Reviewed by Neil Davey
Stars Jodie Foster, Terence Howard, Nicky Katt,
Naveen Andrews, Mary Steenburgen, Blaze Foster,
Ene Oloja, Rafael Sardina, Jane Adams
Written by Roderick Taylor
Certification UK 18 | US R
Runtime 119 minutes
Directed by Neil Jordan
A new Jodie Foster movie is always something to get excited about. She makes so few these days — just eight in the past 10 years — that we’re generally grateful to see her. However, while it’s always good to be reminded of just how good an actress she is, she seems stuck in a rut of average thrillers. Her last appearance — that brilliant, bordering on cameo turn in Inside Man — suggested she was done with the Flightplans and Panic Rooms ... and now she returns in a movie that, however you look at it, and despite whatever considerable class Foster (and co-star Howard) can bring to proceedings, is still basically Death Wish with breasts.
Foster plays Erica Bain, New York resident and fan, and a radio presenter whose ‘Street Walk’ show allows her to bring her tales of her beloved home town to the masses. And then, one night, the Big Apple bites back. Out walking her dog with her fiancé, a gang of muggers — with a video camera which you just know will feature in the end — attack them, leaving the other half David (Andrews) dead and Erica as near as dammit. A slow recovery leaves Erica alone and shaken, trapped by the city she once loved. It gets so bad that she feels the need to arm herself against it. Her decision is quickly justified when she shoots a murderer in a convenience store attack. That was a kill or be killed situation. And the same might be said of the second incident, when she shoots two thugs on the subway. But, then again, it might not: maybe, just maybe, Erica’s gone out of her way to get into a threatening situation, particularly as she doesn’t stop there.
As stories of the killing(s) spread, New York’s finest — in the shape of Mercer (Howard) and Vitale (the hilarious Katt) — realise that they’ve got a vigilante on their hands. Mercer’s path crosses Erica’s and, as a fan of her show, he’s willing to talk but slowly wonders if there’s more to this diminutive presenter than you might suspect. It’s an interesting premise and, overall, a far more intelligent analysis of revenge than Death Wish and its many imitators. However, for all its unusual angles and blurred morality it is still a bullet-heavy revenge thriller and, in Jordan’s less-than-capable hands, it rapidly descends into a sticky, predictable mess. You always hope that you’re going to get Crying Game Jordan but, all too often, you get In Dreams Jordan. The Brave One starts like the former but ultimately it all falls apart and collapses on a thoroughly unconvincing final twist. That it’s then ended with an unnecessarily schmaltzy moment shows that, instead of being a European-flavoured arthouse thriller of any conviction, it’s all smoke and mirrors and the target audience is the broad strokes only Saturday night multiplex crowd. Foster and Howard bring more ability and nuance than are strictly necessary and the fact that you’ll still be there until the end is testament to their abilities. However, as you pick your way through the spilled popcorn, spare a thought for Andrews. His big screen career, presumably shoehorned in between series of Lost, seems to involve short cameos that end in a grisly manner. You’ll soon see him lose his head in Planet Terror. He, Howard and particularly Foster, deserve much, much better.
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SECOND OPINION | Cassam Looch ***½ Jodie Foster is arguably the greatest working actress in Hollywood. I know the conventional wisdom is to favour Meryl Streep in these situations, but really, has she done anything really good since Adaptation? That said, Ms Foster hasn’t exactly been doing all that much herself, with barely one film a year being her output of late. But the key thing is, be it a lightweight thriller like Flightplan or a vigilante throwback such as this film, Foster is always excellent and brings something very genuine to every character.
It is nothing more than a female Death Wish and on a moral level it could well be considered bankrupt, but you have to sit back and admire the skill and talent brought to the screen. As well as the lead character, you get a sensitive portrayal of a sympathetic detective played by Howard. The chemistry between them is superb, and the unresolved atmosphere pervades to the last reel of the film. The climax might not be great, but the last lines will haunt the viewer for a while after the credits fade. In places the film is too conventional for its own good yet the pacing is consistently engaging and when the script veers too far from being plausible it reigns itself in the nick of time.