Brick

Director: Rian Johnson

2006

Brick is a movie about an average boy, Brendan Frye, sent out on a classic whodunnit case, when his ex girlfriend goes missing. This is what could be considered as the closest example of a successful neo-noir. Film noir, a film category that was born in the late 40's and early fifties, with whodunnit plots and corrupt private eyes. This genre, born out of the German expressionist movement, heavily influenced by films like the Cabinet of Dr. Kaligari, relies heavily on it's mise-en-scene, but ever since we have moved into our era of color, noir seemed to have faded out, until this film came along.

I will pick out a few key scenes and describe their mise-en-scene. Right away, in the opening of the film, we have the protagonist, Brendan Frye in a phone booth. We, the audience has no idea who is the voice on the other end, right away this creates mystery and tension. To further the tension the film maker puts Frye inside a phone booth, a place, if your claustrophobic, heightens the tension even more. Add in the shakiness of Brandon's voice and the uneasy panic of the girl on the other end, and the scene becomes extremely tight.

When Brandon goes to his loyal sidekick, The Brain, we meet a quirky brainiac with a soft spot for rubik's cubes. With the thick framed black glasses and his fidgety mannerisms we have the mise-en-scene creating a memorable character. Also in this scene, we see Johnson's useof the classic noir language. Brandon and the Brain are tossing lingo back and forth, slang or some made up language even, that causes the audience to listen in a little closer, further creating a unique world that only this film can occur in.

When Brandon goes to meet The Pin, one of his many investigative steps which highlight classic noir formula, we only see The Pin's legs at first, crossed at the knees. The rest of The Pin is in heavy shadow, creating an extremely mysterious element to his character and an element of mystery to the scene.

Another example of the mise-en-scene in Brick, is the physical progression of Brandon's character. Brandon is a man on a mission who will stop at nothing until he gets his answers. He gets beat up throughout the film (like Spade, and other noir heroes) and it is noticeable. In the beginning of the film he seems like a very average kid, with a mop top and some bland clothing, but this sets us up to be surprised by the great lengths that he will go for information.  In the middle we see him dealing with bumps and bruises, and by the end he is coughing and vomiting, getting sick from all the blood he is swallowing.

Brick is a film, driven by a strong plot, that occurs in a world created by mise-en-scene. It is one of those films that you fall completely into, and you even get lost in that world, notiving all the small details. Each of its characters has ticks and flaws, The Pin's uneven leg, Brad Bramish's drug problems, Tugger's angry issues. Each and everyone in this cast is memorable which goes well with a film of such great success.