THE BRAVE ONE

The Brave One, starring Jodie Foster, is one of the best movies I've seen lately. Jodie Foster always does a stunning job in her roles, making her characters real and dimensional. This one is no exception.

The film is rated R for the language, violence, and brief sexuality, but all play a role in making the movie what it is - a heart-pumping story of a victim of a violent crime whose life is changed unalterably and who seeks revenge in the streets of New York, what she once cited as "the safest big city in the world".

We begin watching as she and her fiance' plan their wedding, and we get an insight into a deep and loving relationship that is tragically ended when they are mugged and beaten mercilessly during an evening walk. Her fiance' dies, and she is left to recover. But this incident has changed who she is on the inside and how she views the world around her - through fearful eyes. She begins to fear so much that she buys a gun to carry with her at all times, and winds up being a vigilante as she traverses the city.

The detective who first investigates her case becomes closely involved with her, not knowing that the vigilante is her and not some man they have been looking for. Her killings of the "bad guys" doesn't fit the profile of what women who kill usually do.

Be prepared to view some very raw scenes and walk in her turmoiled mind as you watch this 2007 movie.