Brick (film)

Brick
Company type	Film
Industry	Motion picture
Founded	2005; 21 years ago
Founder	Rian Johnson
Headquarters	San Clemente, California, United States
Products	Neo-noir mystery thriller film

Adapted from the English Wikipedia article Brick (film), available under CC BY-SA 4.0Updated 10 August 2025

Brick is a 2005 American neo-noir mystery thriller marking the directorial debut of Rian Johnson, who also wrote and edited the movie. The film stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt and was released by Focus Features, premiering in New York and Los Angeles on April 7, 2006. Set in a California suburb, the story unfolds as a hardboiled detective tale with the majority of characters portrayed as high school students. It heavily draws inspiration from classic hardboiled literature, particularly works by Dashiell Hammett. The title refers to a compacted block of heroin shaped roughly like a brick.

At the 2005 Sundance Film Festival, the film earned the Special Jury Prize for Originality of Vision and garnered favorable reviews from critics. Over time, it has achieved status as a cult favorite.

Plot

High schooler Brendan Frye receives a mysterious phone call from his former girlfriend Emily Kostich, who cryptically mentions a "bad brick," "the Pin," and "Tug" before abruptly ending the call. When Brendan cannot locate Emily, he enlists his friend Brain’s assistance. After an encounter with another ex-girlfriend, Brendan attends a party hosted by wealthy Laura Dannon and her boyfriend Brad Bramish. Laura directs him to Dode, Emily’s drug-addicted boyfriend, who arranges a meeting with Emily.

Emily denies any knowledge of the call, but Brendan secretly takes her notepad and soon discovers her lifeless body in a tunnel. Following a brief confrontation with an unknown attacker, Brendan conceals the body to avoid police involvement and begins investigating her murder. He uncovers that "the Pin" is an elusive local drug kingpin. To draw attention from the Pin, Brendan provokes Brad but is later assaulted by a thug wearing a beanie.

While attempting to break into a black Mustang, Brendan encounters the thug once more, who reveals himself as Tug, the Pin’s enforcer. Tug escorts Brendan to meet the Pin, who agrees to evaluate Brendan before deciding whether to employ or eliminate him. Laura admits she was at the Pin’s residence during these events and offers assistance, though Brendan remains suspicious.

The following day, Brendan learns he has been hired by the Pin. Dode confronts him, suspecting Brendan of killing Emily. At the Pin’s house, Tug reveals tension over stolen heroin bricks: one was returned due to contamination, while another remains unsold. Tug also confesses his romantic relationship with Emily.

Brendan intercepts Dode en route to a meeting and discovers that Emily was pregnant; Dode believes he is the father. During the meeting, Tug shoots Dode and threatens the Pin. Brendan loses consciousness and awakens in Tug’s bedroom, where Tug declares war against the Pin.

Brendan arranges a confrontation between Tug and the Pin; however, turmoil erupts when it is discovered that the tenth heroin brick is missing. Tug kills the Pin while Brendan escapes as police arrive, planting Emily’s body in Tug’s car trunk to implicate him.

The next day at school, Laura reveals that Tug died in a police shootout. Brendan exposes Laura’s involvement: she stole the ninth brick, framed Emily, and manipulated circumstances leading to Emily’s death after disclosing that Tug was the father of Emily’s unborn child. Laura counters by stating that Emily did not want to keep the baby and that it was three months along at her death.

Cast

Joseph Gordon-Levitt portraying Brendan Frye
Nora Zehetner in the role of Laura Dannon
Lukas Haas as "The Pin"
Noah Fleiss playing "Tug"
Matt O'Leary cast as "The Brain"
Emilie de Ravin as Emily Kostich
Noah Segan in the role of Dode
Richard Roundtree as Assistant Vice Principal Trueman
Meagan Good portraying Kara
Brian White as Brad Bramish

Development

Brick was conceived from Rian Johnson's fascination with the hardboiled detective literature of Dashiell Hammett. Drawing inspiration from novels such as Red Harvest and The Glass Key, Johnson sought to craft a straightforward American detective narrative, innovatively set within a high school environment. He observed that the archetypal roles found in detective fiction closely matched high school personas, allowing the movie to serve more as a commentary on adolescent life rather than a direct noir pastiche. Johnson clarified that the story was not autobiographical.

Following his graduation from USC School of Cinematic Arts, Johnson completed the initial draft in 1997 and spent seven years attempting to secure backing. The film’s unconventional style and his novice directing status hindered these efforts. Ultimately, he amassed roughly $450,000 through contributions from friends, family, and personal networks—with his family’s construction background aiding in attracting investors—and commenced production in 2003.

Filming

Although principal photography lasted only 20 days, Johnson dedicated three months to script refinement and cast rehearsals. He selected Joseph Gordon-Levitt after being impressed by his work in Manic (2001) and directed the actors to immerse themselves in Hammett’s writing rather than traditional noir cinema to avoid genre clichés. Instead, he encouraged viewing Billy Wilder comedies to influence their performances.

Filmed on 35 mm stock in Johnson’s hometown of San Clemente, California, much of the movie was shot at San Clemente High School, where Johnson had been a student. Current pupils participated during weekend shoots. Cinematographer Steve Yedlin, a frequent collaborator of Johnson’s, contributed to the project from its scripting phase onward.

Locations included local neighborhoods and a telephone booth prop set within suburban San Clemente. The production encountered difficulties securing certain sites such as the Pin’s headquarters—a house slated for demolition—and a mansion needed for a party scene, which was eventually provided by an eccentric collector of vintage pay phones.

