Cast: Lamar Johnson, Aaron Pierre, Kiana Madeira, Marsha Stephanie Blake, Lovell
Adams-Gray, Maurice Dean Wint
Screenings: October 1, 6:00 pm, Vancouver Playhouse
October 4, 9:15 pm, The Rio (19+)
Short Note: Against the backdrop of suburban Scarborough, two brothers (Lamar Johnson and Aaron Pierre) strive to justify their mother’s sacrifices and realise their own ambitions. However, fate has other plans. Maintaining the precision of David Chariandy’s acclaimed novel, Clement Virgo’s adaptation is a richly cinematic work. Virgo’s direction is both elegant and authoritative as Brother details the devastating repercussions of violence, while also exploring masculinity, family, race, and the healing process.
Long Note: Clement Virgo (The Book of Negroes) makes a brilliant return to feature filmmaking with this propulsive adaptation of David Chariandy’s celebrated novel. Set against the backdrop of suburban Scarborough, Brother follows siblings Michael (Lamar Johnson) and Francis (Aaron Pierre) as they strive to justify the sacrifices of their devoted mother (Marsha Stephanie Blake) and realise their own ambitions: for Francis, that’s a career in hip-hop; for Michael, it’s the love of Aisha (Kiana Madeira). However, fate has other plans for this pair and all those they hold dear.
While maintaining the precision of Chariandy’s prose, Virgo’s film is a wholly cinematic and remarkably sensorial work. Skipping between past and present to explore masculinity, race, and family, Virgo’s direction is elegant in its handling of evolving character dynamics and authoritative in ensuring that instances of brutality possess harrowing verisimilitude. While detailing the devastating repercussions of senseless acts of violence, Brother also distinguishes itself with its powerful depictions of the healing process.
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