“The Brave One” — A Movie Pulse Review

Part Ms. 45, part Kill Bill, and all Death Wish, Neil Jordan’s The Brave One explores themes of justice, revenge, and moral ambiguity while unfolding a dramatic tale of vigilante terror – all with a driving undertone of “forgiveness is for wussies.” Paradoxical in its approach of vigilante justice and brutal violence, these methods of entertainment certainly accomplish its goal of cathartic gratification, but the vicious circle of unlawful justice it promotes works to discredit the grounds in reality it strove for. While The Brave One’s story may be more realistic than one might hope, it does prove that obeying the law isn’t nearly as much fun as breaking it and meting out justice with cold steel is the quickest way to get a cheer out of your audience.

New York radio host Erica Bain (Jodie Foster) lives a picturesque life of happiness with her fiancé David (Naveen Andrews). But all that changes abruptly when a gang of thugs viciously attack the couple in the park and leave them for dead. When Erica awakens in a hospital and learns that David has died, she turns to the comfort of vigilante justice in New York’s seedy underworld of crime. Patrolling alleyways, subways, and ghettos, Erica begins hunting down and killing those that seem to deserve it most. But when an honest cop is hot on her trail and the bloodshed rapidly eats away at her soul, she must decide if the fragile line of right and wrong, revenge and justice, must be crossed again.

First and foremost, this film goes for the typical Hollywood crowd-pleasing action, and exploitive vigilantism is a surefire trick. Who doesn’t love to see the underdog break the law in all the right places? Unfortunately, 1974’s Death Wish beat The Brave One to the punch. So did Ms. 45, and even Kill Bill most recently, as a super stylized revenge flick. With only a few twists and turns that differentiate Foster’s vigilante from the cheer-inducing Charles Bronson or bloodthirsty Beatrix Kiddo, director Neil Jordan also introduces quite a few moral conflictions. A part of Foster wants to bloodily dispose of those who destroyed her comfortable life, and the other part wants to put it all behind her and learn how to keep living a normal one. But normalcy is far from possible, as she narrates her own decent into identity-altering vengeful violence.

Jodie Foster’s performance is believable and sensational, but she is in the same rut that critically acclaimed actors such as Jack Nicholson reside in. She continues to play herself, whether it is on an airplane (Flightplan) or as a secretive cover-up power player (Inside Man). In The Brave One, she is merely Jodie Foster struggling with loss and an overwhelming desire for vengeance. We appreciate her performance, but she also fails to create a character that we haven’t seen before. Supporting actor Terrence Howard is still fresh and inventive, and his role tends to pull the spotlight away from Foster. So too does Nicky Katt, whose role is entirely comedy relief, but hilariously well-timed.

Hollywood has become infatuated with overwrought twists in movie conclusions, and while The Brave One offers little innovation in that department, the build-up and presentation of its story, combined with heartfelt performances, helps tip the scales back into favorable territory. Foster’s tormented battle with her emotions is an intriguing one and though things might wrap up a little too neatly in the end, Jordan knows how much more satisfying it can be to let justice prevail (no matter how many laws one must break in doing so).

It’s easy to root for such a strong female lead character, and Foster is no stranger to just such a role. With astonishing action and tense moral conflicts, whether or not Foster becomes the very thing she is out to abolish, she still knows how to be thoroughly entertaining as Jodie Foster.

- Mike and Joel Massie
MoviePulse.net