An example a modern adaptation of a film noir is Brick (2005). The film created by Rian Johnson is a neo noir which uses some elements a classic noirs but has many updated characteristics to it which are more in fitting with modern civilization.
The storyline of the film is based around the main character Brendan Frye (Joseph-Gordon Levitt) who searches for much of the movie for his ex-girlfriend in his Californian high school and then eventually the killer of his ex. The movie starts with Brendan seen looking at a body which appear to be the dead body of a woman in a stream near a tunnel. Following this the next scene set a few days before the first and shows Brendan upon finding a letter in his locker, going to a payphone, and on other end of the phone is his ex-girlfriend who sounds worried and hangs up mid call. Brendan sets out to find his ex-girlfriend Emily (Emilie De Ravin) and discover why she is distressed, however when he does track her down she tells him nothing is wrong and to leave her alone, although Brendan ignores her and sets to find out what she meant on the phone call when she said that she “didn’t know the brick was bad” and what she meant by “the Pin’s on it now”. As his investigations continue though, Brendan finds Emily’s dead body, and now he must find the killer.
With help from Brian (Matt O’Leary) who is a loner is school very much like Brendan who is himself an outcast amongst his peers, he discovers that the brick mentioned in the call referred high volumes of drugs in the shape of bricks which are owned by the Pin (Lukas Haas) who Brendan finds out is a drug dealer. After meeting with the Pin, Brendan decides to work on the inside with the Pin, but must also work with the Principle of his school, who threatens to put the killing on him unless he tracks down Emily’s killer. Throughout many of the scenes Brendan is seen is different fights and is shown to be able to defend himself. Before long working for the Pin, Brendan learns that one of the Pins understudies Tug (Noah Fleiss) was responsible for the death of Emily.
With help from Brian (Matt O’Leary) who is a loner is school very much like Brendan who is himself an outcast amongst his peers, he discovers that the brick mentioned in the call referred high volumes of drugs in the shape of bricks which are owned by the Pin (Lukas Haas) who Brendan finds out is a drug dealer. After meeting with the Pin, Brendan decides to work on the inside with the Pin, but must also work with the Principle of his school, who threatens to put the killing on him unless he tracks down Emily’s killer. Throughout many of the scenes Brendan is seen is different fights and is shown to be able to defend himself. Before long working for the Pin, Brendan learns that one of the Pins understudies Tug (Noah Fleiss) was responsible for the death of Emily.
In the finale of the film there is a showdown between the Pin and Tug (who previously fall out) as they meet to discuss future arrangements. The Pin blames Tug for contaminating one of the bricks and eventually a fight breaks out however Brendan had already decided to frame everyone present in the house. He calls the police to make them aware that drugs are in the house and puts Emily’s body in the boot of Tug’s car. The police raid the house and arrest people inside. The film ends with a twist as Brendan thinks that Laura (Nora Zehetner) - who is a popular girl at the school and helps Brendan in his various struggles in throughout is, is behind Emily’s death and the drugs being contaminated, although she denies this. The last scene shows Brendan and Laura on the school field as Brendan revealing he has told what he believes the truth to the principle and the police before he walks away from a tearful Laura.
Moreover the film portrays typical traits of film noirs, and one of these traits is evident in the film’s use a non-linear narrative, which was used in film noirs such as Double Indemnity and also contemporary noir film Memento. The storyline of Brick itself is typical to noirs it uses an enigma at the start which the audience are intrigued to see slowly unravel through the film. Also the central character to the film Brendan is seen as an ordinary character and not the usual hero but this was a feature to classic noirs with an anti-hero as the heart of the storyline. Brendan is dragged unbeknownst to him innocently into a world of corruption and crime in order to save Emily. Furthermore a typical scenario which is frequent throughout Brick is the role of the femme fatale, Laura on several occasions shows a sense of trying to seduce Brendan and attempts to a few times as well, the viewer is made to feel that Laura is devious and has more about her than originally meets the eye, and this is proved to be correct at the end of the film as Brendan reveals that he thinks Laura was behind the missing drugs as well as other corruption.
In addition Brick does send out certain messages and values to the viewer and an example of this is Brendan as requested by Emily’s going to the phone box this in turn is the trigger to what turns out to be a long spiral of unexpected events and unearthing of clues to Emily’s death. So through Brendan starting the chain of events in this ways the film shows to the audience that on wrong decision or just decision in general like Brendan’s to help his old girlfriend can lead to things uncontrollable spiralling in the wrong direction. Another message in the film is that mixing with the wrong crowd is not necessarily a great idea as Emily ends up being killed as a result of this. Moreover the anti-hero of the film in Brendan shows that although Emily died in the process it is possible for the normal person to achieve justice in life by standing up to people, not taking no for an answer and not taking things at face value which are all things which helped Brendan along the way.
Furthermore as I previously mentioned there are in Brick many typical film noir type characters. One of these is Brendan the anti-hero who is seen as an ordinary person drawn into a life of turmoil in order to find justice. Another character which is typical is the femme fatale, as I mentioned Laura is seen as this type of character, however another femme fatale type character is Kara she also looks to manipulate men, tries to seduce Brendan on several occasions and gives the viewer the sense that she is up to no good. Principle Trueman is seen as the authority figure of the film similar to the police in previous noirs and Keyes in Double Indemnity for instance.
