THE BRAVE ONE
movie review by David Blackwell

128 minutes
STARRING Jodi Foster, Terrance Howard, Naveen Andrews
DIRECTED by Neil Jordan

STUDIO: Warner Bros/ Silver Pictures/ Village Roadshow Pictures
Theatrical RELEASE DATE: 9-14-2007

Jodi Foster is radio talk host Erica Bain. She has a great life until she is beaten and her soon-to-be husband (Naveen Andrews) is beaten to death. She buys a gun and sppirals into shooting scum and being a vigilante by accident. She tries to face her grief as she bonds with a police detective (Terrance Howard) investigating the viligante killings.

In THE BRAVE ONE, Jodi Foster dons a role that she is so well at playing- the tortured survivor. You may beat her, but will put you down afterwards. The film is expertly directed by Neil Jordan. Jodi Foster carries the film. It is a great film about justice, right and wrong. I might not agree with all of it. The big letdown is the absurd conclusion. I wonder if the ending was hollywood wanting to play to what audiehnces expect to happen to Jodi Foster. The ending does a reversal of a conversation had earlier in the film. I just wish they could have stuck to their guns. THE BARVE ONE is great until that absurd conclusion.

Now I wonder if I should just watch all of the DEATH WISH films instead. Maybe I was also looking for more resolution. Also the conclusion feels a little tacked on as the film explores Erica's descent into fear and trying to find that safe place within herself again only to be sucked into the place of a starnger even more.

this movie review is (c)9-14-2007 David Blackwell and cannot be reprinted without permission. send all comments to lord_pragmagtic@hotmail.com  
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