Brick (2005) By Usman Javaid

Brick is a 2005 American neo-noir thriller film written and directed by Rian Johnson starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt. It was Johnson's directorial debut thats why it got a low budget from the production company Bergman Lustig Productions. It was distributed by Focus Features which is the division of media giant Comcast. The total production cost of the movie was $475,000. The origins of Brick were Rian Johnsons obsession for hardboiled detective novels. Johnson wanted to make a straightforward American detective story. He also wanted to disrupt the visual traditions that came from the genre. Johnson wrote the first draft in 1997 after graduating. He spent the next seven years pitching his script, but no one was interested, because the material was too unusual to make with a first-time director. Johnson estimated the minimal amount of money for which he could make the film, and asked friends and family for backing. His family were in the construction industry, and contributed enough to encourage others to contribute. After Johnson had acquired about $450,000 for the film's budget, Brick began production in 2003. Although the film was shot in 20 days, Johnson spent a great deal of time beforehand refining the script and three months rehearsing with the cast. He had seen Joseph Gordon-Levitt in a film called Manic, met with him and knew that he wanted the young actor. He encouraged the cast to read Hammett but not to watch any noir films because he did not want them influencing their performances. Instead, he had them watch Billy Wilder comedies like The Apartment and other comedies like His Girl Friday. He was initially nervous working with a professional cast and crew for the first time but as soon as he started filming, this feeling went away and he had a good experience. Johnson shot the film in his hometown of San Clemente, California on 35 mm film stock. Much of the film takes place at San Clemente High School, which he attended. He enlisted current students to work on the film, shooting on weekends. The cinematographer was Steve Yedlin, a film school friend who had been involved with the project since the script was written. Johnson had difficulty finding a run-down house for The Pin's base of operations. The production found an appropriate house, but only had a week until it was demolished. Johnson also had difficulty finding a mansion for the party scene until, with one day left to find the location, a former Telecom executive allowed them to shoot in his place which was still under construction. The majority of the film's special effects were cheaply and efficiently produced using practical and incamera effects. Early in the film, for example, de Ravin walks toward the camera out of a tunnel as a garbage bag floats downstream and engulfs the camera, transitioning to Joseph Gordon-Levitt back in his character's bedroom. To achieve this, the desired effect was filmed in reverse order. The garbage bag began over the camera and was pulled away during filming, as de Ravin walked backwards into the

tunnel. This footage was then cut into a scene in which a garbage bag was simply pulled over GordonLevitt's head. Filming a car driving slowly in reverse, then playing the footage backwards at a higher speed gives the illusion of a car quickly approaching as the camera darts in front of it stylishly. Clever fades give the impression of time changes while quick jump cuts add tension to a scene in which the protagonist wakes up after passing out. Certain edits were also introduced to the film to time footage to different dialogue, adding certain information and leaving other information out. These edits are noticeable, as the actors' mouths are not always moving in sync with their dialogue. One particular scene, in which de Ravin's character floated toward the camera, used a green screen, but it was edited out of the film before its completion. The original cut of the film ran over two hours, although it was edited down to 117 minutes for the Sundance Film Festival. An additional 7 minutes were cut before the theatrical release, including a shot of Zehetner's naked back as she put her shirt back on after she and Gordon-Levitt's character had sex. According to a post by Johnson on his own forums, he felt that the nudity felt wrong in the context of the film, and that he preferred to leave the degree of intimacy ambiguous, although he occasionally finds himself second-guessing that decision Brick premiered at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival. General release in the United States on April 7, 2006 in two theaters. It opened to United Kingdom audiences on May 12, 2006 on a limited number of screens. According to the DVD commentary track, the film was made for just under $500,000. The film grossed USD $2.07 million in North America and a total of $3.9 million worldwide. The Film was not that well-advertised because of the low budget but posters were put around New York subway prior to its release day. It mainly did its business by word of mouth and positive reviews by Hollywood critics.