There is a standard formula for excellent superheroes: They don't have much of a family; horrible events have taken place in their lives; and frustration with the state of the world causes them to take matters into their own hands.
The Brave One, directed by Neil Jordan, follows this tried-and-true superhero formula but with a grittier, real-world edge. Jodie Foster plays Erica Bain, a heroine who does not live in a comic-scene world but in one more like our own. As a result, The Brave One is less immediately satisfying than the superhero thrillers that burned a hole in our pockets this summer. There are no clear "good guys" and "bad guys." There are only gray issues heaped on top of a justice system that seems increasingly ineffective.
The movie opens with Erica madly in love with her fiancé, David Kirmani (Naveen Andrews of Lost). One night, a gang of guys in wife-beaters with long chains attack and beat the couple who are walking their dog in Central Park. Weeks later, Erica wakes up to the nightmare of learning her future husband has died. Shortly after returning home to her memory-infested apartment, Erica is forced into a similar situation. This time, however, she is prepared: She buys a gun and adopts a new "hunted-becomes-the-hunter" mentality.
During her vigilante quest, she befriends the lonely Detective Mercer (Terrance Howard). Unfortunately for Erica, he begins to suspect what she actually does at night.
The acting in this film is incredible. Foster delivers a performance of the same caliber seen in Silence of the Lambs. Foster's portrayal of Erica's grief-stricken shell is so accurate that her bizarre killing spree feels understandable and therapeutic rather than senseless and rash. Foster creates a character so consumed by hatred and disbelief that one false move could be the start of an entirely new crime scene.
Howard's performance as Detective Mercer is also worth noting. His portrayal of the clichéd lonely cop, unsure about the morality of his job, is anything but boring. Howard makes Detective Mercer comforting and likeable. In a story where the justice system seems to be failing, Howard provides a perfect balance to Erica's extreme frustration with the police force.
Overall the film is smart and unlike anything I have previously seen. The gunshots are brutal and the blood flows like beer from a keg at a frat party. The film does, however, try too hard to get you to feel for Erica's loss. With Foster's amazing acting talent, scenes like the one of her and her fiancé making love clipped with shots of them being cut open for surgery at the hospital are over the top. The montage adds nothing to the film and only tells the audience something they already know: The two are in love.
The question of whether you should see The Brave One is more a question of how real you are willing to get for a couple of hours. Movies are meant to be an escape from the real world. Although we constantly try to improve our technology to make them seem realistic, do we really want them to show us just how terrible things can be?
Yes, while the odds of a 100-pound woman with a blonde pixie haircut walking around with a gun in her purse seem slim, there is still something raw and unsettling about the film: People kill sometimes for virtually no reason and the bad guys often get away.
See The Brave One to experience the acting and some gruesome shooting scenes, but don't see it to feel good or settle your fears.
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