The Brave One

Plot

Erica Bain is a radio personality in NYC who lives with her fiancé David. One night while walking their dog, they are brutally beaten by a gang – leaving David dead and Erica in a coma for a month. On her release from hospital, she buys a gun on the black market – and when finding herself in dangerous situations, begins leaving a pile of bodies in her wake. A seasoned detective begins investigating, meanwhile striking up a friendship with her.

Direction

Some pretty solid direction from Neil Jordan, and I liked some of the techniques he used – such as some fun camera angles, the way the camera spins as it followed characters walking – as well as the fade ins/outs for some of the scenes early on setting up the characters and some of the settings.

Cast/Characters

Jodie Foster is the lead as Erica Bain and Terence Howard plays Mercer who is trying to bring the vigilante killer down, not realising it is his new friend Erica.

Secondary cast who don’t really have much to do are Nicky Katt as Mercer’s partner and Mary Steenburgen as Foster’s boss.

Then Lost star, Naveen Andrews plays David, who only appears in the first act.

Screenplay/Setting/Themes

I had a few issues with the concept of the film –and that was Erica’s ‘fall’ to be a gun wielding shooter so quickly. The final ‘revenge’ plot also felt like it was rushed onto the last 15 minutes, and this should have been expanded a little more if the pacing had been improved.

There was a brief moment in the start of the film where Mercer has a coffee with his ex-wife, but I felt like it was a little cliché and was only in the script to force us to feel empathy for the character… also is he the only cop in NY – and why was there so much attention on the murders (and putting the link between them so quickly?).

I found the relationship between Erica and David a little off putting as well, as when she mourns him, (and as they are being brought in to the hospital following the beating) – we get aggressive snippets of them making love. It felt a bit out of place from the rest of the film – and almost gave an ‘only sexual’ nature of their relationship.

There were some positive moments however, such as the friendship that develops between Erica and Mercer.

Overall

Despite the premise, the execution doesn’t deliver, and the usual amazing Foster feels like she might even be a bit miscast here, despite her being an EP of the film. I wanted so desperately to like this, but some of the aforementioned downs (pacing, forced emotion, unnecessary scenes) weigh my thoughts down. Only just passable, but I wouldn’t really recommend this one.

3/5