Judy Thorburn's Movie Reviews
The Brave One
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- Category: Judy Thorburn
- Published on 06 November 2008
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Judy Thorburn
Jodie Foster Will Blow You Away As "The Brave One"
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JODIE FOSTER WILL BLOW YOU AWAY AS "THE BRAVE ONE"
No doubt everyone who has seen Kevin Bacon’s new movie Death Sentence will want to compare it to Jodie Foster’s latest film, The Brave One, since they are both about seeking retribution after a loved one is senselessly, brutally murdered. But the truth is while vengeance and vigilantism are common to both pics, the films are distinctly different veering off in separate, unexpected directions. Jodie’s film, especially, has an ending that took me by surprise. One thing is for sure; both Bacon and Foster deliver one of the best performances of their career. I wouldn’t be surprised come Oscar time, if each are nominated for the prestigious award.
Jodie Foster’s impressive screen resume is filled with portrayals of tough, strong women that you don’t want to mess with. These are the kind of roles that have defined her career and, to no surprise, she is at it again with a performance that will blow you away (pun intended).
Jodie plays New Yorker Erica Bain, a radio personality who shares the sights, sounds, and her thoughts of the city with listeners to her show “Street Walk.” Away from work, Erica’s personal life involves being head over heels in love with fiancé, tall dark and handsome David Kirmani (Naveen Andrews of TV’s “Lost”) and planning their upcoming nuptials. But her entire world is shattered when, one night while walking their dog in Central Park, they are attacked by a group of thugs. David is beaten to death with a lead pipe and Erica, barely surviving the horrendous strikes to her body, is left in a coma only to awake in the hospital and discover that all she has loved, including her dog, has been taken away.
Left feeling depressed, shocked and overwhelmed with fear by the city she has always loved, once home Erica decides to arm herself. She winds up buying a gun from an illegal dealer after finding out that it would take weeks to get a permit. Erica soon discovers that not knowing how to shoot means nothing when the experience using it takes over.
Meant originally for protection and to help her overcome her new terror of the streets, the gun begins to empower Erica in a way she never knew she was capable of. Psychologically and emotionally transformed by the tragedy, the gun wields a power that will inevitably take her to a place from which she can never turn back.
A visit to a grocery store starts the ball rolling when Erica oversees a guy come into the store and proceed to shoot and kill his wife, the cashier. In an act of self defense, Erica pulls her gun, misses a few shots but winds up blowing him away. With her hands shaken but fully determined never to be fearful again, Erica starts putting herself in more dangerous situations. Next up, a subway ride turns deadly for some gangsta punks who first mug a college student, harass an old man and child and then turn to Erica threatening her with a knife to her throat. Not realizing she is packing a weapon, that’s the last thing they live to do.
As one thing leads to another, Erica’s acts of vengeance toward criminals who no doubt appear to get what they deserve, become headline news causing everyone to believe a man is responsible. Terrance Howard plays Mercer, the sympathetic police detective on the case who is determined to track down the unknown vigilante. He develops a friendship with Erica and winds up conflicted when clues in his investigation lead to a woman, and it is her.
Audiences are not used to seeing a female vigilante, given they are used to that portrayal from macho types like the aforementioned Kevin Bacon or Death Wish’s Charles Bronson. But, it is time for women to take a stand. What better an actress to deliver the goods than Jodie Foster. She is brilliant in this film that explores her character’s inner confusion, desperation, and ultimately self loathing that follows after realizing what she has become.
Foster, working together with controversial director Neil Jordan (The Crying Game) draws you into the suspense filled, tense, and psychologically driven storyline that will have you at first rooting for her, and then getting inside her head and empathizing with the woman who is tormented by her own behavior.
The fine supporting cast includes Nicky Katt as Mercer’s wise cracking partner and Mary Steenburgen as Erica’s radio station boss. But it is Foster, with her fierce performance that carries the film.
If the movie has a flaw it is in the last few moments that don’t seem real. Does the end justify the means? Like Foster’s character, the answer to that question is one you will have to live with.