Brick (2005)
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A high school student becomes entangled in a dangerous drug underworld after receiving a mysterious call from his ex-girlfriend.
The story
High school student Brendan Frye receives a desperate phone call from his ex-girlfriend, Emily Kostich, who mentions a 'bad brick' and a 'Pin' before hanging up. To find her, Brendan enlists the help of his friend Brain and navigates a web of local connections involving a party and a drug-addicted acquaintance. The narrative follows Brendan as he attempts to navigate a gritty, hardboiled detective story set within a California suburb, where the primary players are high school students. He soon finds himself caught between various factions and individuals involved in a dangerous underground operation, all while trying to uncover the truth behind Emily's situation.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
After receiving a cryptic call from his ex-girlfriend Emily, Brendan Frye begins an investigation that leads him into a dangerous underworld. He discovers Emily's body in a tunnel and hides it to avoid police involvement. He learns that 'the Pin' is a local kingpin and that Emily had stolen a 'brick' of heroin. Brendan is eventually hired by the Pin, while simultaneously being pressured by Dode, who believes Brendan killed Emily. The plot thickens as Brendan learns of the Pin's internal conflicts with an enforcer named Tug. After a series of violent encounters and a tense meeting where the truth about the missing tenth brick is revealed, Tug kills the Pin. Brendan eventually discovers that his friend Laura had manipulated the situation to cover her own theft. The film concludes with Brendan revealing the location of the stolen drugs to the school administration, while the final scene shows him and his friend watching Laura walk away.
- First release year
- 2005
- Runtime (minutes)
- 110
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- Rian Johnson
- Writers
- Rian Johnson · writer
- Cast and characters
- Joseph Gordon-Levitt · Brendan Frye; Nora Zehetner · Laura Dannon; Lukas Haas · The Pin; Noah Fleiss · Tug; Matt O'Leary · The Brain; Emilie de Ravin · Emily Kostich; Noah Segan · Dode; Richard Roundtree · Assistant Vice Principal Trueman; Meagan Good · Kara; Brian White · Brad Bramish
- Genres
- mystery; thriller; neo-noir
- Themes
- loyalty; betrayal; identity
- Tone and mood
- hardboiled; tense
- Premise and plot tags
- high school; drug trade; mystery
- Reception
- The film received positive reviews from critics and has been regarded as a cult classic.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 80% · scale: percentage · review count: 143; Metacritic · score: 72 · scale: 100
- Awards and nominations
- Special Jury Prize for Originality of Vision · Sundance Film Festival · 2005 · Won
- Production trivia
- The title refers to a block of heroin.; The film was shot in 20 days.; The original cut of the film ran over two hours.
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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