While taking its cues and its verbal style from the novels of Dashiell Hammett, director Rian Johnson's debut feature BRICK also honors the rich cinematic tradition of the hard-boiled noir mystery by wittily and bracingly immersing the trope in fresh territory - a modern-day Southern California neighborhood and high school. There, student Brendan Frye's piercing intelligence spares no one. Brendan is not afraid to back up his words with actions, and knows all the angles; yet he prefers to stay an outsider, and does - until the day that his ex-girlfriend, Emily reaches out to him unexpectedly and then vanishes. Brendan's feelings for her still run deep; so much so, that he becomes consumed with finding his troubled inamorata. To find her, Brendan enlists the aid of his only true peer, The Brain, while keeping the assistant vice principal only occasionally informed of what quickly becomes a dangerous investigation. Brendan's single-minded unearthing of students' secrets thrusts him headlong into the colliding social orbits of rich-girl sophisticate Laura, intimidating Tugger, substance-abusing Dode, seductive Kara, jock Brad and - most ominously - non-student The Pin. It is only by gaining acceptance into The Pin's closely guarded inner circle of crime and punishment that Brendan will be able to uncover hard truths about himself, Emily and the suspects that he is getting closer to. Starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Lukas Haas, Nora Zehetner, and Emilie De Ravin.

"With a superb lead turn by rising star Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Rian Johnson’s debut is a smart, original neo-noir that works as an ingenious mindgame as well as a slick Hollywood calling card." (Empire Magazine)

"Like the best noirs, BRICK is a triumph of attitude, and there's no arguing that its brand of deadpan cool is precisely unique." (Slate)

Friday, August 31
Doors 10:30 pm | Movie 11:00 pm
Tickets $10 advance | $12 at the door

*Minors welcome in the balcony! Must be 19+ w/ID for bar service and main floor seating.
**Rio Theatre Groupons and passes OK! Please redeem at the door.

BRICK (Rian Johnson, 2005 / 110 mins / 14A) After receiving a frantic phone call from his ex-girlfriend, teenage loner Brendan Frye learns that her dead body has been found. Vowing to solve her murder himself, he must infiltrate high-school cliques that he previously avoided. His search for the truth places him before some of the school's roughest characters, leading to a confrontation with a drug dealer known as "The Pin."