My Brother
My Brother
| 01 January 2006 (USA)
My Brother Trailers

"My Brother" is an inner city story of two impoverished boys, Isaiah and James. James is developmentally disabled. Their mother, L'Tisha, finds herself in a tragic situation. Dying of tuberculosis, she desperately tries to get her two boys, eight and eleven at the time, adopted together. Finding that only Isaiah can be adopted. L'Tisha makes the only choice she feels she can make; creating an unbreakable bond of love between the boys, and hoping that bond will get them through life. Her prayers are answered as the boys overcome impossible odds on their way to adulthood, staying as close as ever as young men dealing with life's obstacles.

Reviews
Robert Joyner

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

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Keeley Coleman

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

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Cissy Évelyne

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

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Geraldine

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

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krebs-michelle

This was quite honestly the worst movie I've ever seen in my entire life. The two gentlemen who play the brothers in the title of the film do quite well with what they have, which is a script which is all over the place, full of implausible story lines, and too much of a dependence on "name" actors, though the filmmaker may have done this to get people to actually see it: people with developmental disabilities are pretty absent on the silver screen, and maybe he was hoping that having Vanessa Williams, Tatum O'Neill might entice more people to see it, but it didn't work.The men playing Isaiah and James were good. Those are the only good points.Tatum O'Neill was in the movie in a bizarre subplot (with a total screen time of maybe a few minutes, but she's one of the 'stars,' though she looked awesome) involving the lead character and a terrorism/diamond/Sicilian Mafia thing at a middle eastern embassy which made NO sense at all, and then two days later, Tatum O'Neill is totally in love with this guy and cries and says 'I'm not drunk, I'm tipsy, and I know what I feel, and I feel like garbage' or something like that.By the end of the movie I was actually screaming at my television for Vanessa Williams to die already. And then all the sudden, just when I thought the Vanessa monster was gone (I think she died three or four times), her big head was floating above the brothers at the beach because they were suddenly and inexplicably children.. because the main character was on a train because he abandoned his brother... because of the diamonds... or something.There is indeed almost zero presence on the screen of people with special needs, but can't someone do better? And don't get me started on the ethnic stereotypes."Three's Company" had more compelling plots and better writing. My ten year old daughter could've rewritten it for the price of a couple of hours of babysitting! After it was over I was SHOCKED to see it was only 90 minutes. I'd rather get root canal with no anaesthesia while having someone attempting to cut my head off with a pair of toenail clippers for ninety minutes. It felt like hours.

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Roland E. Zwick

Isaiah Morton is a not-very-promising, aspiring standup comic who lives in Brooklyn with his developmentally disabled brother, James, whom he has been taking care of ever since the death of their mother a number of years back. Even though he is totally devoted to his younger sibling, Isaiah has recently come to resent the burden James places on his life. Desperate for money, Isaiah foolishly agrees to pull a job for a local gangster, an act that sets into motion a series of events that may well spell the end for both Isaiah and his brother.With its somewhat meandering narrative structure, "My Brother," written and directed by Anthony Lover, may not always feel as fully formed or thought-out as we would like our movies to be, but its heart is definitely in the right place and it does an effective job exploring the complications and complexities inherent in human relationships. In fact, it may well be this LACK of sophistication and slickness that makes the movie feel less contrived and more convincing in the long run. For instance, Isaiah's brief flirtation with a white woman he meets at a party is intriguing precisely because it doesn't in any way enhance the story or advance the plot. It simply feels like a scene ripped from his life, a nice piece of reality tossed into the mix to make the movie more authentic.Moreover, there are earnest, heartfelt performances by Nashawn Kearse ("Desperate Housewives"), Vanessa Williams, Christopher Scott, Rodney Henry, Donovan Jennings and even Oscar-winner Tatum O'Neal in key roles.The best scenes are those set in the past, in which a terminally ill single mother (the lovely Williams) struggles against tremendous odds to instill character and values into her two young boys, values they will desperately need if they are to survive and thrive in a world marked by poverty, racism and prejudice. The movie does veer towards the sentimental at times, but it earns its emotions honestly and forthrightly. And even though the crime drama scenes may not always be entirely convincing, it is as a family drama and a tale of total unconditional love that "My Brother" ultimately touches the heart.Incidentally, as a companion piece to this film, check out "Two Brothers," a documentary that focuses on Scott and Jennings, both young actors with Down Syndrome, and their very powerful work in "My Brother."

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patriciaingmire

It was a very touching story. Thank you for making it. Both the young and the older actor did a lovely job. As a sister growing up I remember fighting to protect my brother from people who just aren't very nice. Luckily, we didn't grow up the 'hood' as these men did. Thanks for producing the movie. I thought all the performers did a excellent job in telling a difficult story. A single mom, raising two small boys under very hard conditions. I am grateful in our family we had a much better situation. I am glad the story was told. I found myself very sad at times when I saw what these young boys had to face. I can't imagine the heart ache their mother went thru knowing she wouldn't be able to care for them.

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SassyLady611

The previous "Bad ..." comment is so off base, did this person really watch and listen to the movie? The comment regarding who has TB was crude and unnecessary. I saw the movie this weekend and found it to be very heartwarming to see such a strong bond between brothers. Having the disabled actors definitely added to the reality, their acting was outstanding. I commend Vanessa Williams for taking this role, it was unlike anything I have seen her do. She came across as real as she was faced with the uncertainty of the future of her children. Any mother could understand and feel her pain. I would like to have seen the comedy routine shorten and the ending a bit longer...it left me with questions. A great family film, shows the importance of family. I would not recommend for young children due to some graphic scenes.

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