Best. Movie. Ever.

Okay, well at least it's the best movie we've seen in a very long time.

Last night, we watched Brick. The movie came out around or shortly after the time I'd been reading all those Raymond Chandler mysteries. So of course I put this one in the queue, as I was all primed for a little film noir detective schtuff.

(Besides, who doesn't love Joseph Gordon-Levitt?)

The basic premise is that high school student Brendan gets a call from his ex-girlfriend who is clearly in distress. The disjointed conversation drops a few clues that he eventually follows to their source (although she, meanwhile, has been killed). It's very hard-boiled detective-esque. There's the authority he must work around (the assistant vice principal), femme fatales (in drama club, among other places), and there is even a reference to an "old guy" -- around 26 years old. And yet despite the inherent comedy of much of this set-up, the plot is deadly earnest, and you don't doubt it or the characters for a moment.

Regular readers may remember that I've frequently said something along the lines of, well this movie is quite good or this is quite enjoyable, but it is "not without flaws." In Brick, we noticed no flaws. And while I will grant that it's quite possible not everyone will like this movie, we certainly thought it was exceptionally well executed and we enjoyed it immensely.