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Although there is a certain escalation in the film—Erica starts out with pure self-defense, but moves up to self-defense after passing up an opportunity to escape, to self-defense after asking for trouble, to actively hunting down and confronting bad guys, and even going a step beyond that—it seems telling that Erica never takes on anyone who hasn't just been trying to kill her or is at least threatening her with deadly force or serious harm.

When this gun-wielding woman gets angry, get out of her way

What about the police? The Brave One largely depicts them as professional but callous and unhelpful. "I understand how hard this can be," a desk sergeant repeats to each hurting soul who comes in the door. The big exception is Detective Sean Mercer (Terrence Howard), a sensitive officer who's good with kids and takes his job very much to heart. He listens to Erica's radio show and eventually strikes up a friendship with her even as he investigates what eventually appears to be a string of vigilante attacks throughout the city. The film tries to make their interaction the personal center of the story, but neither character is sufficiently self-aware to make their relationship very compelling.

The Brave One may raise the question whether Erica's actions are right or wrong, whether in some case the right thing to do is to get out of harm's way or not put oneself in jeopardy, etc., but that everyone deserves what they get is pretty much a foregone conclusion. (Critic Ed Gonzalez points out in his Slant review that this contrasts with Ms .45, in which the victim's sense of empowerment is undermined by having her exact "revenge" on any male who crosses her, whether or not there was any threat.)

By confronting Erica with uniformly despicable thugs who consistently present a clear and present danger to herself and to others, The Brave One makes their murders as gratifying as possible to the viewer. Foster has suggested in interviews that the film is anti-violence, and I wouldn't be surprised if Jordan agrees.

In practice, though, The Brave One plays as a straightforward revenge flick, nothing more. If it doesn't condone Erica's vendetta outright, it's certainly sympathetic to the argument that the world would be a better place if battered women acquired powerful handguns and took to blowing bad guys away.

Talk About It

1. Are there any moral limits on self-defense? What are some? Would it be permissible to shoot a mugger or intruder or carjacker if there were no evidence that he intended to hurt you? Is there an obligation to try to warn an assailant before using force? What circumstances might alter these factors?
2. What is the difference between self-defense and vigilantism? What does it mean to "take the law into your own hands"? If vigilantism is illegal, can it ever be morally justified? Are there circumstances in which it could be legitimate to buy an illegal handgun? If so, do such circumstances apply in Erica's case? Why or why not?
3. Which actions of Erica's are morally justified? Which are not? How does the movie present them? Does it glorify them? Criticize them? Both at once? How?
4. Is a person who has been severely traumatized fully responsible for his or her actions? How responsible do you think Erica is? How much do you think Mercer knows or guesses about Erica, and when does he know or guess it? How much responsibility, if any, does he have for her actions?
5. What does the Christian obligation to forgive entail? Is forgiveness contingent on repentance, or must we forgive the unrepentant and wicked? What difference does the other person's repentance or unrepentance make as far as we are concerned? Can a person be repentant and forgiven and still be liable to punishment? Does God punish people for sin in this life? What if we repent?

The Family Corner

The Brave One is rated R for strong violence, language and some sexuality. Violence includes a vicious assault and graphic images of the beaten victims, a number of bloody shootings including execution-style deaths, a vehicular assault and other confrontations. Sexuality includes brief but strong glimpses of intimacy presented in flashback, with brief explicit female nudity, as well as depraved sexual menace from a knife-wielding thug and a man holding a prostitute captive in his car. Language includes repeated use of the f-word and God's name taken in vain.

Photos © Copyright Warner Bros

© Steven D. Greydanus subject to licensing agreement with Christianity Today International. All rights reserved. Click for reprint information.

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