An outcast James Dean-like character, fistfights, and a conspiracy involving an ex-girlfriend. Humphrey Bogart dialogue, romantic piano bar music, and the desire and need for redemption through revealing the truth. Sounds like a 50's classic film. To tie it all together, where does this story take place, but in a modern High School setting. The first question that crosses most minds is, how will this work? If it doesn't work, it will be a complete waste of time. On the other hand, if it does work, it could be worth all the time in the world.

"Brick" is based around Brendan (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) who is in search of the individual who is responsible for the death of his ex-girlfriend, Emily (Emelie de Ravin). Connecting the dots, Brendan is led to, The Pin (Lukas Haas), a local drug dealer. Along the way, he meets various characters who test his determination and push him further into the world that reveals more traces of Emily's existence and clues to the truth of her last days.

The fascinating thing about "Brick" was the mixing of a modern high school drama with 40's and 50's film noir, which are two subjects that usually work only within their own setting. First of all, why would any adult be interested in High School? No adult wants to relive the shallow years of clicks and popularity contests. And why would any average teenager be interested in a 40's detective film, with the staged dialogue and cheesy endings when the camera zooms in on the final goodbye kiss. It's safe to assume that mixing the two genres would alienate both audiences.

The most obvious oddity was the dialogue, but, Joseph Gordon-Levitt made the awkward dialogue seem completely natural as he rattled off his portion of the script with confidence and ease. This could not have been an easy task. For example, acting on a High School football field, yet speaking as though wearing a tuxedo in a smoky jazz club next to Ingrid Bergman.

As the dialogue, storyline and camera angles were contrasted by the high school environment, the qualities of film noir were accented. The film became not just a movie, but also a study of film noir, as well. Orson Welles in his own film, "The Third Man" or Humphrey Bogart in John Huston's "Maltese Falcon" do not accent the uniqueness of the genre, since the characteristics seem natural in those settings. First time director, Rian Johnson, turned "Brick" into a study of the 40's mystery genre by adapting the film noir qualities into a contrasting setting, making it impossible for the film to fall back on the environment as a crutch. Instead of the usual dark alleys, smoky bars and mysterious warehouse offices the film used a mall parking lot, high school costume party, and a parent's basement.

The actors had to know how to act, without going too far and looking silly and out of place. The storyline had to be adapted to a high school lifestyle, while capturing the twists and turns of a film noir mystery. Balancing the two styles was successfully accomplished without looking out of place. 15 minutes into the film, the audience is comfortably enjoying themselves after getting used to the unusual dialogue and mysteriously vague storyline.

Some critics have accused the film of being emotionally distant. Film noir is known for its cold and reserved main character. "Brick" did an excellent job with Brendan, giving him a reserved mystery about him. There seemed to always be another level of reason and cause behind his actions and decisions. An article on Crimeculture.com, lists the following four key characteristics of the film noir genre:

(i) A subjective point of view: "Brick" follows the feelings and psychological breakdown of Brendan as he investigates Emily's death.

(ii) Shifting roles of the protagonist: Brendan moves from one group to the next, building his reputation on each side, never forgetting his ultimate, selfish purpose.

(iii) Ill-fated relationship between the protagonist and society (generating the themes of alienation and entrapment): An outcast by choice, Brandan hates the world and everyone in it, affecting his relationships and reputation at the High School.

(iv) Noir (often) functions as a socio-political critique: "Brick" does not necessarily critique society or politics, since the purpose of the film is to study the characteristics of film noir, rather than make a socio-political comment.

"Brick" is a movie that needs to be looked at from the unique view of a film study. The viewer is meant to enjoy the differences between High School and Humphrey Bogart. The purpose of the film is not to be a classic, but to be admired as a creative project and a How-To on successfully mixing genres, cultures and generations in film.