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Moriarty Pulls A Gun On Jodie Foster In THE BRAVE ONE!
Hey, everyone. “Moriarty” here.
As remakes go, THE BRAVE ONE is very strange. The original, written by Dalton Trumbo, was an oddly heartwarming story of a little boy obsessed with bullfighting who runs away from home so he can go see his favorite bull. Unless I stepped out of the room and missed something, there’s not a single bull in Neil Jordan’s new version of...
... hold on a moment...
... okay, it appears I am insane. Obviously, this new Jodie Foster vehicle is not a remake at all, but considering how the title of the film means absolutely nothing in regards to the film, it seems strange that they would use the title of a beloved classic that won Trumbo a Best Screenplay Oscar.
All silliness aside, this practically is a gender-switched remake of DEATH WISH, and it’s a troubling film on several levels. Technically, it’s quite accomplished. At this point in his career, Neil Jordan could direct home videos of midgets giving handjobs to homeless people, and I have no doubt they would be visually commanding and well worth watching. But all the technical sophistication in the world can’t salvage the bubble-headed script by Roderick Taylor & Bruce A. Taylor and Cynthia Mort.
Similarly, both Jodie Foster and Terrence Howard do good work in the film. I think Howard gets more and more confident as he gets more exposure, and when you put him up against a strong performer, he gives as good as he gets. There are few actors working today who are able to wear their emotions as close to the skin as Foster, and so she makes a hell of a match for Howard. Unfortunately, as I said, there’s that script to contend with, and all the great acting in the world can’t cover the problems that are inherent to the material.
What problems? Well, it depends on what you want from the movie. If you’re just looking for a morally-confused action film in which Jodie Foster shoots some fuckers, then THE BRAVE ONE will probably more than satisfy you.
But if you think that a film like this has an obligation to at least explore the ideas that it raises, then THE BRAVE ONE will probably disappoint you as much as it disappointed me. I know that when I saw it on Monday night, the audience applauded several scenes in the film, and that visceral reaction is a testament to just how effective Jordan was at putting this together. But the way the film is structured, and the way the film is played, it’s obvious that there’s some comment that the filmmakers are trying to make about violence and revenge and our gun culture. It’s just that they have no idea how to clarify those ideas. The film seems to want it both ways... they want the emotional kick of shooting scumbags, but they also want to ladle on the angst and remorse. Considering the way the film ends, these two wants couldn’t be less resolved. Essentially, the film lets everyone off the hook and resets everything, meaning there’s no moral weight at all to the actions in the film.
This is one of those movies where conservatives can attack the film for pushing a liberal agenda, and liberals can attack the film for being uncomfortably conservative. That should be a clear indicator that the film doesn’t work in terms of message. And, no, not every film needs to have a message. But if it’s not going to actually say something significant, it would be nice if this at least worked dramatically. I think what I found most annoying is the way revenge actually seems to be such a small part of the film. For a revenge fantasy, this film seems to forget about revenge until late in the game. Most of the violence that Foster commits is against random people. The first person she kills is a robber in a convenience store that she just happens to walk into. The second incident takes place on a subway, where a group of black kids inexplicably escalate from stealing an iPod to almost raping Foster with a knife in about three minutes. And then the third incident, the silliest in the whole film, involves an underage hooker and a dude in a car, and it’s almost comical how random Foster’s involvement is, and how over-the-top the violence becomes.
In the end, a film like this will probably make some coin, and I’m sure some people will enjoy it for the bits and pieces that work. Nicky Katt deserves to be singled out for the work he does here, which should come as no surprise. He’s become one of the most reliable character actors out there in terms of nailing a punchline.
But I can’t help feeling like this is a missed opportunity, a botched job. I don’t understand how such wafer-thin material attracts Jordan and Foster and Howard, or how they shot it without demanding something more. The only name that really makes sense in the credits is Joel Silver, and if this is him making a bid for credibility and respect by hiring classier cohorts than normal, then maybe next time he’ll remember to give them something to do that’s worthy of all the talent he brought to the table.
Drew McWeeny, Los Angeles
Drew McWeeny, Los Angeles
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Ain't gonna say it.
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I preferred Neil Jordan when he was making Steve Guttenberg movies. THE BRAVE ONE? Jodie Foster playing the same character yet again...
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Jodie's looking weird these days. She looks like a wet raccoon in the trailer for this movie.
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why she is considered a "vigilante." In the trailers it just shows the scene of her in the subway with a knife to her neck, which would seem to be a clear case of self-defense.
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I want to see Jodie in a movie where she and Helen Hunt are sisters competing for the love of the same woman.
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Lenny and Lisa must be real proud that their lil' girl done grow'd up real nice.
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Stop using that term. Seriously.
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silhouette of Foster walking her dog away from camera--most likely after a cryptic, subtext-laden exchange with Howard.
