Advanced Review: "The Brave One" - 8 STARS
I had the privilege to advance screen the movie "The Brave One" on Monday, September 10th. I walked in with expectation of the usual great performance by Jodie Foster and a big fan of Terrence Howard - however I had just seen Kevin Bacon's "Death Sentence" and while parts of it was worth seeing, most of the vigilante themed movie tanked. So, yes, I was skeptical that it can be pulled off in today's market.
However, I was pleasantly relieved with "The Brave One". Jodie Foster was outstanding and the plot was well conceived and executed. At times there were dramatic character transitions that were extremely hard to accomplish but the acting pulled it off. There are no words to convey those emotions and both Foster and Howard delivered.
Spoiler below. Highlight the white text to view:
Foster plays a radio show host who is by her nature out in the streets of New York a great deal, and she is in fact having a love affair with the city. She is also engaged to be married - her fiance is killed in a vicious mugging with her being seriously injured. Foster goes through a dramatic character change from someone who is in love with the city to one who is threatened by it. This is extremely hard to pull off, and at one point when she is about to leave her apartment the second time after returning from the hospital, the music itself almost ruined the acting portrayal. Should have been silence with the city being the noisy background. Aside from ill advised music interruptions, Foster becomes someone determined to protect herself. She buys a gun. She in fact has to use it. Several times. She changes again from someone in defence of herself to someone cleaning the streets of evil. Another huge acting leap accomplished. All the while this is going on, she is having a close relationship with a homicide detective played by Howard. Howard slowly becomes wise to the true identity of the vigilante murders and you are truly left wondering whether he will arrest her in the end or somehow let her go. I indeed went back and forth mentally as to whether one ending will prevail over the other several times! In the end, I was pleasantly surprised again. I had elected one ending that was going to occur and I was wrong. I am rarely wrong in judging plot lines and to be surprised - and then invigorated - with a weird sense of joy and pure rapture when she carried out her final task. A task sanctified by her new love interest Howard. I have honestly never felt such feelings toward such an act before. It is a testament to Foster's ability to pull it off. Go see this movie. The music and cinematography leave somethings to be desired but believe me the movie pulls it off. Unlike "Death Sentence".
To view the spoiler, highlight the white text above.
Here are my calculations for coming up with my rating of 8.0 stars:
