(no subject)
I just watched "Brick" on DVD and I enjoyed it. For those who haven't seen it, it's a film noir based in modern day LA with high school students as the cast. Now this plot could be easily fucked up, like, way easily. So I came in a little skeptical. 5 minutes into the film and that skepticism was gone. The best way I think I can describe how the film played out would be comparing it to (and I know I don't have a lot of experience doing this, but comparing it to theatre.) The fact that it's based in a high school with high school kids is kind of like how you'll see a version of Julius Ceasar be set in 1930s mobtown. The dialogue of the characters was intelligent and unique, the story was intriguing. Basically you could have set this film in a new york gangster type setting and keep the EXACT same script and the movie would still be successful.
Now I don't know how I feel about this though. The setting took a backseat to the story and really had nothing to do with it. They were kids but they never went to class. Eating lunch defined social groups and notes were left in lockers but that was really the only connection the setting had to the story. The director was going for this disjointed feel between setting and situation for the purpose of saying that this sort of detective story could happen anywhere, but I think it fails in how it alienates the audience who come in with preconceived ideas of how high school students should act and this movie does not deliver that. I understand trying to break from generic conventions and to test the idea of 'what teens do in a movie' but this sort of thing has to be changed over time. An audience will reject a western that has the cowboy rapping a song, but if over the course of 5 years lots of films slowly begin to do this, the audience will accept that a new generic convention of the western and be able to accept that.
I may have just worked out my own argument though, as maybe the director is trying to set up a new convention in the teen detective story, but it may be too radical.
The other interesting part is that this film is a Film Noir. It has the protagonist who is a determined outsider seeking truth. It has the femme fatale, it has violence and deception. Brick holds very strongly to these tried and true conventions of a 'film noir' and it may be this clash between pre-existing ideas of what this film should be and the clash between the two that causes a strange sort of reaction in myself, and i'm assuming most viewers.
Now I don't know how I feel about this though. The setting took a backseat to the story and really had nothing to do with it. They were kids but they never went to class. Eating lunch defined social groups and notes were left in lockers but that was really the only connection the setting had to the story. The director was going for this disjointed feel between setting and situation for the purpose of saying that this sort of detective story could happen anywhere, but I think it fails in how it alienates the audience who come in with preconceived ideas of how high school students should act and this movie does not deliver that. I understand trying to break from generic conventions and to test the idea of 'what teens do in a movie' but this sort of thing has to be changed over time. An audience will reject a western that has the cowboy rapping a song, but if over the course of 5 years lots of films slowly begin to do this, the audience will accept that a new generic convention of the western and be able to accept that.
I may have just worked out my own argument though, as maybe the director is trying to set up a new convention in the teen detective story, but it may be too radical.
The other interesting part is that this film is a Film Noir. It has the protagonist who is a determined outsider seeking truth. It has the femme fatale, it has violence and deception. Brick holds very strongly to these tried and true conventions of a 'film noir' and it may be this clash between pre-existing ideas of what this film should be and the clash between the two that causes a strange sort of reaction in myself, and i'm assuming most viewers.