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The Brave One (2007)

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212 comments in total

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84 out of 119 people found the following comment useful :-
Jodie Foster Alone, 29 September 2007

Author: Donald Agustamarian from London, England

A genre movie directed by an artist, Neil Jordan in this particular case. That is a formula that sometimes works and sometimes doesn't. This time does, big time and I suspect it has to do with the artist behind the camera leaving the artist in front of the camera to her own devices and we all know that Jodie Foster's devices can be miraculous sometimes. The anguishing feel of solitude permeates Jodie's performance that's why I imagine Neil Jordan leaving her alone. Her decisions, I mean the character's and the actress's, seem to have been taken without consulting anyone. They are as pure as they are insane. I predict Miss Foster will be up for her third Oscar unless a miracle happens in the next three months. Well done!

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138 out of 234 people found the following comment useful :-
Really good acting, but the story is kind of standard, 26 August 2007

Author: tukan-1 from Sweden

I saw this film in a preview. It was the final production though. Jodie Foster is a great actress, I would give her 10 of 10 without hesitation. The story is a standard revenge-movie. But with Jodies amazing acting and a good director the standard story becomes interesting. It's like experience the whole thing through Jodies character. The bad guys gets a little bit stereotyped and shows almost no personalty other than violent temper. Well, it's easier to kill them then, I guess. The sens-moral of the film is "kill the bad guys". Yes, feels good on the white screen, but it would be the end of society if everybody did like these characters did. Jodie gets 10 and the story 5, so average is 7 which is my vote. Definitely worth watching.

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146 out of 253 people found the following comment useful :-
A Kick-Butt Tour De Force, 12 September 2007

Author: tvfilmfl from United States

OK, probably on first glance everyone will see the similarity with previous (male dominated) vigilante films. But that's a quick, superficial response. I have to say that everyone at the preview here in Miami on 9/10/07 was knocked out by what this film truly does. It takes us on an uncharted ride through the eyes of an intelligent NY woman who's pretty much got her life by the tail. She's got good work, a fiancé with whom she is in love, friends who are supportive and a future that seems bright. Her life works, maybe even constitutes a "charmed" life. Then life in the "safest big city in the world" grinds her up like just so much meat going through a Cuisinart on high. A senseless attack in Central Park and her life, her love and even her dog are gone... in a matter of seconds. She can never go back to who she was, but the world she lives in post-attack, seems to have no room for her as she is. It is after this "prologue" that the essential story really begins. This is a film about the way violence strips you of your identity and changes you irrevocably. It explores in detail how you can become someone even you can't recognize in the bathroom mirror when loss, grief, anxiety, terror and depression take over. And what makes this interesting & screen-worthy, is the journey the character takes is very different from that of others before her in this genre. First, because it is experienced totally through her eyes, ears and sensibilities. Second, because for the first time I can recall, after a lifetime of sitting in the dark and watching films, the character I gladly identify with is a woman. Yes, it appears Ms. Foster has made some definite changes in her selection of material - she's gone from victim to vigilante over the course of a couple of decades. I admit that I have enjoyed all of her work, but if she doesn't get an Oscar nomination for her work in this film, everyone in Hollywood needs to be institutionalized. She carries the film, is on screen for 97% of the time, has changed her look and style to become a believable New Yorker... the no-nonsense hair, clothes and stride of a woman who earns her living via the sounds and rhythms of Manhattan. She shows a wide range in this part... at once sarcastic, then nurturing, smoky-voice seductive, yet warm & vulnerable and finally, a shell-shocked survivor who appears cold-blooded, but is really suffering from post-traumatic stress syndrome of the highest order. She does not strike one false note. Her supporting cast is strong and the relationship that evolves between her character and the Detective is edgy and in the end, fulfilling. I hope that the audiences see what I & the rest of the preview audience saw in this film... a character study that's "dead on" in its dramatic arc. From what I understand, Ms. Foster often takes on roles that were originally written for men. She will only entertain work that offers dimensionality. Therefore, this may have been the logical conclusion of that cycle. As a final note... it's about time the studios realized that women can have a dark side, too. (The police comments in the film regarding the nature of women who kill are very interesting & provocative.)I am looking forward to the DVD release and its "extras." I am hoping she will be an active voice on the commentary. I would love to know what she created as her character's back story and future story. Beyond her talent as an actor, her authenticity as an artist, and her outstanding mind... she has a charisma that underscores all of her work.This one's a film that will effect you not only during its screen time, but afterward during the postmortem you & your friends will most surely have. Don't miss this film!

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70 out of 108 people found the following comment useful :-
Jodi Foster serves up a dish best served cold in revenge thriller, 17 September 2007

Author: Birdhasflown from United States

"The Brave One," is a revenge film that is different then most revenge films. What director Neil Jordan does to separate this film from others is that he immerses the audience through the psychology and consequences when one decides to take the law into their own hands, rather then focusing on the killing spree and violence of other similar pictures.

