The Brave One

For what it’s worth...a movie review

My scale: 1 through 10; 1 being Ishtar and 10 being Gone With The Wind

The Brave One

My husband has a crush on Jodie Foster, so when a new Jodie film come out, we must be the first in line to see it. So off we went.

Erica Bain, brilliantly portrayed by Foster, is a New York radio host who shares the sounds of the city with her listeners. With a very mellow voice, mild, soothing, and sometimes memorizing sounds come from Jodie and it struck me as sort of odd, in a way. Wondering what kind of kook is this. She is madly in love with and planning a wedding with fiancé’ David Kermani, played by Lost’s Naveen Andrews. Foster is young, sweet, vulnerable, happy and enthralled with life as she and Andrews take the dog for a walk in Central Park. In a random act of violence, they are both severely beaten, he to death and she nearly.
Overwhelmed with fear, she no longer feels safe in the city in which she used to collect sounds to share with her listeners. In desperation, she buys a gun. Being in the wrong place at the wrong time, she kills or is killed. So begins her vigilante therapy.
She befriends Police Detective Sean Mercer, played by Terrence Howard, who is trying to stop New York’s Vigilante. Too soon, in my opinion, he figures out it is the radio host, and is out to stop her. Or is he?

Jodie Foster is at her mesmerizing best in The Brave One. However, I think the title is wrong. I don’t think she was brave at all, but driven by fear and revenge. This film is edge-of-your-seat gripping. Once it evolves into an action piece, it never lets up. With each act of revenge, there was a spattering of nervous applause. But like in Charles Bronson’s Death Wish, you really are waiting to see that villain blown into oblivion, no matter how PC it isn’t! By the time she reaches the line; ‘I want my dog back’, the applause is no longer a spattering, but all out cheers! Mine among them!

There were flaws in the film; such as Det. Mercer figuring out she was the vigilante way too easily. With quite a wound on her forearm, she effortlessly lifts and carries a heavy box without even a grimace. The ending, though very satisfying, was a little out there. But, again, cheers from all. This film didn’t get good reviews for the most part, but I thought it was great! I give this film a 9. I gave Death Sentence an 8.5. Seems to be the summer of revenge films. I figure if we put Jodie Foster and Kevin Bacon together, we could annihilate crime all together!
If you see this film, let me know what you think.