| THE BRAVE ONE |
 2007 - USADirector: Neil Jordan
- Reviewed by Linda
The Brave One has Jodie playing radio storyteller Erica Bain. Erica loves New York City. She loves her hot younger doctor fiancé David (Naveen Andrews). She loves life until she and David are taking their dog out for a run in Central Park, run into thugs, and get beaten to an inch of their lives. Well, actually David doesn't make it, and Erica recovers just enough to be completely traumatized and paranoidly alone in their once-shared apartment. When she finally ventures outside, her fear pushes her to buy a gun. The Brave One is a vigilante movie, make no bones about it. Erica is suddenly crossing paths with just about every cartoonish super-creep that lurks in NYC, and they all seem to have eyes for her (strangely, as far as we know, she was never the targets of super-creeps in her previous life). But now Erica has a gun. Suddenly the media is awash with stories of mysterious, witness-less murders on the subway, in convenience stores, off the roof of parking garages, etc. Detective Mercer (Terrence Howard) is on the case, and is also a fan of Erica's radio show as she talks about the pain of trying to live every day after becoming a victim of horrible violence. The more he and Erica become friends (she uses a radio interview as an excuse to meet him), the more they circle each other, trying to figure each other out. For all the moments in this film that are frankly unbelievable, The Brave One has three big things going for it: Foster, Howard, and director Neil Jordan. I'm not sure why they all chose to get involved with this particular story, but they make it better than it really is. We are lucky that Naveen Andrews disappears from the movie early on, as he and Foster don't quite click in their short screen time together. But luckily Terrence Howard comes along, and he and Jodie have great on-screen chemistry. As preposterous as the situation is, you really believe that they respect each other, and are quite fond of the other. And Jordan's direction is not flashy, but he brings a steady and serious hand to the proceedings. If I took a small step back, I would probably say that The Brave One was just another outlandish "take the law into your own hands" exploitation flick. But, wouldn't you know it, that A-list trio makes you actually dismiss the film less easily. It's not a great film, but it did stick with me after the credits rolled. |
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I can't be the only one that has been getting the sneaking feeling that Jodie Foster has lately been making the same movie over and over. She usually plays a sad woman that is forlorn about a husband or fiancé that is out of the picture, presumably dead. She is traumatized and afraid, and often (though not always) has a child to protect. When cornered, she suddenly gets super-human powers to kick some severe bad guy ass. She triumphs, but suffers still, never reveling in the violence. Curtains close. Audience applauds.
