The vigilante theme has been done many times before from Charles Bronson’s DEATH WATCH films to last week’s DEATH SENTENCE with Kevin Bacon.  This new entry THE BRAVE ONE, directed by Irishman Neil Jordan (THE CRYING GAME, BREAKFAST ON PLUTO) updates the genre by having a female heroine (Jodie Foster) and by taking the theme many steps further.  The script of THE BRAVE ONE (by Roderick and Bruce Taylor) has victimized NYC radio DJ, Erica (Jodie Foster) go through a character change from traumatized victim to confident killer as she uses her vocation to source out the killer. The story is also updated to the modern context – her attack is posted on the internet; another victim has his ipod stolen.  The script is admirably anti-racial.  Erica’s fiancé is African American and so is the investigating detective (Terrence Howard).  So, the film gets away with the attackers being dark (could be Hispanic as well).

Foster is good in THE BRAVE ONE but she won’t receive an Oscar nomination having done better in better films most notably THE INSIDE MAN and of course, THE ABDUCTED. 

THE BRAVE ONE tries hard but ultimately takes the vigilante genre too seriously.  The script contains far too much monologue – uttered as Erica speaks to herself or when she talks over the radio.  The writers also give themselves a pat on their backs by having the radio listeners praise Erica’s radio talk show, the dialogue of which they wrote.  THE BRAVE ONE eventually emerges as a film in which the action scenes are too few and far in between.  The violent scenes here are necessarily graphic.  THE BRAVE ONE is not that bad a film, but it takes the wrong marketing route.  Audiences for this genre want meaningless satisfying non-stop action.  They would be less interested inwitnessing the Jodie Foster character metamorph or listen to her poetic speeches.