The Brave One

The “Brave One” is a thought-provoking study of the consequences of revenge. Jodi Foster plays Erica, a woman who, along with her fiancé, David, is severely beaten. Erica survives; David doesn’t and Erica’s quiet outrage at the police’s inability to catch David’s murderers is much more effective than any loud ranting. As Erica walks a fine line between sanity and madness, courage and fear, horror and revenge, she loses a piece of her soul every time she takes a life. Certainly the reason to see this movie is Foster’s powerful performance although Terrence Howard’s supporting role as a sympathetic police detective is also quite remarkable. (9/17/07)