An aspiring stand-up comic realizes precisely how precious the developmentally disabled brother he so frequently took for granted truly is in writer/director Anthony Lover's sensitive family drama. Poetically told by his terminally ill mother L'Tisha Morton (Vanessa Williams) that he and his developmentally disabled brother James (Christopher Scott) share a single soul despite having separate bodies, resentful thirty year-old Isaiah (Nashawn Kearse) longs to explore his stifled independence by
testing his meddle on the comedy club circuit. When his dreams go up in smoke, Isaiah falls back on a courier job - initially assigned the task of delivering a mysterious package for an intimidating gang of Middle Eastern thugs. Later, when the package goes missing, the goons who hired Isaiah arrive at his apartment to rough up the frightened courier and his unsuspecting sibling. It's only then, when faced with the prospect of their own mortality, that Isaiah truly begins to comprehend the true depth of his brotherly bond with James. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
A young man takes an awfully long time to discover what the audience already knows -- that his disabled brother is the most precious thing in his life -- in My Brother.
My Brother is a brave little film, with the emphasis on little. Shot on a shoestring, it lacks the polish of many indie efforts but compensates with bold casting and a big heart.
My Brother is brimming with would-be life lessons. But the movie goes in so many directions, and follows through on so few of them, that all it transmits is a vague glow. It's watered-down chicken soup for the soul.
Seeing a ghetto-based drama revolving around black males not behaving like amoral gangstas or clownish buffoons is a welcome change of pace, plus there's the bonus of Vanessa Williams exhibiting an emotional range unseen in any of her previous work.
Has no shortage of heart, but it has been so clumsily organized and falls back so often on clichéd storytelling that any early goodwill quickly morphs into resentment.
My Brother has a touching story, but it wasn't always interesting throughout the movie, and often I found myself bored. Also, the potential girlfriend didn't really add anything to the film. Although I enjoyed the movie, the long drawn out drama got to be a bit much.
November 8, 2010
DJ Jackson
This movie is sort of funny in a way with how James talks, though, do NOT think I am laughing at him being 'retarded', because I'm not. The movie is alright. Very emotional. It didn't end right. I want to know what he did with the diamonds in the end after Isaiah found James again???"James, this is GOLD!"- Isaiah
talking about some thrown out furniture."WHY are we taking home this junk!?"-JamesLOL!!
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