Brick

[Schro]

Rented this little bugger the other night and have been fascinated by it for a few days now.

 

I think it's one of the best screenplays of the year. When I later learned it was from a first time writer/director who scraped up the money himself to do the movie on a bare-bones budget, I was even more impressed.

 

The only name actor in the film is Joseph Gordon-Levitt, of 3rd Rock fame. I always thought he was the third (fourth really, I guess) wheel in that show, and never gave him another thought (other than he was ok in 10 Things I Hate About You). Here, he really comes into his own, however, and I have new respect for him.

 

Technically, there is one more name character, that suprised me.

 

20 minutes into the movie, this conversation took place..

 

Schro: I think Emily could be Claire's younger sister from Lost.

Wife: I think it IS Claire.

Schro: No way.

Wife: Way.

Schro: I bet you 10 bucks it isn't (I'm a high roller).

Wife: [jams the pause button] We're looking it up on imdb right now!

 

Few minutes later, wouldn't ya know! It WAS Claire from Lost! Later I learned that she had done this role before Lost, because it took Brick 3 years to find a distributor.

 

The script has several layers to it, some of which I only figured out after a second viewing. Watching it with the commentary was even more illuminating. (yes, I've watched it 3 times now)

 

If you hadn't guessed, I highly recommend the commentary - at least the first 20 minutes. It's not scene-specific, and at the beginning the director outlines how the movie got made and the struggles he went through being a first-time director.

 

The extended/deleted scenes also have good commentary. I almost skipped them but am glad I didn't.

 

If you rent it and are buzzing bonus features, there's an Easter Egg that has something to do with an "A" in the Extras menu (I missed this while I had it). I think it's one of the director's early attempt at a movie, so take it or leave it.

 

After, you've seen it, you might want to check out this forum: http://www.rcjohnso.com/forum/index.php

 

which has some good in-depth discussions of the film, kinda like Primer.

 

If you're still desperate for more after all of this, you can get the actual screenplay here: http://www.rcjohnso.com/BrickScript.html

 

(yeah I kinda got into this one)

 

 

Schro

Edited August 18, 2006 by Schro

[rushgoober]

did someone mention my name?

 

 

sounds interesting schro, i'll keep a lookout for this one. i still haven't seen primer yet (sorry pedro!)