Brave One, The

Aroview: Jodie’s gotta gun, here playing a radio jock turned vigilante avenging her husband's fatal mugging in Neil Jordan's tough stylish, revenge drama with a twist.

Harbouring post-9/11 fears, this proffers a disquieting contemporary vision of New York, where violence stems not so much from hatred or disgust, but a sense of anxiety and helplessness. Even so, its darker human themes are cheapened unintentionally by dir. Jordan’s hat tipping to vengeance scene-stealers of the past (TAXI DRIVER, DEATH WISH). Also off-putting is the conventional detective narrative – Terrence Howard plays a good cop hot on Foster’s killing spree – as well as the film’s moral inconsistency, a hallmark of revenge pictures across the board.

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