In "The Brave One," Foster plays a radio talk show host, Erica in New York City and is caught up in the illusion of a safe, happy life. She's engaged to a handsome doctor, and carries a distinguished radio show, but all this crumbles into pieces after a fateful run in with punks in a park assault Erica and her fiancée, leaving Foster battered and bloody and her fiancée dead.

After Erica is in a coma for three weeks, the scars from the experience paralyze her emotions. Foster's raw emotion comes through in her acting with great strength, as we see this tidal wave of tragedy ruin her entire life. The city that she once loved now is seen as a dark, hostile, soulless environment as she sees the repressive pry on the weak and the law seems powerless to stop it. After failing at reaching detectives to help find her husbands killer, and her own fear for her safety, she decides to pick up a gun to protect herself.

Erica's own morality is changed forever, after she witnesses a man gunning down his wife at a connivance store. She begins to wallow and cry in fear, but her pain of her past causes her to act in anger as she guns the man down. The experience causes Erica to feel dignified and unafraid. She does not want to be an innocent, vulnerable bystander to the repressive anymore, and does not want to shy away from the repressive when they come across her.

The process of her road down to becoming an avenging angel is a slow digression, and witnessing her developing resistance towards injustice is very moving to watch. Most thrillers such as this one have plots that seem strained, but "The Brave One's" storyline gives much time for the viewer to understand Erica's emotions and the motives she chooses to signify them.

When Erica meets the detective investigating her case, she becomes fascinated with him, as she realizes that he is trying to put away a ruthless criminal who has escaped the law. To cover for her crimes, she displays interest in him through her work as a DJ and interviews the detective, played by Terrance Howard. This makes for another interesting storyline in the film. She asks him, "is there anything you can do to bring this man to justice?" His reply is, "yes, but it wouldn't be legal," Erica now decides to take the stance as a vigilante, as she decides to bring this ruthless criminal to justice herself.

Erica now becomes ensnared in the endless battle between law and justice through trying to realize where they actually diverge. Foster carries vulnerability in the film but also strength and diligence. Emotional resonance from characters that are real and relatable are hardly seen in film, giving most films a dry and unauthentic look. But Foster engrosses us in Erica's soul. Few actresses can pull off a role like Erica in film today, but Foster stands alone as one of the best character actors's working today.

The film poses controversial questions to the soul rightness of conducting vengeance on those who impart their control and power on others. How can justice prevail when the good do nothing? This question, as well as many more, is raised and the audience is left to discover their own answers on morality.

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24 out of 34 people found the following comment useful :-
Sympathy for Lady Vengeance, 12 February 2008

Author: Aluísio Parondi (nem.freud.explica@gmail.com) from South Burlington, Vermont, USA

"I think someone should just take this city and just... just flush it down the f***in' toilet", says Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro), in "Taxi Driver". He wants to protect the young prostitute Iris (Jodie Foster) from some pigs, and give her a better future. 31 years later, Iris is a popular radio host whose fiancé (Naveen Andrews) is killed in a random attack. She decides to avenge him, and other helpless people, with her own hands.

If not for Jodie Foster's presence, I probably wouldn't bother watching "The Brave One" (even though I admire most of Neil Jordan's films). It's easy to call this a morally sick movie, because that's what is... but it's not sicker than any other bloody action thriller out there. Watching a "fragile" woman like Foster becoming Charles Bronson in skirts is both entertaining and (questionably) gratifying. Who's never fantasized: what if I could just kill all the scum around me? Like "Falling Down" and so many other flicks, "The Brave One" appeals to our lower instincts, and - mildly - makes us imagine what would we do in Jodie's shoes, and how "simple and satisfying" it'd be just to kill them all. That'd be the easiest, quickest 'solution' to our nightmares, and on a second look, that's not as sick as we'd think... just desperate and cathartic.

Far from being a great movie or intellectually instigating as, say, "Dogville", "The Brave One" is worth seeing for Jodie's performance and for its unapologetic badassery in times of false, excessive morality. 6.5/10.

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22 out of 34 people found the following comment useful :-
A New Neo-Noir To Satisfy Our Thirsts, 12 February 2008

Author: ccthemovieman-1 from Lockport, NY, United States

This was entertaining. Sure, one can't help but draw comparisons and think back to the most famous vigilante film of all time: "Death Wish," but this film stands on its own story. No, it's not "Death Wish," but it ain't far from it, storywise. It's different enough to keep us guessing what "Erica" will do next so, in that regard, it's good value for your entertainment dollar, particularly if you enjoy film noirs. This would be labeled a "neo noir" today.

