Analysis of brick (2005 Film)Jessica Farey

Brick doesn’t conform to the generic convention of setting as it is set in an American high school.

The high school is where a lot of the action is set. A place filled with young students contrasts with the dark themes and storylines shown throughout the film so does have an effect on the audience. It is a total exaggeration of the idea teenagers are troublemakers. Other settings used are more stereotypical of the genre, for example the dark, isolated tunnel where Emily dies, the use of the highway (significant in classic noir films like detour) and the pin’s den (although this is comically contrasted with the rest of the pin’s home and his family’s oblivion). It is unusual that it is set in the suburbs as a lot of film noirs take place in deprived, gritty inner city areas. It makes the story (murder, illegal drugs, shoot outs) a lot more shocking because it is not expected of the area.

Characters

Brendan- The ProtagonistBrendan is the only one who doesn’t smoke or drink, which is unusual for the lead in a film noir. This could

suggest innocence. The film charts his downwards spiral as he looks for and discovers Emily who has died, this is shown through his costume (he wears white symbolising purity at the start

and his clothing gets darker throughout the film, his hair and clothes get messier and he is badly injured and covered with blood by the end).He seems to have a clear moral compass throughout the film, despite the events he faces. As he is a high school student, he is unusually young

for a film noir protagonist.

Laura- The Femme FataleWhen we are initially introduced to Laura, she wears red which connotes blood and danger. She dresses in a vintage style reminiscent of the original femme fatales in the 1940s and 1950s. Laura is very cunning and we are led to believe that Kara, who acts in the seductive and mysterious manner and wears the classic red lipstick, is the femme fatale. Laura appears to be helping (and flirting with) Brendan throughout the film as she was a close friend of Emily’s, however it is revealed she actually used Emily to cover her own illegal tracks and was the reason Emily was killed and therefore for Brendan’s downfall. She is selfish and motivated by power and money. She is undiscovered and when the film finishes, remains unpunished.

Other characters

The Pin is the drug baron who we see as the main villain throughout the film. He wears black which is linked with death and stereotypically worn by the antagonist in film. The Pin also wears a cape, adding to the mysterious villain aesthetic. Unusually, he is shown with a physical disability. His partner, TUg, is also one of the “bad guys”, acting violently and irrationally. We eventually find out it was he who was responsible for emily’s murder, although he wears white throughout the whole film. The connotation of innocence and purity contrasts with his nature, which adds to the idea of deception, common in noir films. Emily is the character who drives the plot of the film, however has little screen time. Her costumes are calm, pastel colours and she wears blue plastic bangles that are almost childlike. She is one of the few female characters in the film who is actually represented in a fairly positive light and we understand why brendan loves her. However she is used to illustrate ideas such as falling in with the wrong group, illegal drugs and teen pregnancy. Her tragic ending reflects the bleak, melancholy style of film noir. The Brain is another significant character who aids Brendan’s search for Emily. He wears glasses which show intelligence. The fact he stays safe and does not get caught up in the action and danger show the value of education. He is a positive character.

Camera

While most films try to make the camera angles flow smoothly and place the camera as discreetly as possible, Brick conforms to the convention of film noir that the camera often jumps around and uses abstract shots. These include canted angles and high/ low angle shots, particularly in confrontational scenes or fights with Brendan, Tug and the Pin to show the power balance. The framing is also unusual, somes the characters are put to one side of the screen instead of the centre to show isolation. Closeups are also often used, sometimes to show character’s emotions (mainly Brendan’s) and sometimes on significant objects (Emily’s diary, Laura’s cigarette). Sometimes these are point of view shots and the audience has to work out the significance of the object; there is little dialogue and a lot of facts are inferred so the camera must do the work.

The film is edited in a non-linear order and told as a flashback up until Emily’s death. Unusually there is no voiceover. Editing is also significant in fight scenes as the cuts are sped up to emphasise action, while they are much slower in the rest of the film as Brendan is still working out the facts.

Sound

There is little dialogue in Brick. It relies on the audience deducing what happens, so sound is important along with camera to enhance what is going on on screen. Foley sounds are used in mainly the fight scenes to make them appear even more aggressive and violent, for example gunshots and impact sounds which can be contrasted with the dull digetic sounds of school life such as quiet chatter and the bell ringing. These kinds of violent noises are frequently used for this effect in film noirs. The score is also important; it is haunting and uses a blend of classical instruments (like the old noirs) but also layers the sounds everyday items such as kitchen utensils and bells (For example in EMily’s Theme, previous slide). These make the piece sound almost haunting, and the overall soundtrack sounds more like from a horror film than a film noir. This contrasts with the type of music teenagers like those in the film would stereotypically listen to such as contemporary pop music. This is sometimes used in the background of scenes such as Brad’s party.

Applying Narrative Theories to Brick

Propp’s CHaracter Theory● The hero is Brendan, who seeks Emily

○ Also the dispatcher- seeks her of his own accord● The villain is the Pin, who opposes Brendan

○ Tug and Laura are also considered villains because they oppose Emily, therefore causing Brendan’s distress. Laura also doesn’t want Brendan to discover the truth

● The princess is Emily, Brendan’s “reward”● The donor is Kara, who provides Brendan

with information● The helper is the Brain, who give Brendan

the information he needs to track Emily● The false hero is Laura, who poses as

Emily’s friend but actually got her killed by making her falsely confess

Strauss, Binary Oppositions● Men versus women

○ Brendan feels like Emily, Kara and Laura are against him at some point in the film

● Good versus evil○ Brendan, the Brain (and Emily?) versus the Pin, Tug and Laura

● Life and death○ Emily and the Pin both die as a result of their actions

● Light and dark○ Contrast between day and night, the open school setting and Pin’s

den, the tunnel where Emily dies, the road

● Innocence and corruption○ Brendan and the Brain are innocent and initially oblivious to the Pin

and Tug’s drug ring. Emily symbolises the innocent becoming corrupt

Todorov’s Narrative Theory1- Equilibrium, Brendan is a regular high school student who has recently broken up with his girlfriend

2- Disruption, Emily goes missing

3- Disequilibrium, he discovers her dead body

4- Resolution, He finds the drug ring responsible for her death, there is a showdown

5- New equilibrium, life can go on as the Pin is killed and no drugs remain However due to the editing,

the film tells the story in the following order; 3, 1, 2, 4, 5.