The Brave One (2007)

Terrance Howard as Detective Mercer asks Jodie Foster's Erica how she came back from her heinous assault. Foster tellingly admits, "You become someone else…" Jodie Foster is powerful in Neil Jordan's "The Brave One". Jordan's "The Brave One" could have easily slipped into a feminist version of say perhaps "Death Wish". Foster's heart felt performance and fierce intelligence compel and enroll. Her distinct gift is that she always plays as smart as her character. She inspires with authenticity, humanity, and sheer will. Terrance Howard is an awesome screen partner and foil. He is stunning. "The Brave One" falters a little in its forced resolution; however, the screenplay and story by Roderick Taylor, Bruce Taylor, and Cynthia Mort is the tale of a woman's stand in the face of fear. I say that in the most apolitical way. "The Brave One" may be criticized for possibly glorifying vigilante justice masked as vengeance. I believe for the smart and talented Jordan and Foster, that was not what attracted them to the project. There is a poignant and moving scene as Erica (Foster) returns to her job as New York Public Radio talk show host. After a squirming lapse of silence, Erica bares her naked soul as she talks about her path back to normalcy, acknowledging she is now one of "the people who live in fear". It is hard to dismiss "The Brave One" as populist exploitation. I think that for Foster's Erica, she simply draws her line in the sand. I think that resonates with a lot of people. When I saw "The Brave One" last night, the audience was applauding at the movie's conclusion. I have not heard that in a long while. "The Brave One" strikes an emotional and cultural chord.

Jodie Foster plays Erica Bain, who is a Public Radio talk show host. Erica records the sounds of New York City and comments upon them on her show. Therein lays her affinity to the city. Erica is engaged to David Kirmani (charming Naveen Andrews), a star physician. They have a great life, and are preparing for their wedding. Then one evening while taking their dog for a walk in Central Park, they are viciously attacked by 3 thugs, who actually record the malicious beating. Note the attack is visually savage and ruthless. Erica awakes in the hospital weeks later to discover that David is dead and buried. Devastated and her life profoundly altered, Erica returns home to begin her recovery. Here Jordan and Foster touchingly illustrate Erica's haunting memories of David, in the context of the attack. Jordan's claustrophobic camera angles punctuate Erica's isolation. Eventually able to muster the courage to leave her apartment, Erica is paralyzed in fear. In an act of desperation, she illegally buys an automatic handgun. The guy selling her the gun, even says to her, "What happened to you?" Soon thereafter, Erica kills a vicious killer at a liquor store. She must now fly under the legal system radar. She chooses this dark path of vigilante justice, which can not end well. Terrance Howard plays Detective Mercer, who is vehemently frustrated by the legal system he defends, investigates the series of vigilante style murders. The charismatic and sharp Mercer, eventually hypothesizes the killer may be a "woman with a grudge". Turns out that Mercer had met Erica before. They also form a touching bond out of both compassion and shared loneliness.

Granted here Jordan and Screenwriter Mort are manipulative. Possessed by anger and vengeance Erica kills the vilest of human beings. However, Foster never plays Erica as an avenging superhero. She is fearful, angry, and poignantly acknowledges that she may be becoming no better than the criminals she kills. She is clumsy, surviving on her smarts, and all heart. On paper what she is doing is wrong. However, as an audience there is an element of muted admiration and redemption in seeing Foster's Erica emerge from helpless victim. Foster brilliantly captures Erica's transformation and quiet loss of humanity. Like in all great tragedy, the hero must come to terms with that he or she eventually becomes that which they despise. It is all about how the hero reconciles that. To that end Terrance Howard is amazing as Erica's voice of conscience—he commands an understated and quiet power.

Jordan's twist at the end may be contrived; however, I don't think that it dilutes or undermines "The Brave One"'s power. We are all for Erica's redemption and reconciliation of her very soul. Jodie Foster is so powerful and compelling as hero Erica. This is one of her best performances, and award worthy. Her performance resonates with us-- the worst and best in humanity. Neil Jordan's storytelling is edgy and brilliant. "The Brave One" is uncompromising film-making, and well worth view and thought.