Retro Film Review: The Brave One (2007)

Hollywood in the first decade of 21st Century was already drenched into "political correctness". Yet, in those times, the film makers would occasionally indulge themselves with experiments that represented a significant deviation from the left-wing ideology. One such experiment brought together Joel Silver, the legendary producer of 1980s and 1990s "macho" action films, with none other than the Neil Jordan, esteemed Irish author of art cinema, as well as with multiple Oscar-winner Jodie Foster. The result of this experiment was 2007 crime drama The Brave One. Among those names, the most notable was one missing from the credits - Charles Bronson.

Bronson was a great actor with many significant performances in major films, but his most famous role is one that today's "wokesters" would love to erase—Paul Kersey, often described by limousine liberals among critics and film scholars as the worst fascist monster to appear on big screen. The main character in the 1974 film Death Wish horrified snobbish liberals and leftists precisely because they recognized a part of themselves in him—a enlightened pacifist intellectual who abhors violence. However, when Kersey's family becomes a victim of a cruel and senseless crime, purpose of his life becomes the pursuit of justice and "cleaning up the trash" from New York City’s streets in accordance with the "do-it-yourself" school of criminal justice. With Kersey and numerous Kerseys that followed him, audiences easily identify.

Thirty-three years after Kersey, viewers meet another enlightened liberal intellectual, this time in the form of the heroine of The Brave One—radio host and writer Erica Bain (played by Foster), whose work is inspired by her walks through the streets of New York. However, during one walk, she and her fiancé David Kirmani (played by Naveen Andrews) become targets of a Puerto Rican street gang. After several weeks, Erica wakes from a coma to learn that David has died in the attack, and it soon becomes clear that the police are not making much effort to find the perpetrators. Feeling insecure on the streets she once loved so much, Erica acquires a gun. When she uses it in self-defence, she suddenly realises that the old Erica has died and a new one has been born. Her mission is to roam the streets searching for robbers, pimps, rapists, and similar scum and put 9 mm calibre bullets between their eyes. The consequences of her activities are investigated by Detective Mercer (played by Terrence Howard), who quickly realises he is dealing with a solitary avenger—a "cleaner" of New York's streets. During the investigation, he befriends Erica, whom he initially thinks is just an ordinary radio journalist, but over time many signs indicate she has far more connection to the murders than it initially appeared.

Although some critics—especially those of liberal-left persuasion—were inclined to label this film a colossal failure or a "shallow excursion into exploitation genre" unworthy of "artistic talents" like Foster and Jordan, enough creative energy was invested in this film for it to rise above Hollywood's average. This primarily pertains to Jordan's choice as director—whose 1982 feature debut Angel also featured a peaceful man turning into a solitary distributor of justice—and excellent casting. Both lead actors were permanently marked by violence in real life—Foster was associated with John Hinckley Jr., who had fixated on her during his assassination attempt on President Reagan, while two-year-old Howard witnessed his father kill a man he had accidentally quarrelled with on the street on Christmas Day 1971.

Howard proved to be an excellent choice for The Brave One. An actor who demonstrates perfect control over tough yet emotionally vulnerable characters essentially carries the entire film on his shoulders. His character—a weary, emotionally scarred policeman trying to do his job despite growing sympathies for the mysterious killer—is one that audiences can easily identify with rather than Jodie Foster's character.

This does not mean that Foster's performance is poor in this film. However, her character falls victim to a clumsy script that burdens the story of a liberal intellectual’s transformation into an Old Testament street avenger with tedious psychoanalysis in the form of inner monologues, references to Iraq War, as well as numerous superfluous subplots and characters—including the obligatory "politically correct" moral compass represented by her West African immigrant neighbour who should lead her back onto the "right path." Fortunately, Jordan and Silver do not follow this overly predictable path and remain true to the genre tradition of the 1970s and 1980s. Jordan has crafted a film that is both old-fashioned and modern at once, which will satisfy audiences despite a pessimistic view that every era will have its own Paul Kersey.

RATING: 7/10 (+++)

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