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from Buddyhead:
Oh, and without telling too much of a really long boring story… we had a run-in with some actor dork named Nicky Katt who was in Dazed and Confused for like 30 seconds and thinks he’s a superstar cuz of it. Dude was bogarting the I-pod at a party we happened to end up at, and was THAT GUY all night. You know what we’re talking about. Homeboy kept playing the first 45 seconds of “Sweet Child Of Mine” and then starting it over. Dude tried to not let us change it, and then proceeded to tell us how he was in a Quentin Tarantino movie, and how tight he was with Josh “Holmes” from Queens Of The Stone Age. Long story short, the I-pod was removed from him, and AC/DC and Black Crowes were played on ten… DIMED. PINNED. Yo Nicky… for future name-dropping reference, his name is Josh Homme, dickbreath. We only came here for two things, and it looks like we’re all outta beer drama boy. -
And there's no mention of the "give me back my dog," line. Could somebody frame the context of this gem?
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I liked to see Fosty kill some fuckers. For once.
Does that make me a bad person? -
I believe her dog was taken during the event that killed her love and put her in the coma. Is it just me or does this not look at all as intriguing and powerful as people seem to be hinting that it is on some level. As a matter of fact, it (from the trailers) doesn't even look like a Jordan movie, in fact, if I didn't see Jodie Foster with my own eyes it really doesn't look like a Jodie Foster movie. Did Jennifer Lopez do something stylistically similar to this like a hundred years ago (pre-Gigli)?
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and the butcher boy remains not only his best film but bu the best irish film ever made. He is an odd director in that he he makes great small films and follows them up with Big turkeys. The opening of in Dreams is spectacular and then the movie utterly unravels in front of your eyes. That movie made no sense whatsoever. It had something to do with child abduction. He is an excellent writer and if you can you should pick up is books. That nick nolte film Jordan directed bored me stupid. Niall Jordan attempted to make that movie in the style of the french new wave and ended up in Jail. The Miracle was the only movie he made in Ireland which was roasted by all the Irish Media and it tanked at the Irish box office.
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Neil Jordan.
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[touches nose]
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...attack the film for pushing a liberal agenda, and liberals can attack the film for being uncomfortably conservative". So it's kind of like an episode of South Park. At it's worst South Park does something similar where they make fun of both sides but don't have the balls to actually take a stance themselves. There are a few episodes where they get the courage to actually say something but for some reason those wishy-washy episodes really bother me.
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Just saw that last night with some friends. We loved it, and I know it's not to be taken seriously, but this review makes The Brave One sound like the same twisted combo of guns being simultaneously celebrated and reviled. Comes across as sanctimonious and hypocritical, whether the movie's supposed to be taken seriously or not. Personally, I think a movie that clearly praises violence should just be honest about it. (Hence my log-in name.)
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It was called 'Death Sentence.' This will probably gross about $1.50 more
than Bacon's movie,
and then disappear before the month is over. -
What's next? A remake of I spit on your grave starring Nicole Kidman?
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how about guys giving handjobs to horses? Would you dare cross that line, Mori? There's no going back once you do.
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if you really think about it.
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Then the twist is on you.
I really enjoyed it, but then I am a big niel jordan fan not because he shoot a film in a pretty way.
I like him because he can make stories move in original ways that arent boring, and arent something I've seen before. Thats true here.
He can also reach a height of poetisism in film that many can't ever hope to. If youve seen butcher boy you know what I mean. The Brave one Tries really hard but misses, and sadly it misses in an attempt to be cute and too clever especially in its resolution. The "what would happen ifs" that the characters are allowed to revel in in the beginning of the film, which in these hands are sort of interesting, are shunted into a dumb genre ending. almost as if to say you stupid americans and your guns and your dumb movies have no morality, and dont know the difference.
OK. I guess we deserve that, but I dont think Jodie Foster's character does, or Terrence Howard's does either. I guess violence really is senseless. But can I get a reason why two people cant even enetertain the idea of redemption?
Anyway its still a good weird watchable flick Jodie Foster does her version of batman. But its not enough, and it doesnt make me particularly pleased. -
I'll buy that for a dollar!
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Her latest round of verbal vomiting on other films & screen violence while she stars in something like this makes me rethink my feelings towards her.
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Sep 15, 2007 1:38:20 PM CDT
Midgets giving handjobs to the homeless, by Neil Jordan
by immorganfreeman
In the end, the midget turned out to be a guy!
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A waste of time and money, for both the makers and the suckers who pay to see them.
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How's that for a line never to be crossed?
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Underage hooker with a John in the back seat of a car? Sounds familiar. Where's "Sport" when you need him? "Here's a woman who is going to clean up the city of the scum, the filth..." Eat some "Chuckles" and don't forget the "Jujubees." They last longer.
