Does it work? Yes, if one gets into the swing of the idea and latches onto the dialogue and patter, much of it in slang, and goes along with the tough talk, tense ambiance and intricate plotting of the type that characterized noirs such as “The Big Sleep.” Johnson shows brilliant control over his concept in this first feature, and based on the talent displayed, one can assume he is likely to be going places.

The advantage of the renowned Hollywood noirs was that they had stars radiating charisma. Johnson has sought his own type of charisma, casting Joseph Gordon-Levitt as the solemn, determined, fearless Brendan Frye, who is determined to get to the bottom of things when he finds that his former girlfriend, Emily (Emilie de Raven), for whom he still hankers, has been murdered. Whether he is taking a beating or wandering through a maze of menacing events, he stoically pursues his goal. Johnson injects satirical humor into the morass, sometimes with tongue-in-cheek profiling of the weird school world he has created.

Brendan relies frequently on an all-wise student named The Brain (Matt O’Leary), who knows everything going down and steers Brendan in the right direction. Others include Richard Roundtree as the exasperated principal who wants to know what Brendan is up to and expects him to name culprits. The Pin (Lukas Haas), who isn’t a student, Tugger (Noah Fleiss), Laura, the rich girl (Nora Zehetner) and the sexy Kara (Meagan Good) are some of the other types in the mix. One thing is clear. This doesn’t seem to be a school at which anyone spends time studying.