Brendan (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) gets a note from his ex-girlfriend Emily (Emilie de Ravin) that she's in trouble and needs help. She's been running with the wrong crowd, got too deep, and can't get out. But before Brendan can find her, she winds up dead. Justice isn't on the table, but vengeance might be if he can only put together the pieces linking Emily to The Pin (Lukas Haas) and a missing brick of heroin.
This is one of the most perfect neo-noirs I've ever seen. It's set in high school, the only place people can be this dramatic outside of the 40s, and features some of the greatest dialogue ever rejected by Dashiell Hammett. Moody and atmospheric while still drenched in SoCal sunshine. It's The Long Goodbye by way of The Breakfast Club. The cast is so very serious but the production design, costumes, and sound design are all in on the joke. Cannot praise it highly enough. Rian Johnson catapulted off this into A-list status and it has never felt more deserved.
It's only available for rental but I would urge you to buy. It loses none of its power on subsequent watches and only gets more beloved for me.
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