Amanda Marsh (Jennifer Connelly) isn’t happy with her husband’s work/life imbalance and often turns to Marvel Steinbrink (Andie MacDowell), the fire chief’s wife, for support and friendship.Īn exceptional film that uses its long running time effectively, Only the Brave also unleashes a torrent of profanities in what seems to be an attempt to convince us the men we see on the screen are the real deal. Other major characters are the women, who as wives and girlfriends accept just as much risk as the men. It’s a side story that provides a positive example of someone who overcomes an all too common ailment. Branded with the nickname “Donut”, he’s a former addict determined to convince the mother (Natalie Hall) of his baby daughter that his former life is well behind him.
While each of the men gets some screen time, we closely follow Brendan McDonough (Miles Teller). Working with Mayor Worthington (played by an actor with the ironic name Forrest Fyre) and fire chief Duane Steinbrink (Jeff Bridges), Marsh reaches his goal and begins recruiting members. Concerned that Prescott is in jeopardy of being inundated by a major fire one day, he campaigns the municipality for the formation of a hotshot crew. I think Depp is an incredibly talented guy but you wouldn't know it by watching this film.The spotlight is mainly on the group’s supervisor, Eric Marsh (Josh Brolin). Add in the fact that he didn't get released and they seem to be hailing this as some sort of masterpiece that "normal folks" can't "get". I might sound like George here but this film has gotten a lot of great reviews from fans but to me it sounds like people love this film just because it has a foreign, non-Hollywood feel to it. The performances are also dull and that includes Brando. Everyone delivers their lines at such a slow and drawn out way that had they sped it up just 1% then I'm sure the film would have lost an hour of its running time. The film has a terrific storyline but he doesn't do a thing with it and in the end the film is simply a mess. Since Depp was director, star and co-writer he certainly has to take the majority of the blame. I think the real reason is that the film is simply a piece of junk.
I've heard stories of Depp being mad at American critics who trashed the film in Cannes and I've heard the storyline was just too depressing for release here. There's been all sorts of reasons why this film was never released in America. With no other future in site the man takes the job. Somehow he is introduced to a man (Marlon Brando) who offers his $50,000 to be tortured and killed in a snuff film. In the film Depp plays an American Indian who can't get a job due to being a drunk and this doesn't leave much of a future for his wife and two children. Brave, The (1997) * (out of 4) Johnny Depp's directorial debut is a film I've been dying to see since I first heard about it back around 1996.
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