So, in an even shorter take: She's Batman/Daredevil. Which is awesome, because one of the things that makes Bruce Wayne a NON interesting psychological study is the costume and the access to millions of dollars. The same with Matt Murdock. His blindness still separates him from the rest of us.
When I saw the trailer, I immediately had flashes of Bernard "you don't look too bad, here's another" Goetz. For the non new-yorkers among us, he was the guy who shot 4 unarmed brothers on a #2 train in 1984, rented a car, drove to Vermont, buried the gun and jacket he was wearing, then turned himself in, claiming he felt threatened. (yeah, New York in the 80s were fun). But hearing your description, I see why Jodie chose this project. This review worked. I will now see this movie, and by the way, I saw "3:10" based on your earlier review. On 9/19/07 12:35 PM, "[EMAIL PROTECTED]" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Summary: When she's severely beaten in a brutal mugging that results in the > death of her fiance, radio talks show host Erica Bain buys a gun to protect > herself. Soon she finds herself using the gun in one dangerous situation after > another. As the body count rises, the question becomes, is Erica still a > victim--or a victimizer? > > My Short Take: It took me three days to even attempt writing a review of this > movie. I guess that's a good thing, because the more I think about it, the > more the subtle messages in the film make themselves known. If you want a > quick-and-dirty movie where the "hero" blows away the deserving bad guys, skip > this flick and rent "Death Wish", or go see Kevin Bacon in "Death Sentence". > This film isn't that clearcut. This is about a woman who becomes a tortured > soul: almost like a drug addict who's drawn to behaviour she finds > repugnant--but keeps going back. This is not a celebration of the vigilante, > and not exactly a condemnation either. It's a study in how our hurt and pain > can turn us into the very things we hate, but the hurt and pain still don't go > away. Rather bleak feeling, the movie is made better by Foster's tight > performance, and Terrence Howard's humanity as a police detective. Most of > the killing scenes stretch credibility, but it's the motive, not the method, > that's im > portant here. Not a feel-good flick by any means, it's "good" only if you want > to really *think* about *why* people resort to violence, and the cost on their > souls when they do. If you don't want to know--or don't care--and just want > action, skip this one and go watch Charles Bronson. Me, I just can't shake > that sad, dangerous thing Foster becomes... > > My Full Take: The revenge flick has long been a staple of American cinema. > With classics like „Death Wish‰ and „Foxy Brown‰, the > wronged-citizen-turned-vigilante has functioned as a (anti) hero for the > masses. These avenging angels show no doubt or hesitation as they embark on > what is to them a just cause. The audience is expected to empathize with these > vigilantes, to see their actions as not necessarily „right‰, but > understandable. > > „The Brave One‰ gives us a different type of character, one who hates what > she‚s become, who fights her impulses, but can‚t seem to stop. This is a study > of a reluctant vigilante. > > Radio talk show host Erica Bain (Jodie Foster) is in love with New York. She > spends her days walking the streets of the city, recording the sounds of > life--traffic, children playing, trains rumbling by˜and lovingly speaks of > them on her show. > > All that is shattered the night she and her fiancé David (Naveen Andrews) are > brutally attacked by thieves in the park. The thugs literally beat David to a > pulp, with Erica faring little better. Coming out of a coma weeks later, Erica > finds her world forever changed. David is dead. Worse, she doesn‚t even get a > chance to say goodbye because he‚s already been buried, because, as his mother > tearfully says „We didn‚t know if you‚d ever wake up‰. > > As she tries to regain her life without David, Erica discovers she‚s lost > something more: her love and trust for her city. Where once the sights and > sounds of the city gave her comfort, they now bring fear: a man‚s footsteps > behind her in broad daylight signal a would-be attacker∑a screeching car could > be a kidnapper about to snatch her∑young men playing laugh with imagined > menace. Erica is reduced to a veritable prisoner, afraid to leave her own > apartment. > > In desperation and fear, Erica buys a gun for protection. Armed with new > resolve, she begins prowling the streets of the city, in time using the gun > for more than simple protection∑ > > What is unique about Foster‚s Bain is that she doesn‚t set out to seek revenge > with a gun. She doesn‚t look for David‚s killers on her own, doesn‚t walk the > streets looking to kill anyone. No, she stumbles into situations that force > her to protect herself with deadly force. She‚s a victim of circumstance. > > Or is she? Soon the question becomes, is she protecting herself from danger, > or seeking it? She tells herself that she‚s taking back control. But then, why > walk alone at night? Why get involved in situations instead of calling the > police? It becomes clear that Erica is doing more than fighting her fear: > she‚s actively pushing it back onto the city that has hurt her. Not a killer, > perhaps, she continues to put herself into situations where violence is a > foregone conclusion. Later, when she appears to cross a line, we˜and > Erica˜really question her motives. As Erica herself says „I‚ve become a > stranger to myself‰. > > Unlike typical vigilantes, Bain isn‚t certain of a holy cause, isn‚t as cold > and emotionless as she‚d like to be. She‚s wracked with guilt, remorse and > doubt. Even as she falls deeper into this world, she cries at what she‚s > become. That „stranger‰ may be part of her, but she doesn‚t have to like it. > > The movie is really a story of two people, Bain, and Detective Mercer > (Terrence Howard). Mercer has his own issues. By all appearances a dedicated > cop, he‚s haunted by his failure to put away a rich, spouse-abusing criminal > despite years of trying. That he‚s divorced and obviously still cares for his > ex-wife only adds to Mercer‚s own sense of frustration and loneliness. He and > Bain strike up a kind of friendship borne out of shared pain, each wanting > something they can‚t have, each frustrated by a world where the good die and > the bad thrive, each wounded and lonely. As Mercer comes to suspect Bain, one > wonders if that friendship makes him perhaps a step too slow in figuring out > who she really is. > > Despite her character stumbling into a couple of situations that strain > credulity (or common sense) Jodie Foster does a masterful job showing Erica's > descent into her darker side. Early on she‚s relaxed and loose, but after the > attack, fearful and tightly wound, every step a battle of will, arms clenched > at her sides, eyes darting about like a trapped animal. She who was so smooth > and confident on the radio now talks in clipped, whispered sentences, afraid > to announce her presence to a menacing world. Once armed with the courage of a > gun, she walks with purpose˜still clenched, still fearful, but angry too. Her > moves are less ones of confidence and more ones of coiled desperation, like > the trapped animal that will fight back any moment. It‚s as if she‚s daring > the city to hurt her. And when she does kill, the shock and self-loathing are > plain on he r face˜every single time. Truly this is a conflicted soul, and if > the exact situations used to show that aren't quite perfectly done, > Foster and director Jordan are skillful enough so that the method doesn't > bother you, so long as the meaning gets across. > > One major quibble I have is the ending, where Bain‚s search for David‚s > killers veers into more standard territory. The actions taken and choices made > fly in the face of the more complex message I thought was being conveyed > earlier. It seems calculated more to please crowds than to make them think. > Most disturbing was that, as Bain meted out her final justice the audience in > my theatre cheered˜several times. I couldn‚t help but think that they missed > the point. But maybe in this post-9/11 world Americans just want to see > someone˜anyone˜pay. > > If so, that‚s the saddest statement of all, because „The Brave One‰ tries to > show the heavy toil revenge takes--on the person taking it as well as those > attacked. Bain is wracked with guilt even as she‚s compelled to kill. That the > killer didn‚t set out on that path shouldn‚t really matter˜it‚s still a > disturbing sight. This is a study of a tortured person, not a righteous one. > > If only they‚d changed that ending∑. > > My Grade: B- > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > > > > > Yahoo! Groups Links > > >
