i thought this was an action flick and i couldn't be more wrong about a film. the posters, i think, are very misleading. a gun-toting jodie foster does not automatically qualify the film as the G.I. Jane-type. oh well, my bad.

honestly, i wanted to sleep during more than half the movie. and when i left the theater, i didn't feel anything spectacular. but it's a jodie foster film, and so i had to let it sink in for a day or so to appreciate it. after all, you can't really go wrong with jodie foster.

the film, in my opinion, is more of a psychological thriller. it definitely stands up to it's title-- the movie in itself is The Brave One. first of all, the plot itself is, in my opinion, a fresh breath from what we normally see. it's a break from all the "city movies" we see which usually takes on the plot of (a) [anti] terrorism, (b) disturbed children, (c) sex in the city, and what not. but the great thing about it is that you can actually relate and understand what jodie foster's character, Erica Bain, is going through. the film tackles REALITY-- the harsh reality that whether we'd like to believe it or not, WE ARE UNSAFE. and even more than that, we are unsafe not just in our own country, but in our own neighborhood. i know it sounds like paranoia, but it's the truth. second, the main character is a woman. being raised in a feminist environment for more than 10 years, i am all for women empowerment. third and most importantly, the film tackles a very sensitive issue that has been a societal dilemma for as long as we can remember: the fine line between right and wrong. should we just leave the crimefighting to the cops? should we simply submit to the slow and tedious procedure of the government? how do we know who are on our side? questions of society revolving around TRUST. how can we trust the people, the entities, that we are told to trust, the government, if we cannot see them doing anything about the problems of society, or even worse, if we see that they are actually the ones committing crimes?

Erica Bain's experience is not just the experience of a make-believe character. it is not just the experience of a citizen of the US. what's depicted in the movie is happening all over the world, not to mention that it's also one of the "favorite" topics in filipino current events.