Brave One Review

I have always believed that state of mind, time of day, and weather play into my reaction to a film. It would be quite dishonest of me to omit the fact that directors and actors also play a strong part in my biases. That said, I went to see The Brave One with Jodie Foster earlier today (the 12:40 show on a crisp, fall-like sunny day). I have been waiting for months to see the latest Jodie film and, being quite a fan of her work, I knew it would be fantastic. I underestimated her- something I never thought possible considering this is Clarice Starling we are talking about.
The trailers provided the audience with the facts that she lost her boyfriend, was beaten almost to death herself by a posse of kids in the park, and decided to take up the long lost art of vigilantism. Going in with this information, I was prepared when the happily engaged couple walked into the tunnel in "Strangers Gate" park only to meet their fate with a lead pipe and a group of amateur filmmaker delinquents. The following scene left me sobbing, there are no other words to describe it. Rivaling the end of Up Close and Personal, the relational editing of the emergency room/ bedroom scene was nothing short of masterful. Placing a Sarah McLachlan song behind it finished it off, guaranteeing a Love Story-esque angst ridden scene. I would call it the best scene in the film without hesitation... so good that you will have to see it, I refuse to describe it in my own words.
As Erica moves through the film, changing into a, "stranger using my legs", the lines between black and white begin to blur for us as well. The audience is brilliantly positioned on both sides of the case, empathizing with both Erica's urge for vigilantism and Detective Mercer's (Terence Howard) code of law abiding justice. I admit, the events leading her to continue on her path are a bit too "afternoon special" for me, but it is nice to see actual justice on the streets of a post- 9/11 New York City. What is also key to note, and will be expanded on with a critical analysis of the film, is the constant focus of the police force for a male vigilante. I was equally unsurprised (and considering the ending, intellectually deflanted), after reading countless film articles on both gender and race studies, that it was an African-American male detective/female predator dynamic.
Overall, I feel that this was a perfect film for the Fall season. With perfect Oscar timing, I think nominations for Foster, director Neil Jordan, and film editor Tony Lawson are almost a given. I agree with many of the critics that the end of the film was the weakest point, but I feel that the message reverberates the underlying feelings in today's society.