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Brothers of the Head (2006)
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Reviews Counted:65
Fresh:43
Rotten:22
Average Rating:6.4/10
Consensus: As bizarre as it is, this mockumentary about a pair of conjoined rockers is surprisingly poignant and filled with authentic period details.
Theatrical Release:Jul 28, 2006 Limited
Synopsis: Keith Fulton and Louis Pepe (LOST IN LA MANCHA) mark an extraordinary narrative debut with this faux documentary about Siamese twin punk rockers in the early 1970s. Stunning photography by Anthony... Keith Fulton and Louis Pepe (LOST IN LA MANCHA) mark an extraordinary narrative debut with this faux documentary about Siamese twin punk rockers in the early 1970s. Stunning photography by Anthony Dod Mantle, which occasionally borders on the abstract, augments a story already rife with dramatic potential, which was based on the novel by Brian Aldiss. Recalling Alan Clarke's iconic Sex Pistols biopic SID AND NANCY in its grittiness and the volatile relationship at its core, BROTHERS OF THE HEAD centers on Tom and Barry Howe (real-life twins Harry and Luke Treadaway). Siamese twins recruited at a young age by a sleazy producer, the twins are groomed for a stardom which will inevitably become their downfall. Barry's innate nihilism and anger make him the ideal frontman for the band, while Tom studiously learns the guitar from a bandmate (Bryan Dick). But the brothers' dalliances with drugs, girls, and fame, added to the psychological power struggles already at work between them, eventually put them on the road to destruction. Equal parts homage to rock 'n roll and an insightful character study of a complex relationship, the film fascinates while not taking itself too seriously: Ken Russell's unfinished biopic of the boys is particularly hilarious. The excellent soundtrack of original music by Clive Langer (ABSOLUTE BEGINNERS), actually played by the actors onscreen, tops off this impressive work. [More]
Starring: Harry Treadaway, Luke Treadaway, Tom Bower, Sean Harris
Starring: Harry Treadaway, Luke Treadaway, Tom Bower, Sean Harris, Bryan Dick, Tania Emery, Ken Russell
Director: Keith Fulton, Louis Pepe
Director: Keith Fulton, Louis Pepe
Composer: Clive Langer
Studio: IFC Films
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Reviews for Brothers of the Head
Is appropriately moody and gets the music right, but becomes as incoherent and messy as the lives of the protagonists in the film's second half.
"Lost In La Mancha" directors Louis Pepe and Keith Fulton take a flailing mockumentary shot at a convoluted narrative about a pair of conjoined twins-turned-punk-rock-duo.
Pepe, Fulton and screenwriter Tony Grisoni, who had worked on Gilliam's Quixote picture, inject great detail into the Howes' story, yet the siblings feel distant and disconnected, a couple of ciphers you never really get to know.
A flashy, stylistic show of emptiness, intended to protest emptiness. But that's clear almost from the outset.
Needed more to counter its "twin" shortcomings: the questionable gimmick and too much lousy music.
What could have been a powerful and poignant exploration of the British music biz ends up being merely above average.
We don't really care about these people, who are for the most part unlikeable. That goes for the Howe twins, too.
A narratively lurid, visually leering piece that revels in its strangeness and is more likely to put you off than pull you in.
Undermined by its form: strange as it ought to be, the mockumentary conventions of the movie make everything strangely familiar.
Despite some excitingly shot concert footage, one scene begins to feel very much like the next, and it's all rather predictable.
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