Brick Analysis

Brick Analysis

The opening sequence of ‘Brick’ is very typical for a film of its genre. It’s very mysterious and dark, which promotes imagery of a similar kind. The opening shot is very dark, which sets the mood as bleak for the rest of that particular sequence. In the background we hear sad, slow music which reinforces the dark/bleak mood. The tinny bell sound of the music creates the feeling of loneliness as it’s an isolated sound from the rest.

The camera then pans left and goes into an extreme close up to show the shoes of an unknown character. The shoes are clean and reasonably smart which suggest they are being worn by someone respectable. However, they’re crouching which is a somewhat vulnerable position; this makes the audience ask various questions.

The camera then moves into an extreme close up of the character face, which reveals the fact that he is a male. We know it’s the same character who is wearing the shoes due to the positioning of his body and his overall stature. His hands are regretfully covering his face, which suggests anger, sadness and shows he may show some remorse, which foreshadows later events.

His eyes are fixated on a spot, which becomes apparent shortly after. The camera angle then goes to a long shot, to reveal the mouth of a tunnel, with the body of an assumed dead woman. This makes use of eye line match to make the audience feel as though he is linked with the woman’s death.

The spacing between the characters allow a very powerful shot to be created, and make the audience ask questions like whether the boy knows how this has happens, and why he’s just sitting there staring at it. At this moment, the audience have no reason to suspect him as the culprit, however the fact he is no moving could suggest this. He is also wearing white, which suggests purity.