Johnson cited visual influences including Sergio Leone's Spaghetti Westerns and Shinichiro Watanabe's Cowboy Bebop. He utilized shoes symbolically to express character traits and incorporated visual elements reminiscent of neo-noir classics like Chinatown, particularly emphasizing expansive settings to intensify atmosphere.

Special effects

The majority of the film’s special effects were achieved economically through practical methods and in-camera tricks. For instance, an early sequence featuring de Ravin emerging from a tunnel while a garbage bag drifts downstream over the lens was shot backward: the bag initially covered the camera and was pulled away as de Ravin walked in reverse; this footage was then edited to transition into Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s bedroom scene. A car moving slowly in reverse was played forward at an accelerated pace to simulate a fast-approaching vehicle with dynamic camera motion. Time shifts were suggested through clever fades, while abrupt smash cuts heightened tension during a scene where the lead character regains consciousness after fainting. Some edits were adjusted to synchronize with dialogue timing, occasionally resulting in slight lip-sync inconsistencies. A green screen shot featuring de Ravin’s character floating toward the lens was filmed but ultimately excluded from the final cut.

Editing

The initial version of the film ran over two hours but was shortened to 117 minutes for its Sundance screening. Prior to its theatrical debut, an additional seven minutes were removed, including a scene featuring Zehetner’s bare back following an intimate moment with Gordon-Levitt’s character. Director Rian Johnson later clarified that he eliminated nudity to preserve an ambiguous tone around the intimacy depicted, although he occasionally questioned this decision.

Music

The score for Brick was created by Johnson's cousin, Nathan Johnson, with input from The Cinematic Underground. The soundtrack pays tribute to classic noir cinema by blending traditional instruments such as piano, trumpet, and violin with unconventional sound sources like the wine-o-phone, metallophone, tack pianos, filing cabinets, and kitchen utensils. All sounds were captured using a single microphone connected to an Apple PowerBook. Most of the composition occurred remotely via Apple iChat while Nathan was based in England, with mixing completed in New York City. Lakeshore Records released the soundtrack on March 12, 2006, featuring Johnson's compositions alongside tracks from The Velvet Underground, Anton Karas, Kay Armen, Bunny Berigan’s big band rendition of "Frankie and Johnny", and a full version of "The sun whose rays are all ablaze" performed by Nora Zehetner. Johnson acknowledged that the work was influenced by Twin Peaks creator David Lynch.

Home media

The Region 1 DVD edition of Brick was made available on August 8, 2006, as part of the Focus Features Spotlight Series. It includes deleted and extended scenes introduced by Johnson; audition tapes featuring Nora Zehetner and Noah Segan; and an audio commentary track with Rian Johnson, cast members, producer Ram Bergman, production designer Jodie Tillen, and costume designer Michele Posch.

The Region 2 DVD release followed on September 18, 2006.

A Blu-ray version was issued on January 7, 2020, by Kino Lorber, overseen by Johnson and cinematographer Steve Yedlin. This edition offered a newly remastered high-definition transfer and had originally been planned for release in May 2019.

Box office

Brick had its U.S. premiere on April 7, 2006, playing in just two theaters initially, and later opened in the U.K. on May 12, 2006 with a limited theatrical run. Made on a budget of $450,000, it earned roughly US$2.07 million domestically and accumulated $3.9 million globally.

Critical response

With an approval rating of 80% based on 143 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes, Brick holds an average rating of 7.10/10. The consensus commends it as "an entertaining homage to noirs past, updated to a contemporary high school setting." It was ranked number 35 on Entertainment Weekly’s list of the "50 Best High School Movies."Metacritic assigned the film a score of 72 out of 100 from 34 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.

Roger Ebert from the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film three stars out of four, praising its rich dialogue and events despite some narrative ambiguity. He identified the principal weakness as the characters’ lack of credibility, which diminished viewer connection. Likewise, Peter Travers of Rolling Stone offered a positive critique, applauding Rian Johnson’s bold approach in delivering a gritty and earnest story rather than opting for parody.

Stephen Holden at The New York Times noted that although the lead performances effectively embodied their roles, the heavy use of period-specific slang created a sense of detachment for audiences.

In 2008, Brick was placed at number 489 on Empire magazine's list of the 500 greatest films ever made.

Accolades

Year	Award	Category	Honoree	Outcome
2005	Sundance Film Festival	Special Jury Prize: Dramatic, for Originality of Vision	Brick	Template:Won
2005	Sundance Film Festival	Grand Jury Prize: Dramatic		Template:Nom
2005	Deauville Film Festival	Grand Special Prize		Template:Won	Brick
2006	Chicago Film Critics Association Awards	Most Promising Director	Rian Johnson	Template:Won
2006	Independent Spirit Awards	John Cassavetes Award	Brick	Template:Nom
2006	San Francisco Film Critics Circle Awards	Best Screenplay – Original	Rian Johnson	Template:Nom
2006	Satellite Awards	Best Original Score	Nathan Johnson	Template:Nom
2006	Sitges Film Festival	Citizen Kane Award for Best Directorial Revelation	Rian Johnson	Template:Won
2007	Central Ohio Film Critics Association Awards	Best Overlooked Film	Brick	Template:Won
2007	Central Ohio Film Critics Association Awards	Best Screenplay – Original	Rian Johnson	Template:Won
2007	Online Film Critics Society Awards	Best Breakthrough Filmmaker	Rian Johnson	Template:Nom
2007	Empire Awards	Best Male Newcomer	Rian Johnson	Template:Nom

External links

On-set photographs from the movie
Comprehensive discussion of Brick at Out of the Past: Investigating Film Noir
Brick Review featured on JoBlo
"The Young Man and the Screenplay" – Interview by Writers Guild of America