The first time I saw The Big Lebowski I didn't make the connection between The Dude and Philip Marlowe. This is how the Coen Brothers describe The Dude in an interview on the DVD. The Big Lebowski is a modern day detective story, but the protagonist is a dopey pothead instead of a brilliant detective. Replace The Dude with Sam Spade, and the pieces fall together as a classic film noir, or classic bowling noir if you will.

This leads me to Brick, a film by Rian Johnson. In Brick I foresaw a badly executed noir film in the making, this time in a high school setting with a teenaged protagonist. The trailer intrigued me, and I dared to hope it would live up to its potential. I set my expectations low, but Brick exceeded them. I assumed the setting would detract from the film and nullify the drama. Johnson overcomes this dilemma by poking fun of the fact that these are high school kids. He interjects humor between the tension, and this helps the viewer to accept the setting, and laugh at it at times.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt is Brendan, a high school age Sam Spade with a tiny bit of The Dude throw in for good measure. He's a bit of a chump and a recluse, but he leverages his wits to get what he wants. In a scene where he roughs up a drug addled yeg for info, he proceeds to quick slap him back and forth across the face a la Humphrey Bogart. He is a classic Dashiell Hammett figure, and I couldn't help but like him.

Brick is styled as a noir detective story, from the dialog to the cinematography, and it is done well. It wasn't too complex. It didn't try to expend a lot of plot to keep you from guessing the outcome. It's smart enough to keep you intrigued, but not too smart to be implausible. Mind you, you have to suspend your disbelief to accept teenagers in a more mature setting. If you can, it makes for a good film.