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Neil Jordan, The Brave One

by Chris Flippo
09/18/2007

The Brave One is a bland exploitation film dressed up as an Oscar-contender. Though the acting is superb and nearly saves it, the film isn’t able to pull off the balancing act of being both a thriller and a character study. What a shame. On paper, this must have seemed like a formula for success.

One night, radio show host Erica Bain (Jodie Foster) and her fiancé David Kirmani (the invaluable Naveen Andrews) are attacked by robbers. As David tries to defend the two, he is brutally beaten to death while Erica is put into a coma. Three weeks later, Erica wakes up and hears the news of David’s death. Though initially afraid to even step outside, Erica soon buys a gun off the street and begins her own brand of vigilante justice… kinda like Batman.

From this description, you have probably realized that this is pretty much Death Wish 2007 and, well, you would pretty much be right. The Brave One tries to elevate itself with a few scenes of Erica walking the street at night and talking about how her life is changed forever (yawn). These bits don’t really add anything and play more like a greatest hits list of vigilante movie clichés.

The problem is that the script goes from gritty realism to being outright preposterous in its second half. I enjoyed the friendship that develops between Erica and Detective Mercer (Terrence Howard) for a while, but as they became closer, I felt the gears of the plot grinding. This is a film that never feels immediate. It always feels written. Even the ending is too convenient and tidy. After all the brutality, that’s what we get?

The acting alone almost saves the project… almost. Jodie Foster makes a convincing (and even sympathetic) vigilante. Terrence Howard proves that, even in lackluster films like this one, he is still one of the most versatile and likeable screen presences of the last couple of years. Oh, and there is Naveen Andrews as David. Now, if you’ve ever caught an episode of TV’s Lost, then you know what this actor can do. Too bad his character here is only a plot device to get Erica to pick up the gun.

It has occurred to me that my first two articles for Æ have been Shoot ‘Em Up and The Brave One . In a weird way, they form an interesting parallel. Both are ultra-violent R-rated action pictures about outcasts whose closest companion is their automatic. However, they form a textbook example of the difference between concept and execution. Shoot ‘Em Up delivered exactly what it promised. Now, this week, we are given The Brave One, which promises more than it can deliver. The filmmakers want us to believe it has something serious to say about violence and its effect on people’s lives, but by the end its just another violent movie.

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