Picture: Netflix
From the mind of writer/director Philip Koch (Sixty Minutes, Tribes of Europa), Brick is the new mysterious sci-fi thriller starring frequent Netflix collaborator Matthias Schweighöfer and his Army of Thieves co-star Ruby O. Fee. While Brick makes 3 Netflix Original movies for O. Fee, Schweighöfer has now starred in 6 films, kicking off with his breakout role in Zack Snyder’s Army of the Dead in 2021.
Shot in Prague in a custom-built apartment complex specifically for the film, Brick tells the story of Tim & Olivia (Schweighöfer & O. Fee naturally), a couple going through the motions and barely keeping their relationship afloat following a traumatic loss. After a last-ditch attempt by Olivia to keep the spark alive goes awry, she decides to pack her things and leave, only to find their apartment is completely shut in. All their doors, windows, & exterior walls are completely sealed off by a dark collection of brick-like shapes with a texture and feel completely unlike anything they’ve ever encountered.
With no communication, no technology, and no explanation for these events, Tim & Olivia work together in search of answers and a way out of this confusing, mysterious, & claustrophobic nightmare. Breaking down walls and floors between apartments, they gain the help of their neighbors to aid in their mission to leave. But as they draw closer to finding a way out, new forces & rising tensions find more ways to keep them in.
Joining Schweighöfer & Ruby O. Fee in this condensed cast are Frederick Lau (Crooks) as Gael, Salber Lee Williams (The Queen’s Gambit) as Ana, Murathan Muslu (Barbarians) as Yuri, Alexander Beyer (The Lives of Others) as Friedman, Sira-Anna Faal as Lea, & Axel Werner as Oswalt.
Picture: Netflix
Brick follows a classic puzzle box plot construction that entices the viewer with an unexplained event that entices and engages its audience while slowly answering the question along the way. Some of my favorite films & TV shows (especially the works of Damon Lindelof) follow this structure incredibly well, typically making the characters and the moral & philosophical quandaries they endure so engrossing that the mystery takes a backseat to the meatier plot entanglements. Unfortunately, Brick does not do much to excite & entice its audience beyond the poorly rendered CGI wall of confusion.
The film is an obvious, poorly executed genre blend that doesn’t do any of those genres particularly well. The science fiction doesn’t get that technical as the mystery largely gets solved by a dead man and mostly just discovered by a video game programmer, an architect, & a collection of bumbling, drug-addled, paranoid neighbors who don’t add much to the proceedings. The thriller aspects don’t kick in until halfway through the film and are constantly derailed by Koch’s poor use of drama and pointless, painful-to-watch philosophical musings.
The movie just wants to scream “He built a wall around himself emotionally, get it?! He had to break down those walls to get through THESE walls, GET IT?!” while occasionally trying to get deeper with the “why us?” conundrum that tries to trauma bond the characters together in a fruitless, nauseating, extremely forced manner conducted by side characters who don’t deserve more backstory.
Brick’s story construction feels like a relic of the cheap, small Covid-friendly productions that got greenlit a handful of years ago, created around 1-2 location settings with minimal characters who mostly have to reckon with confinement, political/social commentary, conspiracy theorists, or all of the above. With so many of those films coming and going already, it seems too little & too late for Brick to make an impact, even if it was made well (it really wasn’t).
The toughest part to square up is what the audience is supposed to take away from such a story. Surveillance is good because it will give you all the answers? Always believe the tech guy over the conspiracy theorist/doomsday believer, even if what they say is completely plausible? Always bet that something positive will occur, even if you have very little basis to go on? Don’t trust your neighbors? Put emergency messages over radio frequencies that they know can’t penetrate the walls? If anyone has any answers, I’m willing to listen.
Brick; Matthias Schweighöfer Brick; Cr. Courtesy of Netflix ©2025
On a positive note, one of the main reasons I was excited to fire this movie up was the casting of Schweighöfer & Ruby O. Fee, and they were not the reason this film did not succeed. In fact, outside of a reasonable yet limited performance from Murathan Muslu as Yuri, they combine for one of the rare bright spots in the film. While the writing will let them down, the duo tries their best to elevate unearned dramatic tension and bring the audience back from long stretches of fledgling supporting characters. Their familiarity from Army of Thieves proved useful to give this movie something to cling to when the story goes wayward.
Overall, Brick largely wastes the puzzle box intrigue & leading duo of Schweighöfer and Ruby O. Fee with a poorly written screenplay devoid of strong characters, proper motivations, enticing clue building, & a-ha mystery reveals. For all the questions of “what is this?” and “why is this happening?”, the audience will mostly be left asking “What was the point?”
Watch Brick on Netflix If You Like
- Cube
- 10 Cloverfield Lane
- Army of Thieves
- Tribes of Europa
MVP of Brick
Matthias Schweighöfer & Ruby O. Fee
As I noted them as one of the rare positives in the film earlier in this review, I’ll keep this one simple: When this leading duo is at the center of the film’s attention, the film is better for it. Surprisingly, this happens less frequently than you think, which is part of the reason the film doesn’t succeed. A sprinkle of humor for two actors that can absolutely ham it up well would have improved this one immensely. Still good to seem back together after the fun (and probably underrated) Army of Thieves.
While the leading cast and initial fascinations may bring you to this one, you won’t gain anything else when the film is over.