RatingMovies.Com - ldh's review of Brave One, The (2007)

2006 and 2007 were strange years. Several directors known for their unique styles went mainstream, and created films that although really good, would not be recognizable as their work. For example, Spike Lee did Inside Man (2006), Woody Allen did Cassandra'S Dream (2007) and Roland Joffe did Captivity (2007). It's hard to believe that anyone could recognize those directors from watching those films. Inside Man was VERY good, but the others, including Neil Jordan's foray into the mainstream, have not been successful.

Brave One, The (2007) tells the story of Erica (Jodie Foster), a successful NY radio DJ who one night becomes the victim of a random violent crime while strolling in Central Park. Her boyfriend, the love of her life, is killed mercilessly, and she is raped, beaten, and left for dead. After she recovers, she finds it hard to resume her life. Haunted by what happened that night, she is consumed by the need for revenge, goes buy a gun, and starts a rampage of vigilante rage.

The film's production value is very high, with great NY cinematography and art direction. And the performance from the cast is very good, especially for Jodie Foster who is excellent, as usual. Yet, the film is blank as far as emotions go. The film is simply lazy and takes the easy way out at almost every turn. The bad guys are so horrendous, and what Erica went through is so horrible, that you can't help but rooting for her. Add in a twist where the Police ends up "cooperating" with her and hiding her crimes, because they are "so understanding" about her as a victim, becomes just too cliche for my taste. Although the characters walk smack into a grayer than gray zone, the movie keeps on painting an absolutely black&white picture about everything. It's ultimately damaging because when the credits roll, you realize you were rooting for a woman who went and killed a couple of teenagers because she saw them bully some kids in the subway and steal an iPod, and she goes Scott-free with the blessing of some NYPD officer.

This is a movie that could have been interesting. It's not trashy enough, or exploitative enough, to be entertaining in a guilty pleasure kind of way (it's not Charles Bronson's Death Wish series), yet it's just too lazy to engage you emotionally or intellectually. The movie takes the easy way out at every possible turn, and not even a great performance from Jodie Foster or good production value can save this film. This is a pity because Neil Jordan is certainly a great director who has distinguished himself from the masses before on many occasions. This is an average and disappointing film.

- Laurent Hasson