Hollywood in 2007 can be described as a haze. Of course, it is not that the weather in Los Angeles is bad or the market is bleak, but that noir-style movies collectively come to the fore this year. Checked IMDB's grading information: "Old Nowhere", restricted level; "Blood Black Gold", restricted level; "Michael Clayton", restricted level; "Barber Todd", restricted level; all of them gloomy Stand in a row, just like the Smith's phalanx in The Matrix.
Violence, homicide, crime, and revenge, this year’s Oscars are “black” that makes people feel a little overwhelmed. But in fact, such movies are the strengths of American movies. Many new and veteran Hollywood masters we are familiar with have also practiced this routine: Hitchcock Kirk, Francis Coppola, Martin Scorsese, the Coen brothers, Soderbergh, Quentin Tarantino, David Finch, etc. However, apart from the taste of filmmakers, I am more willing to believe that if someone is willing to make a movie as a business, the main reason is that someone is willing to watch it. There are indeed many viewers who are obsessed with these works, including the author. In addition to the above-mentioned awards, there are several similar works worthy of attention in 2007, such as Cronenberg's "Oriental Promise", which has a dark luxury in the sharp lens. But if you can't stand the undisguised blood and gore, you might as well take a look at "The Brave Man", which is quite a literary film.
"The Brave Man" was also translated as "The Brave Avengers", "The Avengers", "The Black Street in New York" and so on. Looking at these translated names, you can guess 30% of the plot: Radio female DJ Erica Bann walked with her boyfriend at night, but was attacked by gangsters in the park, her boyfriend was killed, and she herself was seriously injured. Erica was full of fear for life from then on. She bought a gun to defend herself, and shot some bad guys to death, gradually playing the role of the "volunteer policeman" in punishing crimes. But it was illegal to kill after all, and the police officer Moser began to pay attention to her, and a game of cat and mouse was played between the two.
The plot is actually nothing new. There is a long list of similar duty police stories: classics such as "Taxi Driver" and "No Survival", popular ones such as "Superman", "Batman", "Death Note", "Illegal Sanctions", etc. This theme can easily be made into an action movie in which a lonely hero breaks into the tiger's den alone. The protagonist has an expression and muscles similar to Bruce Willis, stepping on a majestic and sensational soundtrack, and so on. But "The Brave Man" is definitely not the case. The story begins in the slightly hoarse voice of the female DJ, and the poetic language floats in the air of New York through radio waves, describing the subtle feelings of life in this city. The details of the subsequent love affair were relaxed and romantic, with such a sentiment, which made people feel that they were watching a romantic film with a strong literary atmosphere.
The huge New York and the indifferent police station made this woman who had just experienced disaster feel extremely alienated on the endless street. The subjective lens shot by hand shows that Erica took to the street for the first time after recovering from injury. The slight noises and even the familiar corridors made her frightened. Out of the urge to protect herself, she went to buy a private gun. A woman who had completely lost her sense of security could only rely on a cold weapon to withstand the bitter inner cold. The heroine is Judy Foster. Since "The Silent Lambs", she seems to be the best choice for this kind of little woman who is under tremendous pressure. The thin outline, green eyes, and closed lips worked hard to resist the tremor from the heart. After experiencing these things, Erica knew that she had become another person. The streets she had been acquainted with had become unfamiliar. Fear eroded her whole body. The way to overcome this fear was to shoot criminals in the dark streets. If she killed someone for the first time, she was nervous and nervous out of self-defense; but the second time she killed, she calmed down a lot; then the third time, she got pleasure from it; the fourth and fifth times, this thin woman Already eats the marrow and knows the taste, as skilled and cold-blooded as a killer. This is the reason why I like this movie: the story does not intend to create an action hero, but to dig into the characters' hearts. The gradual character changes describe how a woman walks towards the vague boundary of good and evil little by little.
And chasing her back of both righteous and evil is the role of police officer Mercer. He represents legal justice (or violence authorized by the order) and constitutes another heavy pressure on Erica's operation. Mercer, played by Terence Howard, is a powerful third-line actor, despite having been a supporting role for many years. As the spokesperson of the system, he has been trying to catch this "voluntary policeman", although he thanked her from the bottom of his heart. So another wonderful dramatic conflict in this film occurred between his and her advancing and retreating and the temptation to guess, especially the scene where the last two drinking coffee side by side, looking at each other in the mirror, clearly knowing, The opponent is a rival and a comrade-in-arms.
While watching and guessing the ending, seeing it, I felt that Erica would either commit suicide or die with the bad guys, but the ending was unexpected. "You want to kill, use a legal gun," he stood by her side. But at this moment, the police officer Mercer no longer represents the law and system. He represents the needs of the audience. Perhaps it can be said that it represents people's doubts and even ridicules about their own safety and legal protection in American society today.
I have always believed that at least one moment in everyone's life will be so angry that they want to commit a crime. For example, a teenager was harassed by street hooligans, for example, his wife was beaten by a drunk husband, for example, was deceived, was wronged, was bullied, and was put on small shoes. Fortunately, it is a gun, or simply cherishes peerless martial arts, kills one person in ten steps, and does not stay for thousands of miles. You see, gentle and thin like me, I also yearn for the blood and pleasure of using violence to control violence. The problem is that, like most people, I always warn myself to forbearance and keep order.
After all, law, morality, and rationality are the guarantee for the continuation of a harmonious and civilized society, and personal grievances, injustices, helplessness, anger, and hatred can only be resolved by themselves. For example, it can be resolved in the obscenity provided by the movie: when the law and justice are too late or even powerless, we expect brave people to stand up and punish evil.
However, if the original intention of being brave is because there is no safety, who would be willing to be brave?
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