The mise-en-scene of Brick is that it is mostly film in the daytime with some scenes shot at night and this is therefore where darker lighting is used. Moreover the use of a daytime setting can work to surprise the viewer also as it does at the beginning of the film where Brendan is on the phone and expectantly a car drives past and a cigarette is thrown out a car. This scene is set in the day although a night setting would be more tense but using this method the film surprises the viewer, as they wouldn’t necessary expect much drama in the daytime of a film like this, however in a later scene Brendan returns to the phone box at night and the night setting is used this time thus showing an example of the film using dark lighting which it does on occasion which links backs to film noir. Additionally on the main reasons that the film is mostly in the day is that it is set in a school so the hours of activity to work around in a setting liken this revolve around the daytime. This setting is unusual for this type of film and makes it a great example of a modern film noir as it takes the ideas first portrayed in noirs a step further, this adds different elements the characters for example the characters are much younger and perhaps more vulnerable, another thing as setting such as this achieves is that the characters are most likely to make mistakes such as dealing drugs as the Pin does.
The mise-en-scene of Brick is that it is mostly film in the daytime with some scenes shot at night and this is therefore where darker lighting is used. Moreover the use of a daytime setting can work to surprise the viewer also as it does at the beginning of the film where Brendan is on the phone and expectantly a car drives past and a cigarette is thrown out a car. This scene is set in the day although a night setting would be more tense but using this method the film surprises the viewer, as they wouldn’t necessary expect much drama in the daytime of a film like this, however in a later scene Brendan returns to the phone box at night and the night setting is used this time thus showing an example of the film using dark lighting which it does on occasion which links backs to film noir. Additionally on the main reasons that the film is mostly in the day is that it is set in a school so the hours of activity to work around in a setting liken this revolve around the daytime. This setting is unusual for this type of film and makes it a great example of a modern film noir as it takes the ideas first portrayed in noirs a step further, this adds different elements the characters for example the characters are much younger and perhaps more vulnerable, another thing as setting such as this achieves is that the characters are most likely to make mistakes such as dealing drugs as the Pin does.
Further mise-en-scene the film is dark lighting for the scenes at the Pins house for example. The costumes are mostly casual clothing for much of the characters which is in-keeping with the setting of a school, however the Pin wears more formal clothing which gives a sense of him being superior to other characters and in charge, Tug wear a vest which shows the viewers the type of character he is e.g. proud to show off biceps and thinks he is strong. The performance is largely of a social feel at the school with different groups of friends around the school. Much of the action in scenes is quite brutal and physical with many fights breaking out in the film.
The sound in the film is very much typical to classic noirs where certain sound are emphasised for effect in scenes. This method is used in the various fights scenes where punches can be clearly heard and the sound has an old fashion feel to it which links back to film noir. Furthermore silence is used in Brick is build suspense in different scenes and an example of the film use of this is when Brendan tries to break into Tug’s car there is a silence during the start of this scene top build tension.
Cinematography in the film involves many over the shoulder shots as Brendan goes round interrogating over Emily’s disappearance, this is used during exchanges with Kara several times and Emily also, this type of shot gives the audience the view the characters see through exchanges of dialogue. Another shot used continually is close-ups these shots help to establish the facial expressions and feelings of the characters. Low angle shots are used to make certain character superior also in the film and there are many instances where this is evident. This type of shot is used to show Tug’s authority over Brendan when Brendan is in the boot of the car and Tug is towering over him outside of the car, the principle’s authority over Brendan when Brendan is in his office as well as Brendan’s superiority over Brian during their exchanges where Brian is usually sitting on the ground where Brendan is standing up.
Another aspect which is important to Brick achieving the feel of being a contemporary noir is the use of editing. The film uses flashbacks several times to Brendan finding Emily’s body in the stream near the tunnel and the film is set in flashback from the start. This is similar to noirs which would at time constantly flash back to memories in characters mind. A further editing tool used in Brick is effects and a use of this is when Brendan attempts to break into Tug’s car and tug punches him there is a speed of effect added. The film otherwise uses mostly cut and continuity edits to go from scene to scene.
Another aspect which is important to Brick achieving the feel of being a contemporary noir is the use of editing. The film uses flashbacks several times to Brendan finding Emily’s body in the stream near the tunnel and the film is set in flashback from the start. This is similar to noirs which would at time constantly flash back to memories in characters mind. A further editing tool used in Brick is effects and a use of this is when Brendan attempts to break into Tug’s car and tug punches him there is a speed of effect added. The film otherwise uses mostly cut and continuity edits to go from scene to scene.
Since its release the film has received largely positive feedback with many people praising Rian Johnson on making a great film on a low budget. It can be argued however that you have to like this kind of film to be able to truly enjoy making it. This mood is echoed in the review of the film on Film4.com (http://www.film4.com/reviews/2005/brick).
Another review of Brick on ropeofsilicon.com makes the comparison between Brick and the classic film noir Maltease Falcon. Also the review looks at the whodunit element of the film which is a classic noir trait. (http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/article/overlooked-greatness-brick-2005)
Brick is generally considered to be a neo-noir as the movie takes many classic noir aspects and modernises them with a great end product in the film itself.
Finally I think the audience for Brick is likely to be of the younger generation who are into high action thrillers, although the film takes noirs traits it does in being set in a school naturally aim itself at a younger audience, however it could be argued that because of the links to noir that the film appeals to anyone who likes film noir or simply crime thrillers.
