the room and revealing the physical triangle of the three as Laura links the two sides. Which side is she on? Illustrated once again in the scene, he creates a stronger sense of vulnerability and danger. In a close up shot, Laura and Brendan are sitting next to each other in front of the fireplace. Using a long shot Brendan stands and Brad walks into the room. The view is a low angle and looking up we only see Brad’s feet, Laura sitting and Brendan standing in the middle. He is in a place of contention.

Throughout this scene, Johnson connects Laura to Brendan as a possible allie yet her connection with Brad only raises questions as to her motive and intention. Who’s side is she on? And as any film noir fan knows, never trust the woman who’s still alive. Brendan remains in the shadows at the lower portion of the frame. The guests, in costume fill the middle and upper frame, while Laura and Brad are viewed in the middle. Establishing Brendan as the outsider in the lion’s den enhances the dark mystery of the story adding to the suspense and curiousity of the viewer.

As a fan of film noir, I was easily engrossed in the story. The dialog, laced with classic detective slang such as, “I got knives in my eyes” and “sniffing for me like a vampire bat for a horse with a nick on its ear that he can suck on” reminded me of the old movies I watched with my Dad, only these were people and settings I could relate. As opposed to the use of key lighting, Johnson places red within frames of warm tones providing a subtle indication of danger. I must admit at my first viewing, I missed this but immediately discovered it on the second. During flashbacks or at the location of the crime, the color turns cold and blue. Red is noticeably absent, except in one instance when an additional crime occurs. The attention to detail, most specifically that of sound, I noticed immediately. Most significantly during a chase scene on foot. Brendan, running for his life, has a light, delicate tap on the concrete which provides a steady rhythm. In between his step is the rough, hollow, thud of the heavy with a knife coming up from behind. Johnson’s close attention to the details that are film noir is a nice change of pace from the typical overdone Hollywood fare.