The Brave One - 2007

Directed By: Neil Jordan
Starring: Jodie Foster Terence Howard, Naveen Andrews, Mary Steenburgen, Nicky Katt, Jayne Adams
This new film starring Jodie Foster is a difficult one to judge. On the one hand it’s a beautifully performed examination of the effects of violent crime on a victim whose life is destroyed when she and her fiancé are attacked in Central Park. That she (Jodie Foster) is witness to the brutal murder of her fiancé helps compound this assault as not only does is character introduced to a fear she thought was other peoples but is left to it alone, having lost the love of her life. On the other hand it’s a right wing approach to the problem of violent crime. New York is described as the biggest safest city in the world, but the New York presented in Neil Jordan’s thriller is primarily the dark side of the city, gangs, drugs, pimps etc. That London is currently experiencing what seems to be a rise in violent, notably gun and knife, crime helps this film no end as concerns and worries of London citizens centre on the inability to protect or prevent these types of crimes. The film, then, seems perfectly placed to raise serious and contemporary moral questions about revenge, retribution and capital punishment. The film pushes its vigilante theme quite prominently throughout the film as post attack Erica Bain (Jodie Foster), who had never before the attack found herself the victim of crime, comes into contact with two black robbers, is witness to a convenience robbery/murder and even rescues a prostitute from a pimp. All this might seem contrived but for Jodie Foster’s performance, giving Erica an almost fatalistic outlook; its as if she purposefully seeks out violence to test her ability to face her fear. And she does a pretty good job. Killing those who seek to commit crimes in her presence. This is really where the moral ambiguity of the film begins. Where this could so easily have looked at the moral issue of killing these criminals who would no doubt be unprosecuted or unable to be prosecuted by the police, the film instead decides to focus solely on the effects on Erica.

As the story develops the film begins to look at the consequences and morality of the actions Erica takes, in her radio show. This becomes perhaps the only direct look at the consequences of whether the act of killing a criminal for committing a crime is acceptable. As the story develops and the crimes mount, another element brings in a different perspective on the theme. Terence Howard plays Detective Mercer, the police officer responding to actions of Erica. But he himself in one scene, almost condones the actions. As Erica interviews him he explains the difficulty he’s having with a suspect of trafficking. Erica, who by this time is beginning to develop affection for Mercer, and vice versa, relieves his frustration by dealing with the problem directly. But again this theme is weak, ill explored by either the script ot Neil Jordan’s direction and ultimately feels a little too convenient a narrative development as Erica seems less troubled by her actions.

As the film draws to its climax, Erica is for the first time given the opportunity to seek revenge on those who originally committed the crime, the any sense of drama or tension is lost in favour of violence and graphic detail, another element that reinforces the right wing feeling of this film. Once the disappointing ending, both narratively and thematically, has resolved itself the audience is left in a difficult position. When dealing with a strong contemporary issue such as this it is easy to moralise and give the audience the answers you want. But this film does not do this, nor does it deserve commending for leaving such a huge moral question unanswered. This is due mainly to the films poor handling of this theme, as both writer’s Roderick Taylor and Bruce Taylor, along with Neil Jordan seem disinterested in whether Erica’s actions are morally acceptable un the circumstances or not. What they seem more concerned with is the affects violence can have on an otherwise non violent person, but even this is never fully explored or developed.

A great opportunity goes begging, considering the times we live in, but Jodie Foster proves why she is still Hollywood’s greatest actress and her performances drives and centres a story which otherwise seems to lack vision, integrity or creativity. Neil Jordan has done better work, but he handles himself respectably if never seeming to test himself or the material.