Brother (2022 film)

Last updated
Brother
Brother poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Clement Virgo
Written byClement Virgo
Based onBrother by David Chariandy
Produced by
Starring
Cinematography Guy Godfree
Edited byKye Meechan
Production
companies
  • Hawkeye Pictures
  • Conquering Lion Pictures
Distributed byElevation Pictures, Vertical Entertainment, ShutterSTOCK Liner Entertainment
Release date
  • September 9, 2022 (2022-09-09)(TIFF)
Running time
120 minutes [1]
CountryCanada
LanguageEnglish

Brother is a 2022 Canadian drama film, written, produced and directed by Clement Virgo. [2] An adaptation of David Chariandy's award-winning novel of the same name, [3] the film centres on the relationship between Francis and Michael, two Black Canadian brothers growing up in the Scarborough district of Toronto, Ontario in the early 1990s. [4]

Contents

The film stars Aaron Pierre as Francis and Lamar Johnson as Michael, with supporting cast members including Kiana Madeira, Marsha Stephanie Blake, Lovell Adams-Gray, Maurice Dean Wint, and Dwain Murphy.

The novel's optioning for film was announced in 2018, [3] and the film went into production in fall 2021. [5] It is the second Canadian film in as many years, following Scarborough in 2021, to be set in the Galloway Road neighbourhood of Scarborough, [4] and Virgo's first theatrical feature film since 2007's Poor Boy's Game .

The film premiered at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival on September 9, 2022. [6] It was also screened as the closing film of the 2022 Calgary International Film Festival and as the opening film of the 2022 FIN Atlantic Film Festival. [7]

Synopsis

Francis and Michael are brothers living in Canada and sons of Caribbean immigrants from Jamaica. In the summer of 1991, the young men immerse themselves in the hip-hop scene of Toronto's Scarborough.

When his childhood sweetheart Aisha returns to their neighborhood for the first time in 10 years, Michael is forced to reconsider a family tragedy. Growing up as young black boys in a neighborhood prone to gang violence and police brutality, his older brother Francis had to be Michael's best friend, protector and even parent at the same time, because their single mother worked shifts as a nurse. As they grew older, Francis and Michael parted ways, but the unconditional love between the brothers and their mother continued.

The film uses a non-linear structure, switching back and forth between the boys' childhood, their teen years leading up to Francis's death, and the lingering aftermath of Francis's death, all building toward the ultimate revelation in the film's climax of how Francis died.

Although the film doesn't explicitly address LGBTQ themes in dialogue, a key scene toward the end of the film depicts Francis being physically intimate with his friend Jelly, suggesting that some of his emotional issues around their father's absence from their lives stem from being either gay or bisexual.

Cast

Reception

Critical response

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes , 87% of 45 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.5/10.The website's consensus reads: "Deeply felt and emotionally resonant, Brother overcomes its imposing length and a certain narrative familiarity with riveting performances and stunning cinematography." [8]

In The Globe and Mail , Barry Hertz wrote, "The spirit of what Scarborough represents – for Chariandy, and for Clement – is undoubtedly present in every lovingly composed frame of Brother." [9] Peter Howell, film critic for The Toronto Star gave the film 3.5 out of 5 stars and added, "A world is revealed, brilliantly." [10] Brian Tallerico, editor for the film review website RogerEbert.com published, "There’s such gracefulness to the filmmaking here, cutting back and forth across time, building like a thriller." [11]

For Deadline Hollywood , Valerie Complex wrote that "Brother is a film that reaffirms why I love movies. The narrative asks so many vital questions about Black life and masculinity, but most of all: If Black boys are raising themselves to adulthood, where do they turn for support? This is the ultimate dilemma Francis and Michael find themselves in. Brother isn’t just another “Black” film. This is a vital piece of cinema that hasn’t received the buzz it deserves. I don’t want to see this fly under the radar, and I hope others will be open-minded enough to witness the genius of Clement Virgo and these young actors." [12]

Accolades

The film was named to TIFF's annual year-end Canada's Top Ten list for 2022. [13] It won 12 Canadian Screen Awards at the 11th Canadian Screen Awards in 2023, the most awards won by any film in the Canadian Screen Awards era and the best performance by any film since Night Zoo (Un zoo la nuit) won 13 Genie Awards at the 9th Genie Awards in 1988. [14]

