Shot by shot analysis of Brick

1. BRICK - Opening Sequence Breakdown
An extreme close up of Brendon’s feet here is
shown to create speculation of who the
character is and the possible threat he could
pose.
The camera is blurred here before transitioning
to an extreme close up of Brendan’s eyes. This
was done to create a distorted mood in the
moment as Brendon is coming to grips with the
reality laid in front of his very eyes.
An extreme close up is used here in order to
clearly convey Brendan’s emotions as he is
obviously emotionally effected by Emily’s
murder.
This cutaway longshot is used to establish the
full setting of the scene, revealing the crime and
location along with Brendan positioning.
Interestingly, the tunnel behind Emily is almost
oval/semi-circle shaped, representing death,
evidenced by the “circle of life”,(tunnel) cut in
half, disrupting the chain and the dark unknown
abyss of the tunnel itself.

2. Brendon’s reaction suggest that the victim
meant something to him as he has obviously
been impacted by the sight of the body. He
conceals half his face with his hands, showing
the attempt to conceal his emotions of possibly
anger and sorrow n order to cope wth the
reality.
This cuts to what Brendan is looking at the
victim’s legs. The dirt seen on her implies that
the victim has been dead for quite a while. The
facts that certain aspects of the body is highlight
suggests that Brendan is familiar with this
person.
Cutting back to this shot but slightly closer. The
audience is able to feel pity for Brendan as his
emotions become more apparent. Interestingly,
Brendan is back up against a slanted wall,
creating a sort of disoriented feel and gives the
audience the feel of being backed into a corner,
helpless to do anything.
This close up of Emily’s face is quite significant
on both a literal and figurative plane. Literally,
this focuses of Emily’s concealed face, not
seeing her emotions as she is frankly, dead.Her
skin is also quite pale, confirming this notion.
Figuratively though, the water connotation
suggests the theme of life as the water can be
symbolized as Emily’s life force fading away
into the tunnel and the way her hair is slightly
dipped in is where life is starting to fade.

3. Perhaps the most significant shot of all the shot
that starts the story (also the film poster), the
extreme close up of Emily’s arm highlighting
her bracelet which is her defining piece of
apparel late used throughout to identify her.
Interestingly, the water in this scene is flowing
a different direction which can be interpreted as
the tunnel inflicting death upon Emily,
poisoning her with water.
Here we witness when Emily is alive and the
beginning of all he events leading up to her
demise. Time is re-winded to where it all began
implying that Emily had a significant role in the
story arc.
The Titles appear revealing the film’s name:
“Brick”. This implies the film has something to
do with or somehow symbolically relates to a
“brick”. Later in the film we find out that the
“brick” being referred too is a small stash of
narcotics that is stolen by one of the main
characters and results in Emily’s death. The plot
of this murder mystery film revolves around
unraveling the true culprit.
The “Two Days Previous” titles appears to
reveal he length of time since the murder. A
fading/blurry transition to a low medium shot
where a figure is revealed approaching. This
creates suspense as the audience are able to
speculate the identity of the person approaching.
Brendan’s shoes are shown again to reveal that
it is indeed the same person who was impacted
by the murder and also to confirm the notion
that there was a connection between the victim
and the witness.

4. An Establishing Shot is utilized to show the
setting of a high school, conveying the fact that
these characters are just students reminding us
of the scope and seriousness of the film. It
serves to remind that bad thing do not only
happen to adults as it explore the darker side of
high school. This mirrors the typical adult urban
setting of classic Noir films.
Finally, we see what Brendan has in his hands;
a note from Emily requesting a meeting out of
desperation. The significance of this shot is
derived from its stereotypical Noir roots as “the
scene where a woman walks into the detective’s
office”, asking for help and starting the whole
mystery.