User Comments for Brick

Matt (9 out of 10 )
One of the smartest, most well-made films in recent memory. This script is a beautiful blend of modern language and noir dialogue. A fantastic screenplay.

Buggar (10 out of 10 )
A fantastic blend of mystery and drama. A script that will blow your mind and leave you begging for more.

isaac (10 out of 10 )
This was amazing! Wow. I need to see it again.

MikeB (3 out of 10 )
I disagree. It was pretentious, poorly paced and poorly plotted. It appeared to be written by an intelligent high school student attempting to be hip and deep.

Nathanael (8 out of 10 )
Intelligent high school students can't be hip and deep?! (I am obviously one that tries to be those things. You've offended me kind sire!) :0 Mean. Anyway, I liked it, fun stuff.

Aadip (8 out of 10 )
Film Noir meets High School. Inspired. Some performances were a little stilted, but otherwise I thoroughly enjoyed it. Kept you guessing and even had the classic anti-hero.

tbone21 (10 out of 10 )
10 out of 10 (Excellent) chance that MikeB has bad taste in movies.

Zac (10 out of 10 )
I'm sorry, but I disagree with MikeB as well. This was an insanely awesome movie. And it proved Levitt can do more well than be the little one on "Third Rock from the Sun".

Lucky-12th grade (10 out of 10 )
This is the real high school. This is what everybody should be making, instead of comedies. High School is serious, not a big joke. This is my favorite movie of all time.

Tilbrook (10 out of 10 )
Wow! One of the most original films I've seen in years. It's amazing how well film noir and high school life fit so perfectly. I'd strongly suggest to anyone who likes this film to also watch the 1941 Bogie film noir classic "The Maltese Falcon", it's clearly a major reference. It even liftes dialogue right from it! "Brick" really is an absolute cult classic, one of those rare film that pops up every now and then and slaps you right in the face. Bring on the teen noir!

Barnaby (8 out of 10 )
I rewatched the Maltese Falcon right after seeing Brick and appreciated it even more than before. Brick captures events that really happen in high schools and blends it into a great detective story.

Peter (9 out of 10 )
I am training to be a filmmaker, so: I found it awesome as a film. Entertainment-wise, it did not touch most of my friends. They found it slow and boring. For me, I found it gripping. Secondly, I found it ABSOLUTELY hilarious. As for the comment about comedy, this IS a comedy for anyone who is either studying film or who at least knows about film noir! As my professor would say, in an Iranian accent, it was SO, so beautiful. So beautiful.

MortimerRandolph (10 out of 10 )
Superb! Even better than the film itself, which is saying a fair bit.

OK (5 out of 10 )
I agree with MikeB, although I loved the direction of the film.

Kya (10 out of 10 )
This is problably one of the most intellectual movies ever made. The concepts were unbeliveable, as was the script. I have had the best experience possible with this movie.

Styrke (10 out of 10 )
A great movie. The only downside was the distracting way that Tug walked (like he had a full diaper). Other than that, it's one of my favorite movies.

Jeavis (10 out of 10 )
I believe this movie is a great example of taking a specific genre and writing to the current generation. I know a lot of people who would never sit through the Maltese Falcon but they related to this movie. I thought it was a good way to get people who might never sit down to watch a film noir movie, enjoy a type of movie that is both sophisticated and thought provoking.

Daniel M (3 out of 10 )
The script was mildly interesting, although at times it felt very static. It frustrates me to no end when teenagers are portrayed as wise beyond their years. Even the wise ones are ruled by the same developmental issues that teenagers need to go through. Individuation, et al. Besides, there were motivations that never were explained. For example, uh, why would "Brain" help him and be his errand boy? Anyway, I could pick it apart until only the blank spaces between the words were left but I actually almost enjoyed it. Almost.

Jordan (9 out of 10 )
People who watched this movie without having a grounding in Film Noir conventions missed quite a lot-- like the people who used to watch *The Simpsons* (before it imploded) without knowing enough about pop culture to get the references that were made. People are always uncomfortable around things that they just don't 'get'. I don't mean to say that you couldn't have a legitimate problem with this film, but I find that most of the people who criticize it are just ignorant of the true aims of the filmmaker. (Daniel M, as you should know, a good PI usually has a devoted friend to help him-- even if it's just his secretary. And their to-the-death loyalty is rarely explained.).

