A corrupt universe inhabited by wannabes, dealers, and duplicitous women. Film noir, or high school? It took a certain genius to bring the two together, though to tell the truth, I was a little bit worried when I heard about the premise of this movie. There are so many ways it could go wrong. Fortunately though Brick gets everything right: it is incredibly entertaining, occasionally hilarious, and technically very good as well. It manages to put its finger on a number of conventions of both the film noir and the high school universes while still telling a story that fully inhabits both. I can't imagine that I will ever again watch a film about just one or the other without a feeling of disappointment. A highly recommended diversion.

8/10