Why don't my hands shake? Why doesn't somebody stop me?

On one level, The Brave One is an efficient shocker in which the main character is traumatized by violent crime and then takes matters into his own hands by targeting criminals and meting out justice vigilante style. It's been done many times on film over the years - and the only major difference in this go-round is that the vigilante is a woman.

This movie, however, is much more than just the average revenge tale. It's a surprisingly moving character study whose main characters are thoughtful and reflective, and their plight elevates this movie beyond the standard pulp-ish shoot-em-up theatrics that typify the genre (although, don't get me wrong, action fans do get some tense gunplay here).

Credit for this film's success is largely due to principal stars Jodie Foster and Terrence Howard.

Foster plays Erica Bain, an NPR-style talk radio reporter chronicling the lives and sounds of New York City. At the start of the film, she is happily engaged to a doctor played by Naveen Andrews, and seems fulfilled by her career and the direction her life is taking. One evening, while walking their dog, they are attacked and brutally beaten by some gang members. Bain is severely traumatized and needs several weeks in the hospital to recuperate; her fiancé dies. Shell-shocked by the experience, Bain tries to get her life together again, but after illegally purchasing a gun from the black market, the inevitable carnage begins, as she takes out bad guys left and right as if she were Charles Bronson. It would have been so easy for this role to be melodramatically overplayed, but Foster is fantastic. Always convincing, she runs the gamut of emotions in this movie, and her performance is arguably as good here as in her signature roles throughout her illustrious career.

Equally good is Terrence Howard's turn as the police detective hot on the trail of the serial killer gunning miscreants down in his city. His role is understated in many ways, a good guy troubled by his own demons - largely stemming from an unhappy divorce. "Divorce sucks," he tells his partner, played by Nicky Katt, at one point. Howard's performance as the lonely, contemplative cop is sympathetic and evokes the memory of some of Denzel Washington's finer roles.

There's a scene near the end of the movie where Foster and Howard meet at a diner that is absolutely brilliant in its simplicity and execution. They've become friends through the course of the film, and there's even some sexual attraction, but the detective has started to piece together what she's been doing. The two actors nail it brilliantly and communicate so much even in their silences. I won't spoil the scene further other than to suggest you keep your eye out for it. In many ways, it has the same emotional resonance as the classic diner scene in Michael Mann's Heat between cop Al Pacino and criminal Robert De Niro.

If there's a fault with the movie, it lies within the screenplay. Some might argue that it's rather unrealistic for Erica Bain to encounter as many violent crimes as she does in the span of such a short time. And I suppose that's true. This didn't particularly bother me, though, as, in the realm of the movie itself, her run-ins with criminal elements seemed plausible enough for me to suspend my disbelief. What did bother me was the ending, which seemed dishonest to the flow of the film and rather Hollywood. It's not a horrible conclusion that wrecks the movie a la the disastrous conclusion to M. Night Shyamalan's The Village, but it doesn't ring true to the film's build-up and characters.

Climax aside, this is a well-acted and directed vigilante justice film, and I highly recommend it.

The DVD

Video:

The Brave One is presented in an anamorphic widescreen format. The image is nicely rendered and pleasing, with no glaring defects.

Sound:

Warner Brothers' The Brave One DVD release provides several audio language options: English, French, and Spanish. All three are Dolby Digital 5.1. The soundtrack is nicely rendered, although perhaps a different English language audio option would have been nice, if only to provide options.

Also included are four subtitle choices: English, English (for the hearing impaired), French, and Spanish.

Extras:

I was slightly disappointed with the amount of extras on this disc, as it seems like a film deserving of more. For instance, there isn't a commentary track. What you do get with this disc is the following:

A featurette called "I Walk the City" has producers Joel Silver and Susan Downey, director Neil Jordan, star Jodie Foster, and many others involved in the making of The Brave One discussing its origins and development. Their comments are edited so that no one says more than a couple sentences at a time and short scenes from the film often serve as transitions between comments. It's interesting, although the movie scenes are largely redundant if you've just seen the movie, and I'd prefer to have heard the various participants talk at length, rather than having snippets of their comments fragmented throughout. The in-depth Charlie Rose interview with several people involved in the making of this film, broadcast during its theatrical release, would have been a great extra, especially given the PBS / NPR vibe that the Erica Bain character taps into it. "I Walk the City" runs about 22 minutes.

Several additional scenes cut from the movie, including character-developing dialogue, are presented collectively. The menu doesn't allow you to choose an individual scene to play, nor is there any accompanying commentary that explains why the scenes were cut (one imagines they were cut primarily for pacing, but it still would've been nice to hear it authoritatively).

Trailers for Michael Clayton, The Assassination of Jesse James, Get Smart (the upcoming Steve Carell remake), and Shoot 'Em Up play when the disc is first inserted. There doesn't seem to be a link to them in the DVD's menu, however.

Final Thoughts:

While the conclusion may disappoint, The Brave One is still a gripping, estrogen-fueled mashup of Death Wish and The Punisher. The terrific performances by stars Jodie Foster and Terrence Howard (both would have been worthy of Oscar consideration) more than makes up for some flaws in the script. Highly recommended.

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