AwardDate of ceremonyCategoryRecipient(s)ResultRef.
Black Reel Awards January 16, 2024 Outstanding International Film Clement VirgoNominated [15]
Canadian Screen Awards April 16, 2023 Best Motion Picture Damon D'Oliveira, Sonya Di Rienzo, Aeschylus Poulos, Clement Virgo Won [16]
Best Director Clement VirgoWon
Best Lead Performance in a Film Lamar Johnson Won
Best Supporting Performance in a Film Marsha Stephanie Blake Nominated
Aaron Pierre Won
Best Adapted Screenplay Clement Virgo Won
Best Art Direction/Production Design Jason Clarke, John Kim, Richard Racicot Won
Best Costume Design Hanna Puley Won
Best Sound Editing Jane Tattersall, David McCallum, Paul Germann, Krystin Hunter, Kevin Banks Won
Best Sound Mixing Richard Penn, Joe Morrow, James BastableWon
Best Makeup Joan ChellNominated
Best Hair Tremaine Thomas Won
Best Original Score Todor Kobakov Won
Best Casting in a Film Deirdre Bowen Won
Directors Guild of Canada October 23, 2023 Best Direction in a Feature Film Clement VirgoNominated [15]
NAACP Image Awards March 16, 2024 Outstanding International Motion Picture BrotherWon [17]
Outstanding Independent Motion Picture Won
Outstanding Breakthrough Performance in a Motion PictureAaron PierreNominated
Outstanding Cinematography in a Feature FilmGuy GodfreeNominated
Toronto Film Critics Association 2022 Rogers Best Canadian Film Award BrotherNominated [18]
Vancouver Film Critics Circle 2022 Best Director of a Canadian Film Clement VirgoNominated [19]
Best Actor in a Canadian Film Lamar JohnsonNominated
Best Supporting Actor in a Canadian Film Aaron PierreNominated
Best Supporting Actress in a Canadian Film Marsha Stephanie BlakeNominated
Best Screenplay for a Canadian Film Clement VirgoNominated
WGC Screenwriting Awards 2023Feature FilmWon [20]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toronto International Film Festival</span> Annual film festival held in Toronto, Canada

The Toronto International Film Festival is one of the most prestigious and largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, founded in 1976 and taking place each September. It is also a permanent destination for film culture operating out of the TIFF Lightbox cultural centre, located in Downtown Toronto.

The Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television presents an annual award for Best Motion Picture to the best Canadian film of the year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Clement Virgo</span> Canadian film director

Clement Virgo is a Canadian film and television writer, producer and director who runs the production company, Conquering Lion Pictures, with producer Damon D'Oliveira. Virgo is best known for co-writing and directing an adaptation of the novel by Canadian writer Lawrence Hill, The Book of Negroes (2015), a six-part miniseries that aired on CBC Television in Canada and BET in the United States.

The Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television presents an annual award for Best Achievement in Direction to the best work by a director of a Canadian film.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David Chariandy</span> Canadian writer (born 1969)

David John Chariandy is a Canadian writer and academic, presently working as a professor of English literature at Simon Fraser University. His 2017 novel Brother won the Rogers Writers' Trust Fiction Prize, Ethel Wilson Fiction Prize, and Toronto Book Award.

Rude is a 1995 Canadian crime film directed by Clement Virgo in his feature-length directorial debut. It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1995 Cannes Film Festival, before having its Canadian premiere at the 1995 Toronto International Film Festival as the opening film of the Perspectives Canada program.

Conquering Lion Pictures (CLP) is an independent Canadian film production company founded by Clement Virgo and Damon D'Oliveira. Virgo and D'Oliveira met in 1991 while studying at the Canadian Film Centre (CFC), and formed CLP while working on Rude, their first feature film at the CFC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stephan James (actor)</span> Canadian actor

Stephan James is a Canadian actor. After starring in a string of television series as a teenager, he rose to prominence upon winning a Canadian Screen Award for Best Actor for his role as track and field sprinter Jesse Owens in the 2016 film Race.

<i>Youre Sleeping Nicole</i> 2014 film

You're Sleeping Nicole is a 2014 Canadian drama film directed by Stéphane Lafleur. It was selected to be screened as part of the Directors' Fortnight section of the 2014 Cannes Film Festival. The film had a limited release on 22 August 2014, followed by a general Quebec theatrical release on 29 August 2014. It was screened in the Contemporary World Cinema section at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival.

<i>My Internship in Canada</i> 2015 Canadian film

My Internship in Canada is a Canadian political satire film written and directed by Philippe Falardeau. The film premiered in 2015 at the Locarno International Film Festival.

The Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television presents an annual award for Best Feature Length Documentary. First presented in 1968 as part of the Canadian Film Awards, it became part of the Genie Awards in 1980 and the contemporary Canadian Screen Awards in 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Matt Johnson (director)</span> Canadian actor and filmmaker

Matt Johnson is a Canadian actor and filmmaker. He first attracted accolades for his low-budget independent feature films, including The Dirties (2013), which won Best Narrative Feature at the Slamdance Film Festival, and Operation Avalanche (2016), which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival.

Canada's Top Ten is an annual honour, compiled by the Toronto International Film Festival and announced in December each year to identify and promote the year's best Canadian films. The list was first introduced in 2001 as an initiative to help publicize Canadian films.

Hamza Haq is a Canadian actor, best known for his leading role of Bashir Hamed in the medical drama television series Transplant, which earned him three consecutive Canadian Screen Awards.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thyrone Tommy</span> Canadian film director

Thyrone Tommy is a Canadian film director and screenwriter. After writing and directing the short film Mariner (2016), Tommy received acclaim for his work on the feature film Learn to Swim (2021), both of which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival.

