2008 Woodie Awards
Reviews of three must-see DVDs
Jennie Drumheller
Issue date: 11/9/06 Section: Arts and Entertainment
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Brick (2005) - "Brick" is film noir brilliance set in high school with Joseph Gordon-Levitt, all grown up and surprisingly strong as a leading man, as the Sam Spade of the high school set. In the opening scene we see him squatting next to a stream with his head in his hands. What is he looking at? The dead body of a young blonde who we later learn is his ex-girlfriend (played by Emilie de Ravin of "Lost"). Flash back two days before, when Brendan, an intelligent yet cynical high school student, self-exiled into a world of eating lunch alone behind a building by the garbage cans, gets a note from Emily asking for help. A frightened phone call follows punctuated by incoherent references to a "brick" and "the pin" and this prompts Brendan, who still clearly loves her, to try to find her and help her. He dives into the world of the jocks and socialites who run the drug business as a way to get closer to "the pin," a sort of urban legend who runs the drug business in the small town. "Brick" is a high school film but it also has the makings of a great noir classic. There are the subtle references to "The Maltese Falcon" and the not so subtle references to all the basics of the genre. There are the femme fatales (Meagan Good as the vamp Kara and Nora Zehetner as the rich maybe good girl Laura (and Zehetner, coincidentally, is playing a bad girl hiding as a good girl in Heroes these days as well)), an underworld kingpin (Lukas Haas), and handful of assorted thugs and psychos in the completely amoral teenage world. Levitt is perfect, battered physically and emotionally; he manages to remain cool while playing all sides against each other in an effort to achieve some justice for the girl he once loved. The dialogue is rapid-speed with the street slang thrown in so that at times it's incoherent but at other times comes across as stylized and completely cool. This film has all the makings of a cult classic.
High Tension (2005) - Perhaps the only lesbian leaning psychological gore-fest I've ever seen, "High Tension" was directed and written by the brilliant Alexandre Aja (who also did the remake of "The Hills Have Eyes" and who, along with Rob Zombie, is one of the only people I trust to make great horror movies today). This film is a bleak, intense, stylized bloodbath. After witnessing the massacre of an entire family at their isolated French country home, a young student (Cecile de France) goes in pursuit of the psychopath (Philippe Nahon) who has taken her promiscuous best friend (Maiwenn Le Besco) hostage. Aja is clearly in love with this genre. The dialogue is at a minimum, which strikes a level on intensity that few horror movies have achieved in recent years. The use of music is foreboding and masterful. The pace is frantic, the splendors of rural France still shining through. De France gives an unrestrained performance against the unstoppable psychopath who proceeds to steal her innocence during the length of the film. There are hints that the filmmaker drops throughout the film of what is to come. If you pick up on them then the ending won't be too shocking. It's an ending that you can see coming, yet it is still a wonderful moment. There is that one single moment that just completely reverses everything you thought you knew. I'm sure some will complain about the climax, which may seem to come out of left field, but those protests are groundless. In fact, the end is a jaw-dropping sleight of hand, which completely keeps with the off-kilter intentions of the director. Most viewers will relish the chance to watch the film again and dissect the narrative and follow the subtly planted clues. Listen to the dialogue. There's not much of it so what these characters are saying is important in figuring out what's to come. Hooper and Carpenter and Craven would be so proud.
High Tension (2005) - Perhaps the only lesbian leaning psychological gore-fest I've ever seen, "High Tension" was directed and written by the brilliant Alexandre Aja (who also did the remake of "The Hills Have Eyes" and who, along with Rob Zombie, is one of the only people I trust to make great horror movies today). This film is a bleak, intense, stylized bloodbath. After witnessing the massacre of an entire family at their isolated French country home, a young student (Cecile de France) goes in pursuit of the psychopath (Philippe Nahon) who has taken her promiscuous best friend (Maiwenn Le Besco) hostage. Aja is clearly in love with this genre. The dialogue is at a minimum, which strikes a level on intensity that few horror movies have achieved in recent years. The use of music is foreboding and masterful. The pace is frantic, the splendors of rural France still shining through. De France gives an unrestrained performance against the unstoppable psychopath who proceeds to steal her innocence during the length of the film. There are hints that the filmmaker drops throughout the film of what is to come. If you pick up on them then the ending won't be too shocking. It's an ending that you can see coming, yet it is still a wonderful moment. There is that one single moment that just completely reverses everything you thought you knew. I'm sure some will complain about the climax, which may seem to come out of left field, but those protests are groundless. In fact, the end is a jaw-dropping sleight of hand, which completely keeps with the off-kilter intentions of the director. Most viewers will relish the chance to watch the film again and dissect the narrative and follow the subtly planted clues. Listen to the dialogue. There's not much of it so what these characters are saying is important in figuring out what's to come. Hooper and Carpenter and Craven would be so proud.