The Brave One (2007)

Struggling to recover emotionally from a brutal assault that killed her fiancé and left her in a coma, a radio personality begins a quest for vengeance against the perpetrators that leaves a bloody trail across New York City.

Director:

Neil Jordan

Writers:

Roderick Taylor (screenplay), Bruce A. Taylor (screenplay)

Stars:

Jodie Foster, Terrence Howard, Naveen Andrews

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 1 win & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jodie Foster	...	Erica Bain
Terrence Howard	...	Detective Mercer
Nicky Katt	...	Detective Vitale
Naveen Andrews	...	David Kirmani
Mary Steenburgen	...	Carol
Ene Oloja	...	Josai
Luis Da Silva Jr.	...	Lee
Blaze Foster	...	Cash
Rafael Sardina	...	Reed
Jane Adams	...	Nicole
Gordon MacDonald	...	Murrow
Zoë Kravitz	...	Chloe
John Magaro	...	Ethan
Victor Colicchio	...	Cutler
Jermel Howard	...	Thug on Subway

Storyline

Erica Bain is a happy radio host from a city she loves and with a fiancé she adores. However, a brutal attack in New York's Central Park changes her life forever, leaving her in a coma for 3 weeks and her fiancé dead. In an attempt to feel safer after the attack, she buys a gun. However New York does not feel the same as it did anymore and Erica has several encounters where she is not afraid to use her new gun. Everyone is talking about a vigilante and Erica is forced to talk about them too on her radio show...

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Plot Keywords:

radio show | dog | park | gun | detective | 

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Taglines:

How many wrongs to make it right?

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

14A

Did You Know?

Trivia

Portia de Rossi and Kate Beckinsale were offered the role of Erica; both turned it down. Neve Campbell and Josie Davis auditioned for the role.

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Goofs

Police say there were no eyewitnesses to a killing on the New York subway and resort to tracking down a passenger to get a possible description...even though NYC subway conductors look up and down the platform at each stop to make sure doorways are clear, which is why this train remained stopped with its doors open when one of the bodies fell out.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Erica: [voiceover, doing her radio show] I'm Erica Bain. And as *you* know, I walk the city. I bitch and moan about it. I walk and watch and listen, a witness to all the beauty and ugliness that is disappearing from our beloved city. Last week took me to the gray depths of the East River where Dmitri Panchenko swims his morning laps, like he has every morning since the 1960s. And today I walked by the acres of scaffolding outside what used to be the Plaza Hotel. And I thought about Eloise....
[...]

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Connections

Referenced in The Cinema Snob: I Spit on Your Grave: Part 2 (2013)

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Soundtracks

Hits from the Bong
Written by B-Real (as Louis Freese), John Hurley, Deejay Muggs (as Larry Muggerud) and Ronnie Wilkins
Performed by Cypress Hill
Courtesy of Columbia Records
By arrangement with Sony BMG Music Entertainment
Contains a sample of "Son of a Preacher Man"
Performed by Dusty Springfield
Courtesy of Atlantic Recording Corp.
By arrangement with Warner Music Group Film & TV Licensing
Courtesy of Mercury Records Limited
Under license from Universal Music Enterprises

User Reviews

Jodi Foster serves up a dish best served cold in revenge thriller

"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.

Details

Official Sites:

Warner Bros. Pictures [Japan] Warner Bros. Pictures [UK]

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 September 2007 (Canada)

Also Known As:

L'épreuve du courage

Filming Locations:

183 Grand Street, New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$70,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend USA:

$13,471,488, 16 September 2007

Gross USA:

$36,793,804

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$69,787,394

Company Credits

Production Co:

Warner Bros., Village Roadshow Pictures, Silver Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

122 min 119 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.39 : 1