MOVIE REVIEW: THE BRAVE ONE

09/13/07

Powerful, gripping, strong, emotional, aggressive, suspenseful, and thrilling. When a crime is committed against you, many times human nature will cause you to seek revenge against those that did you wrong. The severity of the vendetta is usually proportional to the severity of the crime. In the case of Erica Bain (Jodie Foster), a pack of wild homo sapiens attacked her and her fiancé as they were walking in a park one evening. It is a simple case of being in the wrong place at the wrong time but the outcome was far from simple. They were robbed, beaten, and beaten some more. They used fists, kicks, pipes, the floor, and the surrounding walls as weapons. They tossed the victims around like rag dolls and turned them into mush. Erica miraculously survived but her fiancé David Kirmani (Naveen Andrews) was not as fortunate. Going from picking out wedding invitations to no longer having your future groom alive because of a stupid mugging is enough to push anyone over the edge. Erica would never be the same, and how. The severity of her retaliation was self-consuming and she would not stop until she confronted her attackers once more. She inevitably became a unidentified vigilante in the city of New York bringing to life her own brand of justice.

The first sentence above describes my reaction to this movie. A lot of that is thanks to a chilling performance by Jodie Foster. I don’t think she can do a bad acting job if she tried. Actually, not only does that first sentence describe the movie, it describes Jodie’s character as well as her performance. I would be very surprised if she doesn’t get an Oscar nomination out of this. She completely commands every scene she is in. Terrence Howard as Detective Mercer does a pretty good job as well. He is the good cop trying to do his job, trying to make sense of this mess, and trying to figure out who this vigilante is. Terrence is a good actor in his own right, but Jodie is just too tough to keep up with. She is so perfectly cast as the victim type character, such as in The Accused, Panic Room, and Flightplan, that she has it down to an art form. The defenseless becomes the defender and later the attacker, and she is fantastic in each of these stages. She has by far topped all her recent performances.

What helps an actor go over the top is a good script. Writers Roderick Taylor and Bruce Taylor have provided a fresh, intelligent, modern, and realistic script that gave wings to the performers. The cinematography was also well done and helped set the appropriate moods throughout. Even though the story line was far from unique, all the other aspects of the film made it seem like a brand new concept. Even though the path of the film was predictable, the climax at the end had a slight twist that I certainly was not expecting. Wow, I really don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like that before.

Director Neil Jordan (Breakfast on Pluto, The Crying Game, The Miracle, We’re No Angels) has really outdone himself with this project. There was, however, a transitional gap between Erica as a complete gun rookie to an all-of-a-sudden gun expert handling it better than most. It was a little confusing. At times she seemed to have comic book hero qualities which I hope Neil did not intend. She needed to be more grounded to maintain the realistic drama of the story. But I forgive you Neil, for Jodie’s sake. I can appreciate the statement your making about this country’s justice system. I don’t know, what do you think . . . would crime decrease if we had more vigilantes in the world?

Review By Cine Marcos
cinemarcos@smartcine.com

People Movie Review The Brave One

vijay	100
one of the greatest performances of all time. Jodie is simply superb. The film has a lightening pace and never gets dull. The direction is smooth and the film has some interesting twists.

Judy	100
Jodie Foster does not get the recognition she deserves. I love her movies because she totally steps out of character. This movie had me applauding for her and crying at the end because I thought she might not get her revenge. Terrance Howard is also a subperb actor and sexy as always. Teaming these two was so enjoyable as both are great.

Nicki

100

I am not much of a movie goer but this one peaked my interest. I think Jodie Foster is the best actress that I have seen in a very long time. She puts everything into a movie and still shies away from the Hollywood life. I respect her in not getting caught up in all that glitz. She is so reserved and mysterious which makes movies like Brave One totally exciting. When she approaches the gate and wants her dog back I actually let out a scream at that scene. I didn't expect what happened and yet it tickled me that she didn't waste any words. The attacker didn't even have time to blink. The movie was beyond thrilling. The
ending was a real piece of work too. Who would have thought that one up.
Well done!

John	100
Jodie Foster is a marvel, taking an other wise well made (very well made) genre flick and making it masterful. Wow. Her first riveting role was as the young prostitute who was saved by the vigilante, this time she was the vigilante saving the young prostitute. Jodie is at the peak of her powers and one of the greats of her generation. Awesome.