I was a little skeptical about Jodie Foster playing a Charles Bronson-type shooter, but she pulled it off convincingly. The difference in "Erica Bain" and Bronson's "Paul Kersey" was minimal except she seemed to be more depressed over who she had become, once she started killing.

Foster, by the way, shows no signs of slowing down as an actress and this was a juicy role for her.

But don't be misled by this film's screenplay or by Hollywood standards of morality, as they have very little. The fact is, as shown in this film, this woman quickly turns into a killer, a murderer, if even if it was scumbags she was killing, it doesn't justify her actions and, deep inside, she knew it. (It sure is satisfying, though, in a real base sense!)

The ending a little UNsatisfying to a number of reviewers, both here and in national publications. That's all I will say on that, as I don't want to spoil anything for readers who haven't seen the movie. You make up your own mind what you think of it, and the message it conveys.

Suffice to say, if you're looking for an entertaining neo noir, one that serves up your thirst for vengeance a la "Death Wish," this is one to check out at your local rental store.

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28 out of 48 people found the following comment useful :-
We get to experience the whole tragedy through the eyes of the victim, 12 September 2007

Author: Douglas Young (the-movie-guy) from Memphis, Tennessee

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

(My Synopsis) Radio host Erica Bain (Jodie Foster) is working and living a wonderful life in New York City without a care in the world. One night she and her fiancé, David (Naveen Andrews), are brutally attacked by three thugs in the park. David is killed and Erica is beaten within an inch of her life. Erica is traumatized to a point where she can not sleep and will not leave her apartment. To cope and work past this tragic event, Erica becomes someone else. She buys a gun and begins to roam the streets at night looking to take her revenge on the men who were responsible for killing her one true love. One late night, Erica is in the back of a convenience store about to purchase a soft drink when a man comes in and kills the woman clerk. She is a witness, and he comes after her. Erica protects herself and finds that it is very easy to shoot a gun. Days later, Erica is on the subway when she is about to be raped by two men, and again she protects herself. The City of New York is fascinated with the exploits of this vigilante killer, and NYPD Detective Mercer (Terrence Howard) is trying to catch this person, before he kills again. Erica gets a lead of where she can find the three men in the park, so they will be next.

(My Comment) Jodie Foster is brilliant playing the part of a victim when she is hit by a random act of violence. We get to experience the whole tragedy through the eyes of Erica. Her first thoughts were she was lucky to be alive, then she wants justice, and if she can't get justice, she wants revenge. Erica is a calm radio show host who starts out as an ordinary woman who becomes a victim and finds the courage to fight back by turning into a Charles Bronson (Death Wish) character. Erica decides to walk the streets of New York shooting anyone who does her wrong. Jodie is excellent in transitioning from good to evil and in the process still wanting justice. (Warner Bros. Pictures, Run time 1:59, Rated R)(8/10)

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9 out of 11 people found the following comment useful :-
could have been a lot more.., 16 October 2007

Author: nobbytatoes from Australia

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

The Vigilante is a strange and intriguing person. One person’s act of retribution, or act for the greater good can stir so much emotions. Not just in the single man or woman, but the greater community; with polarising effects. The Brave One takes a side step of the vigilante parable. Erica Bain is not out there to clean the streets, The Brave One studies more on the emotional aftermath of a woman’s turmoil, resulting in her beaten close to death and fiancé David murdered. Director Neil Jordan handles proceedings well, while screenwriters Cynthia Mort, Bruce A. Taylor and Roderick Taylor inject intelligence into this story of a woman rebuilding her life. Well not rebuilding, changing into someone she doesn’t recognise; this stranger. For the most part, The Brave One walks a solid line, as Erica grips with her lose and the first few murders, until revenge and the vigilante acts enter the picture. Side stepping into that vigilante territory and the final act of revenge drag everything into a standard form. All the insight and turmoil to Erica is muted when this becomes another vigilante film. When the exploration of society’s reaction to these crimes is about to head into thought provoking areas and the ramifications of these acts, are all dropped for acts of revenge. The final act is what unfolds what was so tightly constructed beforehand. The tuff and hard hitting ending Jordan was heading for never eventuates, for an ending more cheap and selling out the audience. Jodie Foster gives and powerhouse performance, over shadowing the rest of the cast, and is the strongest element of The Brave One. Terrence Howard is solid, without being very memorable. The Brave One has an intriguing premise, true this isn't Deathwish or Taxi Driver again, it’s a disappointment it could have risen above what it actually finished as.

