We’re all the time intrigued by Netflix’s worldwide content material — a few of their most profitable reveals and flicks have come from overseas, like Lupin, Elite and Cash Heist.
Their new film Brick, a collaboration with Tribes of Europa writer-director Philip Koch, is an intense German sci-fi thriller a couple of couple who should work collectively — regardless of their private drama — to outlive.
Whereas Brick has been panned by critics up to now, Watch With Us continues to be on this high-stakes puzzle-box film.
It’s visually ingenious, emotionally grounded and stuffed with suspense. Right here’s why it’s best to take a look at Brick on Netflix now.
The Premise Is Out There
Matthias Schweighöfer and Ruby O. Charge in ‘Brick’ Netflix
Brick is a locked-room thriller in probably the most literal sense. Within the movie, a pair in disaster wakes up one morning to seek out their house sealed off by impenetrable brick partitions. Tim (Matthias Schweighöfer) and Olivia (Ruby O. Charge) should be a part of forces with their neighbors to determine the way to escape. (These aren’t any odd bricks — they’re made from an odd magnetic materials nobody’s seen earlier than.)
Fixing the thriller would most likely be simpler if Tim and Olivia weren’t already struggling to speak. Olivia lately suffered a miscarriage, and the emotional fallout has pushed their marriage to the brink — to the purpose that she was planning to go away Tim simply earlier than the bricks appeared. The stress of the state of affairs provides one other layer to their already fragile dynamic. The movie explores how private therapeutic and survival are deeply intertwined.
If you happen to’re a fan of sci-fi thrillers like Ex Machina with Oscar Isaac and relationship dramas like Marriage Story with Scarlett Johansson, Brick affords a compelling mix of each genres.
‘Brick’ Stars an ‘Oppenheimer’ Standout
Undecided the place you’ve seen Schweighöfer, who performs Tim in Brick? He appeared in a small however impactful function in Oppenheimer as Werner Heisenberg, the physicist who impressed J. Robert Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy) throughout his early research in quantum mechanics. Heisenberg’s encouragement is temporary however highly effective — emblematic of the shift in U.S.-Germany relations and the scientific disruption brought on by World Conflict II.
Schweighöfer brings that very same quiet depth to Brick, however with far more display screen time to flex his appearing chops. His efficiency captures a person on the sting — emotionally, intellectually and bodily. Ruby O. Charge additionally delivers a layered portrayal of Olivia, mixing vulnerability with razor-sharp resilience. Collectively, they anchor the movie’s emotional core.
‘Brick’ Is a Puzzle in Film Type
As one character places it, the brick partitions really feel like a “twisted escape room” that the characters have been positioned inside with out their consent. If you happen to love puzzles and high-concept mysteries, Brick will certainly scratch that escape-room itch. The mysteries are stacked like — nicely, bricks in a wall — and every reply results in extra questions.
Sadly for sci-fi followers, Netflix simply doesn’t have a variety of motion pictures that fall in that style. Typically that makes it very troublesome to discover a recent possibility among the many sci-fi movies that it does have. There are a handful of big-budget unique sci-fi motion pictures on Netflix, however they merely aren’t nearly as good because the […]
For an additional mental problem that can vastly enhance your viewing expertise, watch within the unique German. The appearing within the English dub is lower than participating, and studying subtitles will allow you to keep laser-focused on the small clues and story beats that make the film so compelling.
Whether or not you’re in it for the sci-fi thrills, the connection drama or simply to flex your puzzle-solving abilities, Brick is a captivating worldwide choose that deserves your consideration. Even when the critics weren’t offered, there’s one thing satisfying a couple of film that makes you suppose, really feel and query every little thing you’ve simply seen — so resolve for your self whether or not it’s any good.