Brick (2005 Film) Analysis
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Analysis of the 2005 neo-noir film Brick for A2 media studies (covers ideas of; character, setting, camera, sound, editing, narrative theory).
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Brick (2005 Film) Analysis
- 2. Brick doesn’t conform to the generic convention of setting as it is set in an American high school.
- 4. Characters
- 5. Brendan-TheProtagonistBrendan 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.
- 6. Laura-TheFemmeFatale When 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.
- 9. Camera
- 10. 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.
- 11. 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.
- 12. Sound
- 15. Propp’sCHaracterTheory ● 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
- 16. Strauss,BinaryOppositions ● 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
- 17. Todorov’sNarrativeTheory 1- 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.