Brick

I had no idea what to expect of this movie (other than what I read in the synopsis on netflix). I can't even remember what made me choose this movie, because I had never heard of it before. I had the idea that it was a quirky high school murder mystery--but I was not expecting something in the vein of Scream; perhaps more like Heathers or Jawbreaker.

I was wrong. This movie is in a category all by itself. It was definitely an indie type of movie, with teenage high school students acting like a bunch of gangsters, spies, hit men and thugs. It was like High School Mafia. Their "lingo" was so incredibly hip that most of the time I had absolutely no idea what they were talking about, although it was usually pretty easy to guess. The characters spoke in such constant slang that it was like listening to a foreign language. I don't know how they even understood each other.

This movie would have made more sense with adult characters out in the "real world" rather than being set in a high school with teenage characters. On the other hand, had the movie been portrayed this way, it would have ended up as one of many in that genre, whereas it stands out as unique in its current incarnation.

A final note: The main character's dealings with the vice principal were laughable. No school administrator would ever treat a student with such deference and respect, giving him the leeway to combat their problems in any manner necessary, no matter how noble the motivation. This was echoed in the relationship between the young "mob boss" figure and his mother. She was unbelievably naive about what was going on all around her--so much so that I have to assume that was an attempt at humor.