Brave One, The

You don't mess around with Jodie! Ms. Foster plays Erica Bain, a brandy-voiced radio personality in New York whose fiance is brutally murdered one night in Central Park. The killing changes her outlook on every aspect of her life and she eventually finds herself haunting the dark streets of the city toting a gun. This movie might be called a feminist Death Wish, but Foster could make something credible out of a Three Stooges featurette. It is a distinct, if honorably executed, change-of-pace towards the mainstream for director Neil Jordan (The Crying Game, Michael Collins, The End of the Affair). Ms. Bain's transformation into a lethal weapon against rampant crime may not be inherently admirable, but there is no denying its cathartic effect on the viewer. "I want my dog back." ranks with the great lines from action cinema.