‘The Brave One’ Movie Review
“‘THE BRAVE ONE’ WILL KNOCK YOU FLAT! JODIE FOSTER IS THE NEW MONSTER!
A+
Kevin Bacon went from being a loving father to being an angry lawyer as he hunted down his family’s killers and delivered a ‘Death Sentence.’ Now it’s the lady’s turn to show some toughness as veteran star Jodie Foster cuts her hair, picks up a gun, and hits the streets looking for her fiance’s killers in ‘The Brave One.’
Erica Bain (Foster) is a New York radio host who couldn’t be any happier with her life, and couldn’t love her fiance any more, but after being seriously wounded in a brutal mugging that leaves her fiance dead, Erica becomes enraged and goes on a rampage to clean up the streets and find the muggers. As she makes several anonymous exploits, her dirty deeds quickly become the center of public attention. With a strict police detective (Terrence Howard) hot on her trail, Erica continues her dark pursuit for justice, but sooner or later, she must ask herself, if she is really fixing anything? Or is she just turning into the same thing she’s trying to stop?
After winning the Best Actress Oscar for her role in ‘Silence of the Lambs,’ Jodie Foster’s name became an annual one-timer that would pop up, at random, in a string of decent thrillers (Flightplan, Panic Room). I really don’t care what the Academies determine next spring; because unless someone really breaks out between now and then, Jodie Foster has already won this race. I’m telling you guys, her performance in ‘The Brave One’ may not quite be the “transformation” that Charlize Theron made in ‘Monster,’ but you can rest assured, when Foster picks up her gun, those beautiful blue eyes sink into a demented sign of cold blood as she becomes absolutely unplugged! And when she’s finished, you won’t know what hit you.
It’s always been a bit of a sad story for Terrence Howard, as he makes everyone of his performances noteworthy, and never gets celebrated for them (only a nomination for ‘Hustle & Flow’). Howard’s work in ‘Hustle & Flow’ is no doubt the shining chapter of his resume, but for the sake of supporting, he actually fulfills the job well here. At some points it seems as if he’s trying to take the main spotlight away from Foster, but all she has to do is pop a few street hoodlums, and Howard’s back in seat two. He may be the helpful cop here, but it’s still kind of hard to fully admire his character because you’re so busy cheering on Foster as she cleans up the streets.
Creating thrills and excitement is always the main purpose in vengeance-plotted films, but sometimes, during the sentimental moments, we expect it to hold its end from other angles. The dialogue of ‘The Brave One’ may seem a bit quirky at certain points, but just try to remember as you watch it, Foster was mugged, lost her fiance, and is surrounded by cops who won’t do their job, so maybe she just doesn’t have the time to figure out some sensible things to say. However you choose to judge the wording here won’t really matter in the end, because Foster’s eruptive actions speak louder than a single line in the whole film.
Maybe it’s because you know that they must obviously do a good job of protecting their significant others, but there is just something amazingly entertaining about watching Hollywood’s sexiest women turn into killers. Every time I watch it, I still have trouble believing that it is Charlize Theron in ‘Monster.’ The only thing that would be harder for me to handle would be seeing Nicole Kidman turn ruthless, but with Jodie Foster (my number two) doing some dirty work, ‘The Brave One’ comes up nothing short of ultimate satisfaction. As cheesy as this may sound, my initial thought as I walked out was this:
“Even though it’s been fifteen years, it looks like Jodie learned quite a lot from those dark conversations with the ever demented Dr. Hannibal Lecter!”
‘The Brave One’ theatrical trailor
Posted by Colonnade Archives
on Sep 21 2007. Filed under Features.
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