EIFF 2012: Brake | The Empire Blog

EIFF 2012: Brake

Posted on Sunday June 24, 2012, 23:31 by Stephen Carty in Under The Radar

Given that Brake has a man trapped in a box for the duration, it’s almost impossible not to compare Gabe Torres's film to Buried, the Ryan-Reynolds-in-a-coffin tour-de force (a tour-de-coffin?) that took Sundance by storm two years ago. The difference here though, is that said man is a secret service agent, and said box is a large see-through container in the boot of a car (yes, that is one big boot). And where Reynolds was an everyman truck driver pulled into a political situation way above his pay grade, Agent Jeremy Reins (Stephen Dorff) has been taken by terrorists who want to know the location of a secret US facility.

So what we’re looking at is, essentially, Jack Bauer kidnapped and stuff in a massive Ikea tub. But while this dilemma differentiates itself with a Bauer-type protagonist (Dorff even yells “Damn It!” at one point), the limitations of the sub-genre ensure that Brake boasts even further similarities to Rodrigo Cortes’s Buried. Just as Reynold’s cramped space was illuminated only by the neon glow of his blackberry and the orange flicker of a lighter, here we have a dayglo red clock and the occasional torturous beamings of a bright white light. Where the coffin was invaded by a slithering snake, here Reins has to contend with – wait for it – a swarm of bees. Before, time was of the essence as oxygen was running out, here the aforementioned clock is ticking down towards… well to say more would only spoil things.

OK, so it’s similar to Buried, we get it. But is it any good? Well, while it's not on a par in terms of suspense or tension, for the most part Brake does offer itself up as a consistently involving thriller. Though confined to an uncinematic location (car boots are renowned more for their sales than suitability to multiplex screens), Torres keeps things ticking along nicely, helped by Dorff’s noticeably committed turn. Some sections of the movie work better than others, but overall we feel like we’re in the boot with Reins and kept curious about where it’s all heading. Which, sadly, is where Brake lets itself down…

Much like Cortes's recent Red Lights, Brake goes some way to undoing its good work with an unnecessary and unsatisfying climax. Of course, to say any more would be unfair, so anyone wishing to go in cold (which is the best way), should stop reading now. But after providing us with juicy twist which works well enough in the moment (despite failing to stand up to any further reflection), Torres and screenwriter Timothy Mannion see fit to add another diabolical turn, one that leaves a rather sour aftertaste. It’ll very likely be the main talking point when viewers leave the cinema, which is a shame considering how decent the movie is overall. But there's another thing they'll definitely be saying: Can we leave it a while before the next man-in-a-box thriller, please?