BRICK

Dubbing itself as "a highschool detective story," this film from last year is a genre film in a genre all its own.  I was thoroughly impressed by almost all aspects of how the film handled itself: brooding enough to be taken seriously, but with just the right touch of self-awareness and humor to acknowledge its absurdity (the presence of parents, for example, provides some comic relief rather than a narrative stumbling block).  With such a young cast, the film is remarkably well acted, especially given the completely unnatural dialog.  I loved the boldness of the film: taking risks and embracing them full-heartedly and never shying away from the director's unique vision.  It treads on some touchy ground: drug use, sex, and murder amongst teenagers to name the obvious, but it does so without heavy-handedness nor trivialization.  Nora Zehetner steals every scene she's in.