BY JOSH HAUTH, CDO Junior

Some movies are funny. Others gain appeal through expensive, involved action scenery and live-to-die scripts. But the one thing most movies today have in common is the hope to entertain. While Rian Johnson’s “Brick” isn’t typically noted for its professional stunt crew or gut-busting one-liners, it does hold its own on a field of considerable recent noir cult classics.

I sat uncomfortably cold in the well-sized Loft theater, my hands sweat-filled in apprehension. I knew little to nothing about the movie I was seated for, except that the actors were young and my friends were convinced by its genius. As the detective-themed film began, I fell in love. Within the first five minutes I was ready for marriage. And by its end, I was heart-broken and ready to experience my new “love” all over again. This sad set of feelings was comprised with outstanding acting performance, unique verbal style, and an intensive, thought-provoking premise that had viewers stumbling for answers. It would be hard for me to describe “Brick” by any other reaction than Madly In-Love.

Our intricate story unravels in a small California suburb brimming with drug-addicted teenagers and dealers alike. The interest of this film grows every second with the murder of a young girl, critiqued and eventually solved by the protagonist character, Brendan. As it develops, viewers find that Brendan’s passion for realizing the small-town killer isn’t due to his boy-next-door curiosity, rather, his previous love affair with the overdosed victim. Inner-determination throws Brendan into a dangerous escapade of unlikely characters and situations. But who is he to trust in the unruly, underground society of dependants?

The cast consists of veteran actors and equally advanced new-comers. “Mysterious Skin’s” Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays the main character, Brendan, exceedingly well. Gordon-Levitt was joined by Nora Zehetner, playing socialite Laura, and Lukas Haas, depicting the drug-committed Pin.

Another absorbing facet of the film is the uncommon use of language. Throughout the movie, the character dialogue consists of old and new vocabulary, as it abbreviates and nicknames. This subsequently “incomprehensible” (as reviewed) script allows just enough, in my opinion, balance of interesting terminology and commonplace expression to deliver valid experience to viewers.

"Johnson has mixed together 1940s-style slang and his own jargon to create a lively, imaginative script that keeps the viewer guessing,” said columnist James Sanford of the Kalamazoo Gazette.

This film is altogether compelling and demands attention. Its detail is never-ending. Its plot is among the most complicated ever written. And it is redefining a dying genre of interesting film.