"Vengeance is mine," sayeth Erica Bain. Bain (Jodie Foster) was mugged, along with her fiance, one night in New York City. Her fiance was beated to death, and Bain was close to death herself. These muggers were sick and twisted. They even videotaped the event. Now Bain needs healing, and she needs to find some way to continue to live with these brutal scars.Bain's journey back to society begins with getting a gun. She feels unsafe, and no one would blame her for wanting to protect herself. But she feels she needs a gun immediately, and she is having none of this 30 day waiting period crap. So Bain goes to a black-market gun dealer and picks up a 9mm. Now she feels powerful, she feels safe. One night she gets caught in the middle of one man's murderous rage in a convenience store. She must protect herself in order to survive, and does so. But this first act of killing awakens something inside Bain. She flees the scene, destroys any evidence that she has been there, and decides that she will give in to this change, to this new person she is becoming.
Bain is also a radio talk-show host, telling stories of New York City. She uses this as a veiled confessional throughout the film. Also, she meets a detective Mercer (Terrence Howard) who is on the case of the convenience store shootings. They become friends, and Mercer respects Bain's opinion because of what she has been through in the past. Little does he know, he is looking for her.
As is pointed out by a caller on Bain's radio show, we are all happy to see bad guys shot in the head. We all want to see justice, and when the law is too slow, too beaurocratic, or too inept, we like to see people take justice into their own hands. Our desire for justice comes from God. God is a just God, and since we are made in His image, we have a desire for justice as well. It is not wrong to want things to be fair, for things to be right. But God does say "Vengeance is mine." He is ultimately the only one who can judge fairly and justly. When we take matters into our own hands, as Bain does, we are playing God and claiming we know how to handle a situation just as well as He would. Does that mean that God never wants us to get involved? No, but we must learn to entrust our actions and decisions to God. We also must defer to the government in place, as is stated in Romans chapter 13. Yet, there are times when that government fails to do its job. Thus, vigilante justice. This idea is one that gets plenty of screen time in Hollywood, and that is because it reflects a deeper desire, the desire to make things right. We want to play a part in that process. We want to be the heroes and kill the bad guys. Wouldn't it be great if we could just put two slugs in the murdering pedophile or serial rapist? Wouldn't it feel great? Those are the questions The Brave One asks. But let us remember to leave true justice in God's hands, not ours. There is a reason that God instituted "cities of refuge" in the book of Joshua. If someone accidentally killed another, they could flee to these cities for protection from vengeful family members of the victim. They were in place to protect people from vigilante justice. God knows the whole story, we don't, we have a limited view. And isn't that what the courts are there for, at least in theory? To really get the whole story?
As is pointed out by a caller on Bain's radio show, we are all happy to see bad guys shot in the head. We all want to see justice, and when the law is too slow, too beaurocratic, or too inept, we like to see people take justice into their own hands. Our desire for justice comes from God. God is a just God, and since we are made in His image, we have a desire for justice as well. It is not wrong to want things to be fair, for things to be right. But God does say "Vengeance is mine." He is ultimately the only one who can judge fairly and justly. When we take matters into our own hands, as Bain does, we are playing God and claiming we know how to handle a situation just as well as He would. Does that mean that God never wants us to get involved? No, but we must learn to entrust our actions and decisions to God. We also must defer to the government in place, as is stated in Romans chapter 13. Yet, there are times when that government fails to do its job. Thus, vigilante justice. This idea is one that gets plenty of screen time in Hollywood, and that is because it reflects a deeper desire, the desire to make things right. We want to play a part in that process. We want to be the heroes and kill the bad guys. Wouldn't it be great if we could just put two slugs in the murdering pedophile or serial rapist? Wouldn't it feel great? Those are the questions The Brave One asks. But let us remember to leave true justice in God's hands, not ours. There is a reason that God instituted "cities of refuge" in the book of Joshua. If someone accidentally killed another, they could flee to these cities for protection from vengeful family members of the victim. They were in place to protect people from vigilante justice. God knows the whole story, we don't, we have a limited view. And isn't that what the courts are there for, at least in theory? To really get the whole story?
Healing is another important theme in The Brave One. Bain is seeking healing from her past, specifically from losing her fiance to brutal violence. The film seeks to show her process as one that goes through violence. Somehow, the enacting of vigilante justice violence brings about her healing, helping her to be confident and to gain the ability to function again. There it is, "the myth of redemptive violence." True healing can only come from Jesus, and it is a process that would be hindered or stunted by vengeance. The focus should be on ourselves, not on those who wronged us. We cannot control the actions of others, and are only responsible for our own. Revenge brings some temporary satisfaction, but I challenge the idea that it brings healing. Detective Mercer is also seeking healing. He is going through a divorce, which is the death of a relationship. He feels rejected, unsafe, violated, and scarred, just like Bain. Their stories parallel each other. But how does Mercer find healing? How does he seek it? These two stories intersect at critical points in the narritive, and the conclusion ties it all together.
The Brave One is a pretty standard premise. This film may or may not perpetuate some of the standard Hollywood myths (vigilante justice and redemptive violence), I will leave that up to you, the viewer. But it does delve into our psyches and show us who we are, and why we have this thirst for justice. Yes she is brave, but is it the right kind of brave?
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