The Brother is a very stylish British thriller echoes of Layer Cake that draws you into a murky world leaving you time to think what is this all about: family; crime; both or something altogether different.
The opening scenes provide a few pieces of the jigsaw puzzle. The narrative is sparse. The scenes give minimal information – Reuben is a terrible man and someone Jack has spent the last 18 month in a Colombian Jail. “The future’s unwritten they say son, your past will always be following you.” What’s the point so is this the sins of the father on the sons or is it Cain and Abel?
With Reuben being jealous of Richard and yet it was Richard who always saved Reuben. Adam, the brother, we learn at the beginning of the film is a cloakroom attendant but it slowly transpires that he withdrew from the family business. The other brother, Eli, a musical genius – a sort of fingers. This is one of the clichés in the film. The violence and it does come is brutal a sort of shot of adrenaline – the type of clap by the ear that has you pull your jumper over your head. What all this means is you, the audience, have to engage your mind as well as your eyes and that is great.
This is a far superior gangster flick – the sensory deprivation and use of music to show deafness is impressive and shows a certain level of mastery. Gangster films have come along way from Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels to last year’s film of North v South a retelling of Romeo vs Juliet in a gangster setting. This though feels far more superior and incredible to watch.
Misdirection is a useful filmmaking tool but less is more and unfortunately in this film it was somewhat overused. It doesn’t detract from the film and what he sought to achieve but actually it wasn’t needed.
The Brother opens in cinemas across the UK on Friday 16 September.
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