Threads, Embellishments, and Culture -- Brick

At first consideration, the term “culture” brings up connotations of national origin or ethnicity; however, Rian Johnson’s film Brick also harkens back to the culture of kingpins and mafia hits, guys and dolls, and the post-World War II disenchantment with previously established norms. As epitomized in popular Hollywood Film Noir pictures of the early 40s and late 50s (and in Ernest Hemmingway’s works) a wounded male (Brendan, played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt) acts in a hard-boiled detective capacity; he is just above the fray of morality and has a darker side. Two femme fatale characters (Laura and Kara) both help and hinder the protagonist on his mission. The system itself is not reliable, as is seen when Assistant V.P. Trueman (Richard Roundtree) is making deals with the student-protagonist. How close the criminal element is to the normal world when The Pin’s (Lukas Haas) mother is serving milk to the boys before the climactic violent finale. Further, the heavily stylized cinematography is a direct tie to the genre. From the plot itself and the dialogue spoken, to the director’s use of slant camera angles, jump cuts, vertigo zoom techniques, and a plethora of high and low angle shots, one wonders if the film may have been just as at home in the 1940s as it is today; one would merely need to exchange drugs for alcohol and show Brick in black-and-white.

The film also indicates the presence of multiple present day cultures; there is the high school, and within that setting, two separate cultures emerge. The highly affluent is presented in stark contrast with the impoverished, drug addicted poor. We see an opulent and modern home at Laura’s (Nora Zehetner) party, but The Pin’s home is a throwback to the 1960s - with wood paneling and shag carpet. Even the frequently filmed mailbox is battered and past its prime. Though all but one character (Brad Bramish) appears to be Caucasian, the drug culture (usually associated with ghettos) is very present in the film.

It's also interesting to compare the film not to a source text but to an entire film genre. While we cannot say how the plot and characters were adapted from a specific author's novel (as we were able to do with both The Killers and Brooklyn), our perspectives are broadened as to what is able to be adapted. For example, one need not be limited only to the Cinderella story, but rather, can adapt the entire Prince Charming saves the girl theme; this was accomplished in Shrek. How about the helpless beautiful princess that needs rescuing? This theme was adapted in the movie Brave, where the fiery-redheaded daughter of the chieftain needed no prince and is perfectly happy being single. In conclusion, Brick's ties to a genre in lieu of a source text open the viewer's eyes to possibilities previously unknown.