<i>Scarborough</i> (2021 film) 2021 Canadian film

Scarborough is a 2021 Canadian drama film, directed by Shasha Nakhai and Rich Williamson. An adaptation of Catherine Hernandez's 2017 novel Scarborough, the film centres on the coming of age of Bing, Sylvie and Laura, three young children in a low-income neighbourhood in the Scarborough district of Toronto, as they learn the value of community, passion and resilience over the course of a school year through an after-school program led by childhood educator Ms. Hina.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rich Williamson (filmmaker)</span> Canadian film director, cinematographer and editor

Rich Williamson is a Canadian film director, cinematographer and editor, most noted as codirector with Shasha Nakhai of the 2021 film Scarborough. The film won the Canadian Screen Award for Best Picture, and Nakhai and Williamson won the award for Best Director, at the 10th Canadian Screen Awards in 2022.

Lovell Adams-Gray is a Canadian actor. He is best known for the role of Dru Tejada in Power Book II: Ghost, and his performance in the web series 21 Black Futures, for which he won the Canadian Screen Award for Best Lead Performance in a Web Program or Series at the 10th Canadian Screen Awards in 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scarborough (novel)</span> 2017 Canadian novel

Scarborough is the debut novel by Canadian writer Catherine Hernandez, published in 2017. Set in the Toronto district of Scarborough, the novel centres on the coming-of-age of three young children living in the low-income Galloway Road neighbourhood — Bing, a boy struggling with his sexual identity; Laura, a girl who longs for stability as she is continually being shuffled back and forth between her mother's and her father's separate homes; and Sylvie, a girl whose family is living in a homeless shelter — as well as Hina, a community literacy worker dedicated to serving as a supportive oasis of guidance for underprivileged children in her community.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2022 Toronto International Film Festival</span> 47th edition of the festival

The 47th annual Toronto International Film Festival was held from September 8 to 18, 2022.

References

  1. "Brother". Irish Film Classification Office . May 24, 2023. Retrieved June 14, 2023.
  2. Barry Hertz, "TIFF to host world premiere of Clement Virgo’s buzzy adaptation of Scarborough-set novel Brother". The Globe and Mail , July 6, 2022.
  3. 1 2 "David Chariandy's novel Brother optioned for film with Clement Virgo at the helm". CBC Books, September 7, 2018.
  4. 1 2 Radheyan Simonpillai, "Brother brings Scarborough to the world" Archived 2022-08-18 at the Wayback Machine . Now , August 17, 2022.
  5. Liza Sardi, "Rising stars assemble for Brother". Playback , October 18, 2021.
  6. "Clement Virgo’s ‘Brother’ to premiere at Toronto International Film Festival". Toronto Star , July 6, 2022.
  7. Stephen Cooke, "FIN Atlantic International Film Festival ready for September return". SaltWire Network , August 24, 2022.
  8. "Brother". Rotten Tomatoes . Fandango Media . Retrieved 2023-10-01. OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
  9. Hertz, Barry (2023-03-14). "Review: Clement Virgo's beautiful Brother is an instantly essential addition to Toronto cinema canon". The Globe and Mail . Retrieved 2023-03-17.
  10. Howell, Peter (2022-09-17). "Couldn't make it to TIFF? Here's our guide to the best of the fest, plus what's getting Oscar buzz". The Toronto Star . Retrieved 2023-03-17.
  11. Tallerico, Brian (2022-09-10). "TIFF 2022: Brother, Butcher's Crossing, The Lost King". RogerEbert . Retrieved 2023-03-17.
  12. Valerie Complex, "‘Brother’ Review: Clement Virgo’s Brutally Honest Film About Family And Manhood". Deadline Hollywood , October 18, 2022.
  13. Pat Mullen, "Three Feature Docs Make Canada’s Top Ten". Point of View , December 8, 2022.
  14. Noel Ransome and Nicole Thompson, "Clement Virgo’s film ‘Brother’ wins a record 12 Canadian Screen Awards". The Globe and Mail , April 13, 2023.
  15. 1 2 Taimur Sikander Mirza, "Women Talking leads film nominees for 2023 DGC Awards". Playback , September 20, 2023.
  16. Etan Vlessing, "Canadian Screen Awards: TV Drama ‘The Porter’ Leads With 19 Nominations". The Hollywood Reporter , February 22, 2023.
  17. Jackson, Angelique (January 25, 2024). "Colman Domingo, Ayo Edebiri, Victoria Monét and Usher Lead NAACP Image Award Nominations". Variety . Retrieved January 26, 2024.
  18. Pat Mullen, "Toronto Film Critics Name All the Beauty and the Bloodshed Top Doc". Point of View , January 8, 2023.
  19. "Vancouver Film Critics Announce Nominees". Northern Stars. January 23, 2023. Retrieved January 23, 2023.
  20. Connie Thiessen, "Family Law showrunner Susin Nielsen among winners at WGC Screenwriting Awards". Broadcast Dialogue, April 25, 2023.