The Brave One
Good but nothing original - aidanlucid
Neil Jordan has never shied away from hitting a nerve with his audience as he has proved in the past with Interview With a Vampire (1994), Michael Collins (1996), and In Dreams (1999). This time he manages to do it again but he may have hit one too many nerves on this occasion. Erica Bane is a writer from New York and hosts her own radio show where she reads out her stories on air. One night however, and through no fault of her own, she becomes involved in a story that reeks of death and one that will eventually scream revenge. While out walking with her fiancé, David, in Central Park, three thugs brutally attack them killing David and beating Erica to within an inch of her life. Three weeks later, Erica awakens from a coma and learns the horrible truth about the fate of the man she was due to marry. Grief stricken, she purchases a gun and roams the streets of New York in search of the men who robbed Erica of her true love. Soon however, she becomes obsessed with killing lowlifes who prey on the innocent, taking on the role of protector. But every action has a consequence and with Detective Mercer hot on her trail, this is one story that may not have a happy ending for the New York writer turned Vigilante. The Brave One, as mentioned earlier, is a very gritty drama and does reel the audience in around the ten-minute mark with a savage beating dished out by three hoodlums on Erica and David. Jordan does indeed hit a nerve with this scene as Jodie Foster's character, Erica takes a vicious pounding which may be too much for some viewers to watch, especially if they suffer from a nervous disposition. On the other hand, it does give the viewer the understanding why Ms. Bane takes matters into her own hands and given the circumstances, I think anyone would've done the same. This is the set-up of the plot and what follows is a riveting 100 minutes with the tension always simmering, threatening to boil over with the booming sound of gunshots breaking the silence of the screen room. As Jordan's recent film rolls on though, we find ourselves asking, “haven't we seen this before?” and of course the answer is, yes we have. The whole vengeance story has been overdone and some scenes mimic that of the classic, Deathwish, swapping the male vigilante character for a female. Jordan should've known better than to do something that has already been done. Jodie Foster is at her all time best here as Erica Bane who deals out her own brand of justice. Terence Howard as the unrelenting detective, is also excellent sharing some great scenes with Foster. Though The Brave One is a great hard-hitting drama, it is for the most part, unoriginal and ultimately becomes a case of deja vous.
Review published on the 09 October 2007 09:01
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