| The German Netflix thriller Brick takes a smart, simple premise, builds something unique and engaging, and then temporarily goes insane before getting back to the only possible ending. What I love about movies like this is how unique and universal it is at the same time; it’s original and can appeal to anyone around the world. And it starts very strong with two characters fully defined within minutes and then suddenly locked in with no explanation. | | 2025
Directed by: Philip Koch
Screenplay by: Philip Koch
Starring: Matthias Schweighöfer, Ruby O. Fee
|
When a thriller starts as strong as this one does and then you’re looking at very middling critic and audience scores, either you’re the odd one out or something goes wrong. Something definitely goes wrong here, while leading towards the ending they found a way to piss off everyone. I found the end scene predictable but very satisfying and fits everything we knew; I did not care for the nonsense that came just before it. I suspect there are a lot of other viewers who liked the horror-esque moments but hated the ending. You can’t please everyone, and these filmmakers found a way to please no one despite writing a unique, inventive, engaging, and taut thriller.
The structure is extremely good – things keep moving and escalating at an appropriate pace, and always building on what we know. Tim (Matthias Schweighöfer) and Olivia (Ruby O. Fee) are the main couple, stuck in a rut, where one is ready to leave and move on forever and the other does not want to change. They have just broken up and suddenly their apartment is encased by a black brick wall. It’s not brick, it’s an impenetrable force resembling a brick design. Each new thought and idea the characters have come at the same time the audience will be thinking the same thing. They make their way to a neighbour’s apartment through an inside wall, and eventually we move from two main characters to four, to six, to seven.
Like all good thrillers there is a puzzle to figuring out what is going on – to them or to the world around them; meanwhile when the group has grown, whether it’s just to four, or more, the voices start dissenting. Disagreements on what is actually happening – will they be safer on the inside or outside? Are the people who think there’s something worse happening insane or right?
I really enjoyed so much of this movie – the attempts to get down first and then ultimately out, the paranoia that eventually starts seeping in, I even liked the high-tech nature of the science fiction premise. There are too many moments leading towards the end where they took the high tech sci fi too far. It also slows down a bit and gave characters further backstory that does not advance the story; these are good characters that don’t need anything more.
Brick is a well made movie and remains interesting, but it’s going to lose viewers at multiple points towards the end. Too many moments of insanity seep into this smart and engaging thriller.
|
