Brick

Take the spirit of detective novelist Dashiell Hammett, throw in a lot of Bogart, a little Bacall, create a language only a private dick could love, and set it all in a Southern California high school, and you've got a startlingly original film with a terrific story delivering one surprise after another. You've never seen a movie quite like Brick. Clearly inspired by 1940s film noir, this flick puts tough-talking guys and dolls in the middle of brightly lit suburbia—it's The Maltese Falcon meets Fast Times at Ridgemont High. Without giving too much away, the plot centers around the mysterious disappearance of the ex-girlfriend of outsider Brendan Frye (Joseph Gordon-Levitt, en route to major stardom), whose vanishing act causes him to take action. Murder, duplicitous dames, drug dealers, and scene stealers all figure into director Rian Johnson's ingenious story that shines a light on today's restless breed. What's really dazzling, and most memorable, are the rhythms of the contemporary language Johnson has created for these lost teens. You may not understand the individual words, but you'll definitely get the picture. And it ain't a pretty one.