Lauren (9 out of 10 )
As Jordan mentioned, if you haven't seen film noir before you are likely to miss what makes Brick so amazing. However, Brick was my introduction into film noir. I love the jargon, which I realize can be a turn-off for others. As Jeavis said, it is a great way to introduce none film-noir watchers into the genre. A great movie and script. I wish I could capture this type of dialouge so well.

Stacie (10 out of 10 )
Brick is my favorite movie of all time. The way the characters talk is amazing and interesting. There's so much slang that's both noir and modern. The characters all have cool names and are interesting. The plot is complicated and detailed. The females are seductive and dangerous. There are no parents that play any part of what happens in the movie. They almost dont exist. Everyone drives really nice cars. The symbolism is fascinating. Rian Johnson really created a whole little world when he wrote brick.

Josh (9 out of 10 )
Exactly Lauren. The writer's goal was to write a film noir in a high school setting. I think the movie does a great job in capturing this classic genre in a more modern atmosphere. Film noir fans can find better (not a ton mind you), but it's a great movie nonetheless.

Claudia R (4 out of 10 )
Hmm.. The emperors new clothes. I did not see what everyone else saw, but to each his own I suppose. I like black script as well as the next person, but this one tried too hard. What I liked? The camera angles were cool, the lighting was stellar, there were several great scenes and stories established without dialogue, which was great. Overall, I read these comments as Chicken little comments.

Si Venda (6 out of 10 )
To an extent I have to agree with Mike B and Claudia R that this can be seen as 'pretentious' and 'trying too hard'. I say this because whilst, yes everyone, he basically takes the film-noir template and translates it to a high school setting, I feel this film may have many audiences lost. Don't get me wrong, personally I enjoy the film although I do think it's over-rated and over-hyped, but all this is is The Maltese Falcon goes to school. Chinatown for teens. Throw in some sort of Sam Spade/Future-High School vocab and bang- its a movie!(Obviously I do realise the plots ofthe flms diher). I should mention thast I respect the fact that Johnson has made his script readily available, elsewhere you can find his extensive notes and even a short illustrated novella (if that interests you), great resources for budding writers/filmmakers. Back to the film though. For me, I think Peters comments explain things well: As a filmmaker in training he loved it, 'gripping'- yet his friends found it 'slow and boring'. I think truly great films manage to capture the wide audience, on different levels. (I'm sure a lot of you reckon it does that, I dont, just an opinion) For what it aims to do though, it's done well.

simon (10 out of 10 )
The point of film noir is to have a perfect script almost to the point where it doesn't even seem real. That's what makes this movie so great plus the camera the lighting and the humor. This is probably one of my favorite films.

Brandon Fairhead (10 out of 10 )
I read all the comments. It's Funny how the people who gave this script bad marks had less to say. This script is ingenious. It's super complicated and wordy but everything flows wonderfully in my opinion, not the type of movie to watch with someone who asks questions or talks throughout. You must pay attention to every second on your first go at it. Daniel M is being ridiculous however, its a movie and unless you are going for realism, every script is written beyond the abilities of the actor's, adult or youth. Most films do not include our natural stutters and breaks in speech and so forth. This is an artistic film and thus the noir styled riddles that make up the speech is spectacular. If your looking for realism in this movie then your reading it all wrong.

Alan Lee (10 out of 10 )
Brick is a gorgeous film. It is shot with enough close-ups to t make it the equal of any A film today. The mood and atmosphere of the film are consistent as the lighting of the film holds it all together. The locations in San Clemente were chosen carefully to create what was once called unity and coherence so it flowed with the story. I love film noir and I am writing a screenplay that will use Malibu in a similar manner as Brick. Rian Johnson's characters are brilliant updated characters of classic noir archetypes. I loved the "Brain" character. This a classic.

Add your own comment