Brick by Brick

Brick. Written and directed by Rian Johnson, and starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

I can't say that I enjoyed the movie at all. In all honesty, I didn't even finish watching it. I had trouble understanding what was going on, and I just didn't feel engaged in the story or connected to the characters. I actually didn't the like characters at all. And I didn't find them believable. Maybe if they hadn't been high school kids then I would've been able to get more into it. I also didn't understand why there were no cops whatsoever, even after Emily turned up dead (maybe that was explained in the end that I didn't watch).

As far the the theme of "Protection" goes, I could see how Brendan's character felt the need to protect Emily. He loved her and, even though they had broken up, he wanted to save her from this dangerous situation. I'm not sure that Johnson really presented this theme in a new or unique way though. Guy loves girl; guy wants to save girl; girl dies; guy goes on quest for truth and revenge. Maybe I'm thinking too two-dimensionally, but there wasn't anything about this particular film that stood out to me.

Bergman, R., Mathis, M., & Dynner, S. (Producers), & Johnson, R. (Director). (2005). Brick [video]. California, USA: Universal Studios Home Entertainment.