Brick. (Rian Johnson. 2005)

I love Film Noir. The more confusing it is, the better. The more beautiful and heinous the female protagonist, the better. The more guns, the better. The more smoking, the better. The more dirty one liners, the better (you get the idea). So I was very excited about seeing this post-modern take on the genre. Set in an American High School with Joseph Gordon-Levitt as the surprisingly resilient central hero on the trail of his sweetheart's killer, I was captivated by this from beginning to end. I had read reviews upon the film's release that expressed annoyance at the adolescents' wiser-than-thou repartee and I will admit that the film, true to its generic roots, is hard to follow. To be quite honest, I don't understand these kinds of critics. Don't they want people to make interesting films? And if they thought these loquacious teens were annoying, they obviously have never been subjected to an episode of 'Dawson's Creek'. Anyway, moving on...this isn't your typical post-modern parody because it employs the coordinates of the genre to full effect and doesn't send them up. In fact, I would argue that the whole convention of Noir suits the exploration of the teen experience perfectly: its confusions, its darkness, its melodrama and its fundamental loneliness. It was for this reason that I loved this film. p.s I also really enjoyed the hilarious scene with the Pin's mother and the apple juice (see this film and you'll know what I'm talking about).