Brick (2005)

Directed by: Rian Johnson | 110 minutes | drama, crime | Actors: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Nora Zehetner, Lukas Haas, Noah Fleiss, Matt O’Leary, Emilie de Ravin, Noah Segan, Richard Roundtree, Meagan Good, Brian J. White, Jonathan Cauff, Reedy Gibbs

Is it still possible today to make a good film with a budget of half a million US dollars? Are movies even being made for that amount of money? And what about in the United States? After all, it is a country in which big budget productions are selling like hot cakes, or in a less favorable case, let studios and directors go bankrupt.

Rian Johnson proves with his low-budget film ‘Brick’, for which he wrote the screenplay himself, that we don’t have to give up hope. It is still possible to get a movie in theaters for as little as half a million dollars in the movie world. A film that is more than worth watching. ‘Brick’ is a relief for those whose many mega productions are slowly coming to an end. The film features an intelligent screenplay and a pretty strong cast.

For fans of the TV series ‘Lost’, you can briefly enjoy the presence of the young blonde Emilie de Ravin, who plays the young mother Claire in that series. In ‘Brick’ she takes on the role of Emily. A role somewhat similar to that of Laura Palmer in the cult series ‘Twin Peaks’.

‘Brick’ is a socially critical film that exposes the drug problem among American students. However, this is absolutely not forced on the viewer. There is no heavy drama, on the contrary. There is plenty to laugh about. The film is full of comic characters and absurd situations. Nevertheless, it remains clear that we are dealing with a serious problem.

After seeing a movie like ‘Brick’ you may feel a little sad because of the situation depicted in the film and the problems many young people face. Still, the feeling of euphoria will prevail. Not only is it a great movie to watch, aside from the theme. The film is a drama but remains light-hearted and laced with humor. ‘Brick’ is also full of strong playing actors and actresses and knows how to captivate the viewer until the very end. Hopefully in the future there will be much to enjoy from this director and the new batch of actors such as Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Lukas Haas and Emilie de Ravin.