FYC: Brick

Best Original Screenplay
RIAN JOHNSON

I'm fully aware that Brick has zero Oscar possibility. But I still feel obligated to make a case for this movie - the year's best thus far. The movie's main attraction is quite obviously it's screenplay - a tight, labyrinthine murder mystery set in a dreary California high school. Except all the characters talk like they came straight outta Casablanca! It's one of the only scripts I can think of that just oozes "cool" with every. single. word. spoken. Here's a snippet of the dialogue:

Ask any dope rat where the junk's spraying and they'll say they scraped it off that, who scored it off this, who bought it off someone; after four or five connections, the list always ends with the Pin. But I betcha you got every rat in town together and said show your hands if any of 'em actually seen the Pin, we'd get a crowd of full pockets.

Best Actor
JOSEPH GORDON LEVITT

Isn't he the most thrilling young actor around? Manic, Mysterious Skin and now this would make a highly respectable resumé for an actor of any age, let alone someone in their early 20s. (QUICK SIDE-NOTE: Can you believe he's older than Keira Knightley, Scarlett Johansson and Kirsten Dunst? I guess Hollywood just breeds their females earlier.) Anyway, Levitt's performance feels a little bit Bogart with a hint of James Dean but in the end, he makes a character completely his own, perfectly tuning in with the film's style.

Best Supporting Actress
NORA ZEHETNER

Before she was doing Neutrogena commercials and guest spots on NBC's Heroes, newcomer Nora Zehetner was right there with Emily Blunt as one of my favorite new actresses. Playing the classic old-time femme fatale with a modern twist, she's completely mesmerizing in every scene she graces (particularly the ending.)

Again, I know it's stupid wishful thinking to expect these three awesome elements of Rian Johnson's Brick to get any awards or speculation this winter, but a wise man once said something along the lines of "the reward is in the movie itself." Word!