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12 out of 18 people found the following comment useful :-
Terrific performances from Jodi Foster and Terrence Howard, 9 February 2008

Author: disdressed12 from Canada

this movie was much better than i had hoped or expected it to be.it basically turns the vigilante genre on its head,and has a female character as the vigilante.like any vigilante movie,it certainly poses tough questions.it contains some terrific performances in it's two lead characters,Jodi Foster as the vigilante,and Terrance Howard as the cop on her trail.both are outstanding and very credible in their respective roles.Foster really makes you sympathetic to her character and rooting for her,even though you probably shouldn't.Howard's character is also sympathetic,because he has mixed feelings,but has to follow the law.he comes off very convincingly as someone who is conflicted.the movie is well paced and appropriately dark.even before the end of the movie,i thought it was well done,but the ending caught me totally off guard.it elevated the movie a notch.for me,The Brave One is a 9/10

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39 out of 72 people found the following comment useful :-
A line in the sand..., 16 September 2007

Author: jon.h.ochiai (jochiai@socal.rr.com) from Los Angeles, CA

Terrance Howard as Detective Mercer asks Jodie Foster's Erica how she came back from her heinous assault. Foster tellingly admits, "You become someone else…" Jodie Foster is powerful in Neil Jordan's "The Brave One". Jordan's "The Brave One" could have easily slipped into a feminist version of say perhaps "Death Wish". Foster's heart felt performance and fierce intelligence compel and enroll. Her distinct gift is that she always plays as smart as her character. She inspires with authenticity, humanity, and sheer will. Terrance Howard is an awesome screen partner and foil. He is stunning. "The Brave One" falters a little in its forced resolution; however, the screenplay and story by Roderick Taylor, Bruce Taylor, and Cynthia Mort is the tale of a woman's stand in the face of fear. I say that in the most apolitical way. "The Brave One" may be criticized for possibly glorifying vigilante justice masked as vengeance. I believe for the smart and talented Jordan and Foster, that was not what attracted them to the project. There is a poignant and moving scene as Erica (Foster) returns to her job as New York Public Radio talk show host. After a squirming lapse of silence, Erica bares her naked soul as she talks about her path back to normalcy, acknowledging she is now one of "the people who live in fear". It is hard to dismiss "The Brave One" as populist exploitation. I think that for Foster's Erica, she simply draws her line in the sand. I think that resonates with a lot of people. When I saw "The Brave One" last night, the audience was applauding at the movie's conclusion. I have not heard that in a long while. "The Brave One" strikes an emotional and cultural chord.

Jodie Foster plays Erica Bain, who is a Public Radio talk show host. Erica records the sounds of New York City and comments upon them on her show. Therein lays her affinity to the city. Erica is engaged to David Kirmani (charming Naveen Andrews), a star physician. They have a great life, and are preparing for their wedding. Then one evening while taking their dog for a walk in Central Park, they are viciously attacked by 3 thugs, who actually record the malicious beating. Note the attack is visually savage and ruthless. Erica awakes in the hospital weeks later to discover that David is dead and buried. Devastated and her life profoundly altered, Erica returns home to begin her recovery. Here Jordan and Foster touchingly illustrate Erica's haunting memories of David, in the context of the attack. Jordan's claustrophobic camera angles punctuate Erica's isolation. Eventually able to muster the courage to leave her apartment, Erica is paralyzed in fear. In an act of desperation, she illegally buys an automatic handgun. The guy selling her the gun, even says to her, "What happened to you?" Soon thereafter, Erica kills a vicious killer at a liquor store. She must now fly under the legal system radar. She chooses this dark path of vigilante justice, which can not end well. Terrance Howard plays Detective Mercer, who is vehemently frustrated by the legal system he defends, investigates the series of vigilante style murders. The charismatic and sharp Mercer, eventually hypothesizes the killer may be a "woman with a grudge". Turns out that Mercer had met Erica before. They also form a touching bond out of both compassion and shared loneliness.

Granted here Jordan and Screenwriter Mort are manipulative. Possessed by anger and vengeance Erica kills the vilest of human beings. However, Foster never plays Erica as an avenging superhero. She is fearful, angry, and poignantly acknowledges that she may be becoming no better than the criminals she kills. She is clumsy, surviving on her smarts, and all heart. On paper what she is doing is wrong. However, as an audience there is an element of muted admiration and redemption in seeing Foster's Erica emerge from helpless victim. Foster brilliantly captures Erica's transformation and quiet loss of humanity. Like in all great tragedy, the hero must come to terms with that he or she eventually becomes that which they despise. It is all about how the hero reconciles that. To that end Terrance Howard is amazing as Erica's voice of conscience—he commands an understated and quiet power.

Jordan's twist at the end may be contrived; however, I don't think that it dilutes or undermines "The Brave One"'s power. We are all for Erica's redemption and reconciliation of her very soul. Jodie Foster is so powerful and compelling as hero Erica. This is one of her best performances, and award worthy. Her performance resonates with us-- the worst and best in humanity. Neil Jordan's storytelling is edgy and brilliant. "The Brave One" is uncompromising film-making, and well worth view and thought.

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