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in The Way of the Gun.
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The last interesting work she did was her wonderful cameo in the otherwise unbearable A VERY LONG ENGAGEMENT.
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Especially with Oldboy and Lady Vengeance. His examinations on the nature of revenge have covered the themes pretty well. What else can be said?
Unless you just want revenge porn, of course. -
For the time being at least those films have said it all really. Though I think Sympathy For Mr Vengeance is the best of the three, with Lady a near second.
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in "The Inside Man". Why doesn't she play more characters like that? And I'll pass on "The Brave One". Charlie Bronson touched a chord with "Death Wish". At the time it came out people felt helpless in the face of a rising tide of crime. I don't think people feel that way now so much.
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The description in the review of a movie starring Jodie Foster can't be that obvious, is it?
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That movie is a fucking masterpiece. And we got to see Jodie getting fucked doggie-style.
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I think its funny reading your review of The Brave One and then revisiting one of your top-notch episodes of Masters of Horror. Talk about top notch indeed. (Heavy Sarcasm intended). I mean, you were given the opportunity to partner with John Carpenter on two episodes and that was the best you two came up with? I had a bunch of friends over the night that Pro Life premiered and by the end, we were all laughing hysterically. I guess you criticize, i criticize...its just that crazy of a world. And yet, i still agree with your review of this movie.
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You lost me at "At this point in his career, Neil Jordan could direct home videos of midgets giving handjobs to homeless people"
BUT I'm sure Neil Jordan just LOVED IT!!!! C'mon Mori, you are better than that... -
Audrey Tautou, Jodie Foster and Marion Cotillard all in the same movie, and we didn't get a single three-way lesbo love scene. Talk about a missed opportunity.
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It worked for me (and the packed theater I was in).Agreed concerning Howard. Without him, the movie would've been flat. We've seen Jodie Foster emote like this before, but it was Howard who gave the movie real energy IMHO. Her radio show scenes worked for me because they seemed to reference the best of the "radio show movie" genre.
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Good to see Holywood isn't breaking from tradition of tired old formula then. What we want from a NEW revenge movie is our protagonist blowing people away without remorse and then figuring out ways in how to getaway with it, not the tired falling apart at the seams and then being compaired to the scum they're eliminating. If it's "an for an eye" story, keep it at that and spare us the liberal claptrap that comes with it. The 70's did it best with Charles Bronsan taking aim at the airport terminal gates and cocking an imaginary gun at some hoods. Now that's how to close a story on an open-ended question. After all, revenge is a dish best served cold.
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...other than that, I thought this was a very good film. The problem with the ending is that it seems to negate the message of the film and incites the audience to applaud what can only be described as an execution (I don't think I"m spoiling anything there since we all know how revenge movies work). The scene in the diner was exceptional. In a way, I almost wish the film could have completely ignored the 3rd act resolution and just ended at the diner with two friends recognizing that they're on opposite sides: one must kill to feel safe while the other is waiting for them to screw up to catch them. That would have at least ended on a question. It'd be open-ended and encourage more debate within the audience. That being said, I did have a long debate w/ the friend I saw this with on the justice vs. revenge question after the film ended. I also like the sequence of killings throughout the film, as with each one, the moral line grows increasingly murkier, until the roof one, where it's pretty clear she's gone too far. But while you can rationalize her killing people who would eventually hurt others, then it's a minority report situation where you're killing people for crimes they may or may not ever commit as well. Also, it's clear that her only reason was to make herself feel better. You simply can't morally justify her later killings.
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and a will now be seeing a very long engagement
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Why did people go see this again?
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...goes for a stroll?
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Jodie & Jordan picks up the idea.
*YAWN* Props to those who mentioned Oldboy and Sympathy...
REAL revenge movies not this sensationalism shit. -
When I said it worked for me, I meant as a movie going experience.With respect to the question you raised, I would certainly say Erica fits your "revenge only makes you worst" description. Her pain was so severe that prior forms of emotional healing were inadequate and she could only find consolation (i.e. solace, comfort, etc.) through revenge killings.
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Rolling Thunder, bitches.
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is a fucking masterpiece. What planet are you fuckers living on?
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What pisses me off is that while looking at Ebert & Roeper today, Roeper exclaimed that The Brave One is one of the best movies of the year thus far. Now why do I get the impression that if someone other than Jodie Foster or someone of her ilk would've starred in this over-wrought revenge flick, Roeper and other critics would've dismissed this as another vaccuous action flick? This almost akin to putting a whiteface (Elvis effect) on something black to give it critical legitamacy. Btw, can someone please explain to me what hold does Jodie Foster has on most critics. In my opinion as an actor, she is has little to no range. The only time she (even) remotely stretched in a role, was in The Accused.
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Remember his name in the Burbs? Steve Kuntz. That about sums it up.
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