JULIE ONI
Staff Writer
Nicknamed characters always signify an original story. Only well-rounded individuals can be crafted in such a way as to reduce their persona to one single word. If you look up the character cast listing for Rian Johnson’s new film “Brick,” you will find a plethora of epithets that can’t help but inspire interest in the story: The Pin, Tug, The Brian, Dode Big Stoner and Straggler are just a few of these.
The use of codes, AKAs and alias names augments the effective intensity of this modern film noir mystery drama.
The story begins with a murder, and from start to finish, the objective of the characters is to unravel the mystery of “who done it.”
Codes are used to depict the various meeting places, and every object becomes a possible clue to the mystery.
The multi-faceted Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays Brendan, a loner determined to discover the truth about the death of his ex-girlfriend, Emily (Emilie de Ravin).
A series of beat downs to Brendan by Tug (Noah Fleiss), another angry ex of the victim, and Brad (Brian J. White), the captain of the football team among others, happen. Brendan decides he can’t do it all on his own.
He joins forces with a gang led by Pin (Lukas Haas), a bird-obsessed cane-walker with no explanation of his supposed handicap (he may just carry the cane to maintain an appearance of authority).
Pin is the leader of a drug-dealing gang and decides to allow Brendan to help him combat the evils of their small-town world.
A verbal reason is never given for Pin’s nickname, nor is his real name exposed, but the symbolism of the character unfolds throughout the story: He works from his basement, where he prepares his business with “pen and paper” at a small wooden desk.
And there’s more. “Pen name” is another was to say nickname. Get it?
The Brian, Brendan’s inside man, obtains his significance through his title. This informant is not just Brian. He is The Brian. This simple addition
completely changes the importance of the character. The information he gives is crucial, and he is irreplaceable.
Johnson’s writing and direction create an atmosphere that allows the characters to become real, even in an extreme and somewhat unbelievable
situation.
Yet the determination of Pin, Tug and the rest adds credibility to the story. Under the circumstances, their actions are believable, and death, murder and
violence are not out of the question.
The tension among the array of characters also adds credibility to the resulting violence. Everyone is so determined to have his or her way that someone must be trampled over if anything is to be
accomplished.
Several successful films have nicknamed characters, but few are capable of utilizing these symbols as a crucial part of the script. In a mystery story, the birth names of most characters involved are a mystery as well.
The nominal identities of Tug, Pin and Straggler are not important. What is important is that each character has something that only he or she can offer, and that something is essential to
uncovering the mystery of Emily’s death.
These characters don’t need real names. Johnson has created magnificent archetypes.
And now, a final epithet of the story: the title. What, exactly, does Brick mean?
Here’s a small hint: It’s the most important symbol in the story, and there is no way you are gonna drag it out of me. Hurry to the theaters and discover the dynamism of nickname intensity and epitheted enemy-accomplices who breathe excellence into the mystery of “Brick.”
04-06-2006
