The Brave One

Review By: Michael Dance
michaelmdance@gmail.com

In a recent interview, Jodie Foster said that she didn't like the title of The Brave One because she didn't consider her character, Erica Bain, brave. She found Erica's progression throughout the movie to be a downward spiral that portrayed Erica becoming more corrupted and soulless.

So here's the thing: I wholeheartedly agree with that, and if that's what the movie was actually about, it would be fascinating. But that's actually the opposite of what the movie is trying to say. By the end of the movie, it's very clear that we're being told Erica is a hero who's doing the right thing and has fully healed. Which makes Foster's comments baffling to me. Why did you take the movie if it was clearly endorsing the actions of a character you found to be reprehensible?

Let's back up a bit. The Brave One is a violent thriller that starts out as a New York City-set romance between Erica and her fiance David. Erica is a radio talk show host, and David works at a hospital. They're taking their dog through the park one night when they get attacked by a small group of young thugs. Erica is badly beaten, and David is killed. (Right off the bat this doesn't make sense, because David is played by Naveen Andrews, who on Lost can beat the crap out of anyone, often with his hands literally tied behind his back. Sorry, it's my favorite show, had to mention it.)

Anyway, after being released from the hospital, Erica grieves quietly in her apartment, afraid to go outside. She finally goes to the police to check on her case, but when they take too long to help her, she crosses the street and buys a gun for her protection.

Afterwards, in a series of absurdly contrived sequences (especially considering the film keeps reminding us that New York City is actually remarkably safe), Erica finds herself in a series of dangerous situations which she solves by killing whoever's threatening her. She witnesses a guy shoot his ex-wife; two guys pull knives on her in the subway; etc. Statistically, the amount of dangerous situations she gets into within a tiny time span is impossible, even if you throw in psychology about how she's subconsciously seeking it out. But you know what? Fine. Without these scenes there wouldn't be a movie, I get it. So, fine.

As you can tell, at this point I was less than impressed. So far, all the material is either in, or can be inferred by, the trailers for the movie, and I stopped feeling sorry for Erica the minute she pulled the trigger the first time. But more on that later. The movie actually gets rolling when it begins to develop a relationship between Erica and Detective Mercer (a strong Terrence Howard). ...