'A little bit Clockwork Orange' ... Brick
In Brick, the debut film by writer/director Rian Johnson, teenager Brendan finds himself on the wrong side of a drug gang while searching for his girlfriend, Emily. The film won a special prize at Sundance for originality of vision, but what did audiences at the UGC Haymarket cinema in London make of it?
Sara Manara, 19, London: Absolute rubbish. Before the film we were given a glossary of the slang used in the film. I think they made the words up. You get stupid words like "heel" which means "to walk away from somebody". I understood the film but it tries to make you feel dumb by having a really long storyline, but there's really not that much to it. It's masquerading as film noir, and it looks good, but it goes on way too long. It's meant to be a film noir parody of high school films. You know when you come out of a film all confused, and then you realise you're not confused, it's just that the film's shit. I feel like that.
Paul Stocker, 23, Manchester: I really loved it, it's a great film and I thought the language idea, where they speak in a certain slang that you can't really follow at first, was really interesting. It took a while to make sense of it but that was no bad thing - after a while you got into it.
Neal Warres, 23, Manchester: The language was pretty good, it did block you from following it in parts, and lots of it was mumbled - which is hard to follow. Still, a lot of twists and turns, and the quality of the picture was good. It reminded me of a very weird Bugsy Malone, with the two gangs. Bugsy Malone but in a very violent way - more violent than splurge guns.
Sam Kennard 23, Grimsby: I thought it was very messy at first and I got quite lost in it but then it redeemed itself along the way, which I didn't expect. I thought it was going to be one of those films where you just think it was a waste of two hours, but everything paid off in the end. It took until about two thirds in for everything to click. It's definitely for a certain audience, someone who enjoys good scripts and film-making, not blockbusters. If you appreciate good writing, it works. Some films try to be a bit too clever but this one knew where it was going, even if you didn't.
Edward Lukasiewicz, 49, London: I'm still thinking about it, I didn't like it at first but I got more into it as it went along. It's a bit derivative and similar to a lot of films. The reviews say they're fantastically new but then you see them and they're clearly based on things you've seen before. The language reminded me of A Clockwork Orange and the film noir aspect was like Farewell, My Lovely, especially the bit where he's knocked out and wakes up; those hallucinogenic ideas. It's also like Raymond Chandler, which a lot of film noir is based on, and there's something of a David Lynch feel to it too, like Twin Peaks. The more I think about it now, the more I like it.
Danielle Lukasiewicz, 49, London: When we heard about it, they said it was a teen movie, but there's so much violence that it's a bit different from the usual ones. The sound was a bit hard to hear, they were mumbling. It was enjoyable but the build-up was very slow to begin with.
