Brick

Noir detective story in a modern-day California high school. Geeky outsider Brendan Frye (Gordon-Levitt) is devastated when his ex-girlfriend Emily (de Ravin) is found dead in a tunnel, having apparently landed herself in a spot of trouble with the local drug lord, The Pin (Lukas Haas).

Guided by insider information from The Brain (O'Leary), Brendan retraces Emily's last steps, leading him to a rogue's gallery of classmates, including seductive rich girl Laura (Nora Zehetner), vampish old flame Kara (Meagan Good), hardhitting thug Tugger ( Fleiss), pot-head Dode (Noah Segan) and football jock Brad (Brian J White).

As the truth slowly emerges, Brendan descends further into the criminal underworld, becoming embroiled in a bloody turf war between rival factions that could tear the local neighbourhood apart.

Writer/director Johnson won the Sundance Film Festival's Special Jury Prize for Originality of Vision with this film. Brick takes from the rich cinematic tradition of the hard-boiled noir mystery of Raymond Chandler, while its characters speak in a modern slang which takes some adjustment on the audience's part to initially understand.

This is well-crafted tale that pays homage to the noir genre, creating a moral landscape out of an American high school setting.

Showing at The Duke Of York's from Friday, May 12